Walking Continues

Stalking along from log to log,  or blunging their long legs in the oozy swamp,  two large herons paid no attention to my presence,  but occupied themselves with their own fishing arrangements,  as if their wilderness were their own.  ~William Cowper Prime Just a few birds cooperated today...but what birds! THE HERON :  As I drove up I slowed, hoping the heron would not startle. It was right at the fence. Then I noticed the fish. Food was the focus. I don't think the bird even notice me as it juggled the fish to get it in the right position to swallow it whole. It was a nice catch! Open Wide! Line up those fins pointing away... Some things are hard to swallow. You can almost watch it go down... PIED-BILLED GREBE: These little water birds are almost always at the ponds. A pair swims together in the turtle pond. Often the camera will focus just before the bird dives...but not today. The "side eye" from this grebe gives it a little smirking look. THE NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD: I

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. Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine. Meanwhile the world goes on. Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscapes, over the prairies and the deep trees, the mountains and the rivers. Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air, are heading home again. Whoever you are, no matter how lonely, the world offers itself to your imagination, calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting – over and over announcing your place in the family of things.  ―  Mary Oliver Where do I start? The early morning hike? The phone calls with friends? The fireants threatening? The stinging fly successfully driving me out of the garden? It's 76 degrees outside on this alternately bright and hazy January 1st and I started the day* cleaning up the garden