My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
“A bird does not sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
Chinese Proverb
It has been a hot day for us but clouds did move in to cool us down and it has turned into a lovely evening.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
There is a section along Spring Creek where water backs up creating this calm pond-like area. For me it offers a feeling of mystery when looking into the depth of this area. It is a complete ecosystem teaming with life we cannot see. I ride slowly through this area because of the feeling it offers me and stopped several times for photos. But this morning I stopped and took a few images with the intention of playing with them when I got home using AI. I worked on them in Lightroom then settled on enhancement with the Anime style in WordPress. I added the white egret because last week I saw one feeding in Spring Creek not too far from this scene. I did not stop for a photo because I didn’t want to disturb them. So, I asked Jetpack to add the white egret. I added a frog to the seen but before I knew it the egret had eaten them. So far most of the results I like and post here are using the anime and fantasy styles which create a completely different image from the original and dramatically transforms them. I’m still not sure how I feel about all this stuff but I am getting a kick out of it and finding some creative juices. It’s much cooler today but still warm.
This robin was quite busy as it made several trips gathering worms a couple days ago. I never saw them fly away without a beak full of worms so I assume there was a nest nearby with hungry nestlings. I am heading out to have brunch with my youngest grandson at a place called Snooze. Enjoy your Sunday.
… new goose poop machines, by the dozen, are everywhere.
“Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding.”
Albert Einstein
We have had blue skies and sunshine today and wind gusting up to 16 mph. Sure makes it difficult to keep my hair looking pretty! I needed some time in one of the natural areas so I headed to Pineridge Natural Area to journal in the peace, quiet and wind. I was visited by one of the magpies who surprisingly was not very chatty. They did not seem bothered by my presence and even accepting. We could not communicate but we kept the peace. They just hung around and posed for me. Hope you had a good day.
Please remember that certainty—not doubt—is the opposite of faith. The insistence on certainty reveals a need for control, not a need for love or understanding.
Richard Rohr
Holding a perspective of certainty allows some people to justify putting others down because of the attempt to try and strip them of their humanity or believing them to be less than us. But this belief is the ego putting itself on a pedestal and rejecting self-restraint, understanding, compassion, and any willingness to dialogue. This is hate and intolerance. I find it difficult to be around such people because there is almost no openness to sharing ideas with narcissistic people. What can be even more frightening is when we are basing certainty on half truths or even lies. I have come to embrace living in the adventure and mystery of life.
Needing some time out on the prairie to journal I headed east. Stopped at a favorite spot and I was surrounded by hundreds of Canada Geese. Needless to say I did not find much peace and quiet for journaling but I did enjoy my time. Hundreds of them. Waves of them. Makes you wonder where they came from and where they are headed. More mystery.
“The land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness.”
Robin Wall Kimmerer
In indigenous ways of knowing, all beings are recognized as non-human persons, and all have their own names. It is a sign of respect to call a being by its name, and a sign of disrespect to ignore it. Words and names are the ways we humans build relationship, not only with each other, but also with plants.
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss
If words and names are the ways we humans build relationships then calling one another derogatory names on social media, or the playground, does not build relationships. If anything it builds more walls. I will go as far as saying it’s immature, even frustrating. When I listen to a meadowlark sing from its heart my spirit hears it as an invitation. And just maybe it’s calling me by my name. No walls there!
On Monday I photographed these two goslings that seem to be orphaned. They are following a group of 10-15 mature Canada Geese but not seem connected to any one or two of them. I’ve even watched as some will move away when the little ones get too close as if they want nothing to do with them, even snapping at them. Makes me wonder if they were being chased by a raccoon if any of them would try to defend the goslings. I titled this post cute and fuzzy but even at this age they are a pooping machine! As my dad would say, “In one end and out the other.”
Sadly, as of yesterday I only saw one of them and this morning no sign of either of them. The way of Nature is not always my way. I leave shortly to have lunch with my oldest daughter and then meet Duane at 1:45 pm. More rain predicted this afternoon.
I pray to the birds. I pray to the birds because I believe they will carry the messages of my heart upward. I pray to them because I believe in their existence, the way their songs begin and end each day—the invocations and benedictions of Earth. I pray to the birds because they remind me of what I love rather than what I fear. And at the end of my prayers, they teach me how to listen.
Terry Tempest Williams
We’ve had a steady mist all morning and they are predicting heavier rain later this afternoon. It is welcomed moisture and much the same for the next four days. Seems my photographer’s eye has been drawn to clouds and birds the past few weeks. The song birds have put on some wonderful concerts that keep me coming back for more. If I could change one thing in Williams quote it would be the phrase “pray to.” I would like it to say “pray with.” And, I do believe their songs are teaching me to listen! Happy Saturday!