by Cindy ~ July 1, 2008
The Moths
There’s a kind of white moth, I don’t know
what kind, that glimmers
by mid-May
in the forest, just
as the pink mocassin flowers
are rising.
If you notice anything,
it leads you to notice
more
and more.
And anyway
I was so full of energy.
I was always running around, looking
at this and that.
If I stopped
the pain
was unbearable.
If I stopped and thought, maybe
the world
can’t be saved,
the pain
was unbearable.
Finally, I noticed enough.
All around me in the forest
the white moths floated.
How long do they live, fluttering
in and out of the shadows?
You aren’t much, I said
one day to my reflection
in a green pond,
and grinned.
The wings of the moths catch the sunlight
and burn
so brightly.
At night, sometimes,
they slip between the pink lobes
of the moccasin flowers and lie there until dawn,
motionless
in those dark halls of honey.
Mary Oliver
(click image for lightbox version)
by Cindy ~ June 30, 2008
I finally found the long-lost image file this morning. Whew! After the cd was finally on it’s merry way to Dallas, we celebrated making the deadline with much a needed road trip to nearby special places. Chorusing Veery and hundreds of exquisitely bright dragonfly wings soothed our frazzled selves. My camera gear got a very good workout. I guess I really shouldn’t complain about clutter. ;)
(click image for lightbox version)
by Cindy ~ June 29, 2008
I’m usually a somewhat organized person. In the past, if I needed to find something, most generally I could have it in my hands within minutes. That’s all changed. Although I’ve sorted, filed, packed away and gave away many items that I no longer use since my illness, I’m still swamped. Our housekeepers (there’s been 4 of them so far- that’s a book in itself!) have all put things away in places that are forgotten then lost for weeks on end. So, thinking we’re out of x,y and z, we purchase more of x,y and z only to discover all too late, that we’ll NEVER have to add liquid soap or soy sauce to our grocery list again. Ever.
One area that needs a complete overhaul and sorting out is my collection of books. I couldn’t count them all if I had to. They overflow into every area of my life- our home, our vehicles (aren’t center consoles made for umpteen field guides?) and even my purse. (Nothing like a small book to keep you occupied during long waits in reception rooms).
Over the past year or so, I’ve been receiving books from Houghton Mifflin and a few other publishers to review then critique. I’ve read a few of them and have yet to put up any reviews. (Some were worth reading, a few were nothing more than a waste of good paper products) They remain hidden behind the now huge pile of large print books, that have eliminated my need for a magnifying sheet. I unsubscribed from most magazines quite awhile ago, but my passion for books is still very much alive and well. I purchased many used books in the past, and still do. Many out of print editions and newer reading as well- I figgure I’m helping to do my part in our countrys’ ever growing consumption of paper products that boggles the mind, not to mention is causing rapid deforestation all over the world. A used book reads as well as a fresh-off-the-press edition.
Reading is still an effort in patience for me. My hands remain numb and my left eye is still patched. Holding a large heavy book in bed is a sure recipie for bruises on my face or head. Then I loose my place, not remembering just what passage I had been reading before the latest mild concussion. (I actually came close with a heavy mag glass that was resting on my headboard before crasing into my skull. It’s now tucked safely away , I think it’s tucked away in a desk, unless somebody moved it again)
So, as an atempt at simplifying and un-cluttering, I’m saving up for a wireless reading device- a Kindle, with a revolutionary electronic-paper display that provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper. Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing. No bruises!
I’m also going to be setting up an Amazon ’store’ to sell many books that I no longer need. Many natural history books, field guides, non-fiction, coffee table books, American Indian history, photography, gardening, crafts, biographies, recipies/cooking, homeopathic remedies, etc etc etc.. The list of reading material that has GO is too long to type. I’ll provide a link to the store once I sort out the stacks. (It goes without saying that if a friend would like the book, I’ll send it to them at no cost.) It’ll take a few weeks I’m sure, even with my hubbys help.
Speaking of clutter, I’ve been practically pulling my hair out trying to locate an image that a hotel chain would like to purchase for display in their suites on a large scale. I’ve searched high and low for it, through external hard drives, cd’s and dvd’s I have yet to burn, hundreds that have been copied and saved, and yet it still eludes me. Since it would pay for a more than a few wireless reading gadgets, I’m vey reluctant to tell the buyer ‘sorry, I ‘ll have to pass, it’s lost in too much clutter, and my nose is still throbbing from the book that creamed my face.’.
by Cindy ~ June 26, 2008
I haven’t had the time to read or participate in any blogging carnivals or festivals for quite some time, so it’s a real pleasure to view the 78th edition of IATB, which is now up at The Egrets Nest. A fine lineup of bird related stories and images.
Liza also shares a beautiful ‘word cloud’ created on Wordle. I first read about this nifty sotware on one of my favorite blogs, Via Negativa (thanks Dave!). Am sure there will be many interesting clouds forming very soon.
by Cindy ~ June 25, 2008
The Summer Day
Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean–
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down–
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don’t know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is is you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
Mary Oliver
(click image for lightbox version)
by Cindy ~ June 24, 2008
We visted our old stomping grounds this afternoon while downstate. For many years we lived near Saginaw Bay and spent countless hours at Nayanquing Point Wildlife Area, an incredibly beautiful natural refuge with hundreds of species of birds, including the oldest colony of Yellow-headed Blackbirds in Michigan. Viewing them in the past required a extremely long trek down many overgrown dikes and trails.. and even then the birds were quite a distance away.
Since we had errands in that area today, we thought we’d take our lunch out to the point for the refreshing cool breezes blowing off Lake Huron and the bounty of birdlife that always greets us there. Another photographer pointed out a Least Bittern and a Virginia Rail that were both too buried in cattails for any images. Oh well, I thought, at least I saw them.
With lunch in hand, I sat in the jeep while Garry prowled around the nearby environs. Then I heard a familiar call, one that resembles squeaking hinges. Soon after I saw a flash of black/yellow and was out the door without thinking. Totally automatic response. ‘Hey, where are you going without your walker?’ (shhhh! not so loud, you’ll scare him) ;)
It took me a good 1/2 hour of stalking in tall grasses, most of which were at chin level, to get within 20 feet of this male- a male that was miles away from their past known breeding territory- but there he was, attempting to distract me from the nest that was further out in the reeds and cattails. He eventually got used to my presence, so I spent some time appreciating this glorious bird that I’ve longed to see with my naked eyes at a close range for over 20 years. When I got back to the jeep (and now cold soup) I’m sure I sported the largest smile I’ve had in a very long time. :)
