Red-Shouldered Hawk I've really been enjoying photographing the birds this winter--and enjoying the mix of birds that are visiting my feeders and hanging out in the woods nearby. Of the photos in this post that I consider noteworthy, or that are among my favorites, the majority are woodpeckers. (I have an affinity for woodpeckers.) This [...]
Tag: nature
On Killer Instincts
You're a Dream, mixed media collage, 2021 In Women Who Run With the Wolves, Clarissa Pinkola Estés discusses the “life-death-life” aspects of our nature—the idea that life, in its fullest form (and woman, in her fullest form) is a series of deaths and rebirths. It is this concept of “life-death-life” that got me thinking about [...]
Mourning Doves in Love
I hadn't planned on posting today. But as I was outside this morning messing with my new camera, I came across an incredible sight: two mourning doves loving each other. The pair were perched in a tree at the far end of the yard and spent several minutes bonding: preening one another, cuddling, biting, and [...]
Birds of Winter
Eastern Bluebird It's been a long time since I've posted any nature photos, and, now that winter's here (or almost), I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share photos of our fall and winter birds. In North Carolina, we get plenty of migratory birds from the Northeastern US and parts of Canada, some [...]
What Lives in My Backyard
Tufted Titmouse (with a snack) It was a revelation for me to discover that both my gardening and new-found birdwatching hobbies had affected a kind of internal transformation. It is now my belief that the wild creatures—you might call them the “least” among us—show us who we are. That, at the end of the day, [...]
Butterfly Effect
Butterfly Effect, paper collage, 2021 This post is formatted to reflect an original journal entry. 5/22/21 I buried a dead butterfly yesterday. I’d picked her up along the side of the road when I was out walking the night before. She could no longer fly, and I knew death was probably imminent. So I scooped [...]
On Birdwatching
If you've been following this blog for awhile, you probably know how much I love nature. Hiking, camping, gardening, even raising butterflies. There aren't very many outdoor activities (or critters) I don't like. Although, I've never taken a particular interest in birds. Not until recently, that is. It seems over the past few months, I've [...]
So, you think you can fly.
This post is formatted to reflect an original journal entry. 3/16/21 Went for a walk last night and found a hawk feather. (A little gift from nature. If I’ve identified it correctly, from a Cooper's hawk.) I love walking. Of the many kinds of exercise I enjoy, walking is tied, perhaps most intimately, to my [...]
Beyond Suffering
I felt compelled to write this post because of a conversation I had yesterday with fellow blogger, Gabriela. In responding to issues I raised in a recent post on religion and personality, she asked me how I felt about the notion that “life is suffering,” especially as it relates to the central meaning I ascribe [...]
Forest Within
Big Dreams, paper collage, 2020 neither is real. the nectar or the god the eye that plunges us into the storm like a bunch of savage, lonely children the truth is some miracles are dangerous the totalitarian revolutions of winter whispers and watercolors quaint maiden fields like a prayer for unjustified time or a mending [...]
The Used Life 