• Woman of the Bare Trees

    Woman of the Bare Trees

    [Creative myth-making] restores to existence the quality of adventure, at once shattering and reintegrating the fixed, already known, in the sacrificial creative fire of the becoming thing that is nothing at all but life, not as it will be or should be, as it was or as it never will be, but as it is,…

  • Birds of Winter, Part II

    Birds of Winter, Part II

    White-breasted Nuthatch (male) I have been quite busy practicing with my camera over the past week or so. And my feeders are extremely busy, too, which is great. I am seeing lots of bluebirds in the backyard this winter, as well as lots of finches–Purple Finches, in particular. I’ve also recently spotted a Yellow-throated Warbler…

  • Reflections on a New Year

    Reflections on a New Year

    New Year 2026, paper collage Strange as it sounds, steady, patient growth in freedom is probably the most difficult task of all, requiring the greatest courage. Thus if the term “hero” is used in this discussion at all, it must refer not to the special acts of outstanding persons, but to the heroic element potentially…

  • Birds of Winter: From the Feeder

    Birds of Winter: From the Feeder

    Eastern Bluebird (male) The area around the Christmas tree feeder has become a very active gathering spot for my backyard birds; so, I decided to place another small tray feeder in the vicinity to accomodate everyone. Like I needed another bird feeder… At the moment, I am enjoying photographing birds in that part of my…

  • Merry Christmas

    Merry Christmas

    Christmas 2025 Every Christmas for the past four years, I have made a holiday-themed collage. As I haven’t been attending to my collage practice lately, I had not planned to create one this year. But, this morning, I thought, why not? It’s Christmas, and this is a tradition I enjoy keeping. I love the glamor…

  • Birds of Winter

    Birds of Winter

    House Finch (male) I am about to embark on a day of cookie-baking. But, before I do, I thought I would share some bird photos, including more shenanigans at the Christmas tree feeder. As the birds grow accustomed to that feeder (I only put it outside last Saturday afternoon), it is attracting a greater number…

  • O Christmas Tree

    O Christmas Tree

    Carolina Chickadee I decided to do some Christmas-themed activites with my bird feeders this year. First, I made a feeder out of a natural wood Christmas tree (I didn’t make the wood frame–I bought that. I did, however, convert it into a bird feeder). I also bought them a little Christmas bell made of nuts,…

  • Mystery: The Fourth Principle

    Mystery: The Fourth Principle

    A ritual is a discipline for uniting your mind with what you are doing, and what you are doing is mysterious. – Joseph Campbell When you are completely absorbed or caught up in something, you become oblivious to things around you, or to the passage of time. It is this absorption in what you are…

  • Creativity: The Third Principle

    Creativity: The Third Principle

    Now creating, actualizing one’s possibilities, always involves negative as well as positive aspects. It always involves destroying the status quo, destroying old patterns within oneself, progressively destroying what one has clung to from childhood on, and creating new and original forms and ways of living. If one does not do this, one is refusing to…