I like spending time along the edge of marshes to observe and listen to the different waterfowl. My only complaint is the bugs but the bugs are why the birds are here. Seems we have to have both. This is a Cinnamon Teal. A beautiful bird in my eyes. Breeding males have a red eye, long dark bill, and mostly vivid rusty plumage, with brownish back, white underwing. Female, immature, and non breeding male are mostly rich brownish overall. All adults have sky-blue patch in open wing, similar to other teal and shovelers. I don’t see them often because their populations have declined since 1968, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey, and they do prefer large permanent marshes, which I do not have near me.1 All information is from All About Birds by Cornell Labs I highly recommend you check out the link below to All About Birds and see their collection of photos of their wing colors.
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What Life Should I Live?
What does it mean, say the words, that the earth is so beautiful? And what shall I do with it? What is the gift that I should bring to the world? What is the life I should live?
Mary OliverSomeone has planted Irises along the parking area at Pineridge Natural Area. I want to thank the beautiful soul(s) for planting them and the gift they brought to the world! Now I’m offering this image of them covered with raindrops from a nice refreshing rain. We had a nice lovely rain yesterday and can expect the same today.
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Sunday morning sunrise…
The new day’s light
ms
veiled behind gray clouds.
A crisp morning air caressing my soul
as I listen to nature’s silence.
A meadowlark perches on a rabbit brush,
near the water’s edge, near its nest.
Six pelicans take to the air
circling the reservoir then fly north.
A cottontail ventures from safety
to nibble on blades of grass.
Nature is comfortable with silence,
much more than man.
How easily I forget
to listen to nature’s silence.
Have a wonderful Sunday! -
Spiritual Practice
The foundation of all spiritual practice is love.
the Dalai Lama
That you practice this well is my only request.My hope is to practice love, as a spiritual practice, and that it’s not just something I preach. Have a great Memorial Weekend!
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Keep’n it simple…
Not sure how you feel but I have wanted my millions of followers of this blog to have the option to receive notification through email anytime I posted something new and exciting on my blog. So, I tried two different plugins and had difficulty getting either one of them to do what I wanted. I never could figure them out, nor did I feel comfortable with them, nor did I understand all the terminology, nor did it seem simple. So, I decided the best way to keep it simple was not have any of it. When I’m honest about it, I want the half dozen people who do read my blog to just drop by when they want or use an RSS feed. Yes, keep’n it simple.
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Good to be Alive
“To be alive in this beautiful, self-organizing universe — to participate in the dance of life with senses to perceive it, lungs that breathe it, organs that draw nourishment from it — is a wonder beyond words.”
Joanna MacyI ventured out to Riverbend Ponds the other night because the sky was filled with clouds and I love clouds. It was rather quiet out there, maybe a half dozen people fishing. The water was very peaceful without the wind. Birds were singing all around me. And those clouds! Yes, it’s good to be alive!
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I have a feeling…
I have a feeling
Courtney Milne
That through the hole in reason’s ceiling,
In Heaven you can perch,
Without ever going to church!I really did not know about Courtney Milne until this past week. I am impressed with his photography. I was also surprised to find he has published 12 books from the conventional to the abstract. One source I read says his photos are a celebration of the world’s “sacred places,” and a seemingly endless meditation on the beauty of the natural world. Sounds like my kind of photographer. Why didn’t someone tell me about his work? One of his best-selling books is Sacred Earth, which I just ordered a used copy of. Seeing his books makes me realize how little a collection I have of other photographers books.