Catching up here, what is the white building in the distance on the top left of photo 2. The chickadee on the red berries, the red berries are sumac. When they first appear, you can make a quickie lemonade by crushing the individual berries, letting them soak in water and then straining them out. A tart lemony drink high in Vitamin C and antioxidants. The quote by Mary Oliver is a gem.
What? Wait! I do not have to be good? I do not have to do the dishes tonight? ... or ever??? No run to get the garbage and recycling on the street before 6AM? No laundry or vacuuming, or damp mopping of floors? No paying of bills, or changing of sheets, no any daily chores??? Sometimes it can seem like all of these things are a kin to crawling through the desert on ones knees. But, .... you see,, it is all relative. Think of those who have nothing. No place to shelter day or night. No clean water. No way to feel welcome by even their home, let alone by others. Allow yourself to see the desert they are crossing wherever they are. Many still attempting to salvage their pride without a thought of doing otherwise. Would they not see our land as a land of plenty and opportunity? With that in mind, I give my soft body the love it craves and wish for answers and balance for us all. Let us learn dear God to be kinder.
That's an interesting interpretation of what it means to "be good", and the wonderful thing about poetry is we all get to interpret it in our own ways. I tend to view this poem through the lens of not needing to be perfect or to mold myself to whatever I think the culture demands that i be, and still being good enough.
Karen, I would have responded earlier but we have been without internet access for a few hours. ... You are being kind and it is appreciated. Please know that it is not that I do not like Mary Oliver's writing. I just should not be let out without a handler. Someone who can blame my ramblings on an old war injury or some such thing. What I see is most missing, is that there is not one word about your beautiful post!!! UGH! I do most sincerely apologize for that. You have me marveling at how the shovelers can keep their front half up! They look so ill balanced now. By contrast love how the brown creeper uses his kickstand tail (as Diane Porter refers to it in her recent post) to find leverage even at such an irregular angle! Love how you have caught the spunkiness of both that Chickadee and the comical Cedar Waxwing. And for me both of your pics of last days of autumn color are suitable for framing. They take me right there!
My running coach always told me when I hesitated to run on an extremely frigid day " that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing". Sounds like you figured that out all on your own Karen. 👌
I love this post! There's so much mystery, surprise, anomaly, and humble blessing (puff coats and mittens). Weather is so amazingly subjective! We in South Florida had a "cold snap" this past week -- nights in the 50s -- BRRRR! I'm still in bundled-up-in-a-blanket-and-a-shot-of-heat mode as a native. But where I went today I saw women in sleeveless tops, short-shorts -- total Florida tourist gear! Go figure! Not sure what my point is here, other than to say, Sometimes walking on your knees through the desert brings you to know that "soft animal of your body." I think that's the Advent lesson of Jesus in the wilderness. Mystery, surprise, anomaly, blessing...
It really is subjective and adaptive. By midwinter I'll be comfortable at 67 or 68 in my house but right now that's too cold going from 75 in the summer. I hope I can connect now with the soft animal of my body without having to walk on my knees, I've certainly been working on it! Thank you Lauren.
I love that Mary Oliver quote as well. But I might speculate that our saint (for such she was) at one time may well have contemplated such austerities as the desert but in a moment of illumination realized the grace of forgiveness she mentioned. I would add to her quote:
"You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." And know that the soft animal in the fullness of time grows to goodness whether you will it or not and always will repent the harm it does to those it loves, and in that fullness it will love all things.
Thank you Clara! I should take a photo, maybe I'll include it in an upcoming post. I'm wearing a thin wool liner under a wool fingerless glove under a wool mitten with a handmade polar fleece mitten (which is doubled on the back but not the front) over the top and a beaver skin handwarmer on the back between the outer two layers. I drop layers as it warms up! If it gets too much colder, I toss in one of those disposable handwarmers on the inside. Lol. it's been an evolution over many years!
Oh so cold! All your friends seem like they're shivering but of course they're not. Look how we humans have to bundle up to achieve their simple feathered immunity from the bitter frost and winds! More cold is forecast. Stay warm!
Wow…that is really cold..so glad you have all the right clothing to brave the conditions 👍👏❤️. We had our first freeze last night…it is 30 degrees this morning so I won’t be going on my daily walk til later when it warms up..at least the sun is shining👍❤️☀️☀️. Great pictures…it is hard to pick a favorite today as they are all great ❤️😍🥰👍…hope you have a great weekend too….and love the quote…she and David Whyte are my favorites…love you👍❤️
Good morning, Karen. Your array of images today is quite remarkable. All the species. Moods of your weather. Mist rising from the water. Snow falling. When I read “Northern Shovelers,” I wondered if they leave their shovels behind? Sorry for my distraction. Last, thanks for the remark on keeping hands warm while still being able to wield your camera. Fascinating. I love that Mary Oliver quote. Thanks ever so much.
Catching up here, what is the white building in the distance on the top left of photo 2. The chickadee on the red berries, the red berries are sumac. When they first appear, you can make a quickie lemonade by crushing the individual berries, letting them soak in water and then straining them out. A tart lemony drink high in Vitamin C and antioxidants. The quote by Mary Oliver is a gem.
That’s a water tower in photo #2. Very cool to know that is sumac, they are very distinctive looking. Thank you Sharon!
What? Wait! I do not have to be good? I do not have to do the dishes tonight? ... or ever??? No run to get the garbage and recycling on the street before 6AM? No laundry or vacuuming, or damp mopping of floors? No paying of bills, or changing of sheets, no any daily chores??? Sometimes it can seem like all of these things are a kin to crawling through the desert on ones knees. But, .... you see,, it is all relative. Think of those who have nothing. No place to shelter day or night. No clean water. No way to feel welcome by even their home, let alone by others. Allow yourself to see the desert they are crossing wherever they are. Many still attempting to salvage their pride without a thought of doing otherwise. Would they not see our land as a land of plenty and opportunity? With that in mind, I give my soft body the love it craves and wish for answers and balance for us all. Let us learn dear God to be kinder.
That's an interesting interpretation of what it means to "be good", and the wonderful thing about poetry is we all get to interpret it in our own ways. I tend to view this poem through the lens of not needing to be perfect or to mold myself to whatever I think the culture demands that i be, and still being good enough.
Karen, I would have responded earlier but we have been without internet access for a few hours. ... You are being kind and it is appreciated. Please know that it is not that I do not like Mary Oliver's writing. I just should not be let out without a handler. Someone who can blame my ramblings on an old war injury or some such thing. What I see is most missing, is that there is not one word about your beautiful post!!! UGH! I do most sincerely apologize for that. You have me marveling at how the shovelers can keep their front half up! They look so ill balanced now. By contrast love how the brown creeper uses his kickstand tail (as Diane Porter refers to it in her recent post) to find leverage even at such an irregular angle! Love how you have caught the spunkiness of both that Chickadee and the comical Cedar Waxwing. And for me both of your pics of last days of autumn color are suitable for framing. They take me right there!
Mary Oliver quote- love it! The owl pic is pretty nice too. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you Linda
My running coach always told me when I hesitated to run on an extremely frigid day " that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing". Sounds like you figured that out all on your own Karen. 👌
Maybe you'll share those images one day?!?
I should do that. It’s been a several years!
That is definitely true! When I went to Alaska to photograph the aurora in winter, I was amazed at how comfortable I could be at -20F!
I love this post! There's so much mystery, surprise, anomaly, and humble blessing (puff coats and mittens). Weather is so amazingly subjective! We in South Florida had a "cold snap" this past week -- nights in the 50s -- BRRRR! I'm still in bundled-up-in-a-blanket-and-a-shot-of-heat mode as a native. But where I went today I saw women in sleeveless tops, short-shorts -- total Florida tourist gear! Go figure! Not sure what my point is here, other than to say, Sometimes walking on your knees through the desert brings you to know that "soft animal of your body." I think that's the Advent lesson of Jesus in the wilderness. Mystery, surprise, anomaly, blessing...
It really is subjective and adaptive. By midwinter I'll be comfortable at 67 or 68 in my house but right now that's too cold going from 75 in the summer. I hope I can connect now with the soft animal of my body without having to walk on my knees, I've certainly been working on it! Thank you Lauren.
Beautiful photos as always. I love that part from Mary Oliver too.
Thank you Faleye
I love that Mary Oliver quote as well. But I might speculate that our saint (for such she was) at one time may well have contemplated such austerities as the desert but in a moment of illumination realized the grace of forgiveness she mentioned. I would add to her quote:
"You do not have to be good. You do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. You only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves." And know that the soft animal in the fullness of time grows to goodness whether you will it or not and always will repent the harm it does to those it loves, and in that fullness it will love all things.
Thank you Michael - I love "grows to goodness whether you will it or not".
Greatly enjoyed this week’s photos, as always! I need to hear more about your 5 layer mitten system that still allows you to work your camera! 😆
Thank you Clara! I should take a photo, maybe I'll include it in an upcoming post. I'm wearing a thin wool liner under a wool fingerless glove under a wool mitten with a handmade polar fleece mitten (which is doubled on the back but not the front) over the top and a beaver skin handwarmer on the back between the outer two layers. I drop layers as it warms up! If it gets too much colder, I toss in one of those disposable handwarmers on the inside. Lol. it's been an evolution over many years!
Great images, Karen - especially the Great-horned Owl!
Thank you Neil! Always a gift to see an owl!
Oh so cold! All your friends seem like they're shivering but of course they're not. Look how we humans have to bundle up to achieve their simple feathered immunity from the bitter frost and winds! More cold is forecast. Stay warm!
Birds are amazing in their ability to handle cold! Thank you Michael.
Wow…that is really cold..so glad you have all the right clothing to brave the conditions 👍👏❤️. We had our first freeze last night…it is 30 degrees this morning so I won’t be going on my daily walk til later when it warms up..at least the sun is shining👍❤️☀️☀️. Great pictures…it is hard to pick a favorite today as they are all great ❤️😍🥰👍…hope you have a great weekend too….and love the quote…she and David Whyte are my favorites…love you👍❤️
Thank you Sharon!
Karen, You have a world of talent. D
Thank you Dave!
Good morning, Karen. Your array of images today is quite remarkable. All the species. Moods of your weather. Mist rising from the water. Snow falling. When I read “Northern Shovelers,” I wondered if they leave their shovels behind? Sorry for my distraction. Last, thanks for the remark on keeping hands warm while still being able to wield your camera. Fascinating. I love that Mary Oliver quote. Thanks ever so much.
Thank you Gary and lol, they carry their shovels on their face!
Awesome post~! Love the duck pics, especially those in flight! WOW~!
Thank you David! It's nice when they fly on the right side with the light!