Nature’s Balm

May 7, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

Questions flood in as evening sets, the initial shock of hearing the ‘c’ word now wearing off. I sleep little, spending way too much time with Dr. Google, without any satisfaction. Ric is scheduled to go into town a bit later, so I take the car early and head to a new trail in our […]

Eyeballing

May 4, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Birds eyes intrigue me – what depths of character lies within? And sometimes, just when you’ve forgottenthe subject behind the lens in more than object the eye-to-eye contact is undeniable…and you back off… humbled. (For Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: eyes.)

Preening Season

April 20, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Beauty of the feathered kindbrings me the upmost joy The males don their brightest colourswhile the females remain shyly coy. Nice to be a spectator, when Spring arrives,the bright display of breeding birds – oh boy! (For Nancy Merrill’s A Photo A Week Challenge: Beauty)

Home Again

April 19, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Day one of trying out the new protocols for maximizing energy. Turned off all screens at ten last night, and was asleep before eleven. This morning, I dressed quickly and headed out the door by 7:30. The sun was already up and birds were flitting all about. Ice on the windshield meant I had to […]

The Rookery

April 3, 2019.Reading time 2 minutes.

There is a small wooded area, really just a patch of Live Oaks, that grows between the main highway out of Rockport, Texas and the waterfront. We’d passed it many times, and hadn’t noticed, until friends pointed it out. It’s a rookery: the place herons and egrets come to build nests and nurse their young. […]

Birding Heaven

March 29, 2019.Reading time 6 minutes.

Port Aransas has a birding centre that was damaged during hurricane Harvey. The new facility opened this week and it’s incredible! A flock of sandpipers fly in just as we arrive. I search across the marsh to see where they’ve landed, now camouflaged among the reeds, mud, and shallow waters. I follow the sidewalk to […]

Paradise Pond Take II

March 28, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

Warmer weather encourages us to get out. We take the short ferry ride across to Port Aransas on Mustang Island. Paradise Pond is our destination. Many others have had the same idea and gather around the opening to the boardwalk. I look for what has caught their attention and spot a bird rapidly flitting about […]

Tule Marsh

March 26, 2019.Reading time 3 minutes.

“Have you been to Tule Marsh yet?” our new neighbours ask the moment we tell them we like birds. “The Whistling Ducks are there.” I’ve been wanting to see the Whistling Ducks! The Tule Marsh spans both sides of Highway 35 in Rockport, although apart from some small signs, it is hard to spot, which […]

Bursting With Colour

March 12, 2019.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Along the Rio Valley in Texas the birds burst with bright colours. For Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge: Colorful

Paradise Pond

March 9, 2019.Reading time 4 minutes.

In Port Aransas, just off one of the main roads, is a driveway that cuts through a Mexican restaurant. Behind the restaurant are high fences and a boardwalk leading into a secluded area. This is Paradise Pond. On our first visit, we met locals who described the importance of the area environmentally, and alerted us […]

Present Distance

I’ve lived the fog of distance –life’s highway a series of hillsdestination without promise Have learned that acceptance gains perspective,that climates change, and hope sustains,and that in stillness dreams renew. Now I travel quieter paths, appreciatespace, have surrendered to a slower pace –certain that this too will change. (image my own)

Floral Balm

Of Trauma Born

Goodbyes tarnishfaith, like ashesscattered My heart grows dismissal,craves a balm of connectionseeks quiet harbour Remind me what it feels like to be safebreath nurturing life,love a rhythmic flow In meditationI reach for peaceimagine salvation But this wayward chaosunrestrainedcements me in doubt Tainted intentionsI lift up to the Universea tempest without hope My soul incubates malicea […]