Rhoda Lewis 2/20/25 Rhoda Lewis 2/20/25

For the Birds

In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.

Robert Wilson Lynd

seagulls vying for a spot on the top of a lifeguard tower

A mockingbird between songs

Crow trying to out-sing the wind

Morning Coffee

Above me

The mourning dove sings,

the gulls cry out,

the mockingbird proudly

practices drills -

all of them

Unbothered by the disapproving

Clucks and coos of pigeons

Circling on the pavement below .

The herons mind their

Business, not making a sound

Or even acknowledging me

As an egret with a neck so thin

It can barely support his head

Picks his way silently

through the tall grass

And oh- here comes the crow;

my familiar friend

Calling on the wind

reminding me

everywhere i go

I am still home

Night heron watching the water at the marina

Great blue heron on top of the world

a tense green heron fishing

At the edge of the ocean, a crow walked beside me for awhile

A great egret gathering food from the tall grass in the park

Crow flying off a lifeguard tower

The sound of birds stops the noise in my mind.

Carly Simon

Coming from the quiet snowy retreat of my little house in Michigan to bright and noisy Miami Beach was a little bit of a shock to my system. I woke up the entire first week not knowing where I was. But after the initial adjustment, I found my routine here again and more importantly, where to go to be quiet and talk to the birds over morning coffee.

Thank you so much for being here! I will see you soon!

Seagulls watching sunrise

Rhoda Lewis 2/22/24 Rhoda Lewis 2/22/24

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!