Heart of the World
As long as I live, I'll hear waterfalls and birds and winds sing. I'll interpret the rocks, learn the language of flood, storm, and the avalanche. I'll acquaint myself with the glaciers and wild gardens, and get as near the heart of the world as I can.
John Muir
Cardinal at Fall Creek Falls
You called with a tiny voice
rising cheerfully through the woods,
your little red-winged body blazing bright
against a backdrop of misty blue and green,
the clear notes of your song
ringing above the thunderous drumbeat
of water falling on stone
in the canyon floor below.
You were a wonder as great
as the magnificent cascade at your back -
calmly balanced there on the edge
of a cliff
singing that familiar tune.
I will always remember you
lingering there a moment
As the mist from the great waterfall
kissed my face - and I smiled.
Then your wings took you away.
Fall Creek Falls State Park, Tennessee.
The falls in this park are mostly below you in a deep gorge.
A magical place where the rainbows are below you
I stopped at this park, Fall Creek Falls, in Tennessee for a couple of nights on my way home to Michigan. It rained hard both nights I was there - but during the day, there was just enough respite from the rain to get in some long hikes. I loved other places I visited on the way, but this park was really something special. It is well cared for and loved by everyone who works and volunteers there, and I had such a good experience being there. I hope I get a chance to go back.
I hope you had a good winter and spring! I hope you get outside wherever you live and find something that takes your breath away or at least makes you smile every single day. Just a few minutes of respite from whatever worries you. I’ll try to do the same, and I’ll see you here again soon.
“Every day I walk out into the world / to be dazzled, then to be reflective.”
Murmur
The rare earth elements perplex us in our researches, baffle us in our speculations, and haunt us in our very dreams. They stretch like an unknown sea before us mocking, mystifying and murmuring strange revelations and possibilities.
William Crookes
Murmur
The Creator said,
“I will make a tiny bird
the color of night
speckled with stars,
this starling
will learn to speak in many voices -
confusing to his enemies,
delightful to his friends.
He will multiply and spread
Across the earth.
Men will name him ‘pest’, and ‘invader’
farmers will call him ‘menace’ -
all will drive him from their lands.
But for his protection,
I will give this beloved,
mischievous bird
the gift of synchronous flight -
When danger threatens -
he will rise
with thousands of his kind
spinning and circling
dancing and weaving
carving and twisting
in formations
mimicking the creation
and dissolution of galaxies
darkening the sky -
a dismay to his enemies,
a wonder to his friends -
each little bird
on his own path
in harmony
with the flock
a murmuration of sound
and movement.”
And when he watched
their first flight,
the Creator said,
“It is good.”
To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face, one must be able to love the meanest of all creation as oneself.
Mahatma Gandhi
If you haven’t ever seen a murmuration of starlings, this video on YouTube is amazing.
Also check out the beautiful work of photographer Soren Solkaer on starlings and their murmurations here: https://www.thisiscolossal.com/tags/soren-solkaer/
If you want to hear a sample of the variety of sounds a starling can make, check out @inkydragon (artist, Sarah Tidwell, who rescued a starling she calls “the mouth”) on Instagram. Here’s a link if you don’t have instagram or don’t want to follow: the mouth
The creation theme was inspired by a writing class I’m taking from tricycle.org called “Writing as a Spiritual Practice” and my genuine awe of the amazing abilities of these little birds I see everywhere, and am only just now really beginning to appreciate.
Hope you have a great week. See you next Friday!
Sunrise
Morning is when I am awake and there is a dawn in me.
Henry David Thoreau
gorgonian branches reaching for sunlight
the sun rises dripping from the ocean
a stranded man-o-war dressed in blue and gold
humans interact with the elements in beautiful and curious ways (man standing on a stack of beach loungers, flying a drone)
Everybody needs beauty as well as bread.
John Muir
Rising before dawn
I hear morning calling me-
with a seagull’s voice.
One thing I really love about being in Miami is going down to the ocean to watch the sun rise every day. This week the sky has been spectacular. I hesitate to share sunrise photos sometimes, because someone once told me sunrise/sunset photos are cliches. So - here’s to celebrating a beautiful cliche. Hope you can get out to see one in person wherever you are.
Thank you so much for being here. See you next week!
A great egret spreads his wings in the park. I wonder if he knows how beautiful he is. Time to fly.