Birds @ Daybreak. 4:58 to 5:18 am, May 21, 2021. 55° F. Weed Ave / Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT. Related Swan posts: Swan1
there’s something that paintings and other created objects can do to give you some relief
May 6, 2021 by 24 Comments
Notes:
- Photo: DK @ Daybreak. 5:07 am, May 6, 2021. 48° F. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT.
- Post Title from: Rachel Cusk, Second Place: A Novel (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, May 4, 2021)
Walking. It Ain’t Disney on the Sabbath.
May 2, 2021 by 51 Comments
5:50 a.m.
Go ahead, lip sync. I’ll wait. 362 consecutive days. Like in a Row. Morning walk @ Cove Island Park.
I can see her from the parking lot. She’s up. I rush to grab the camera gear, worried that she’s going to plop down again and I’ll miss the shot.
Yet, Something is off.
A raven approaches the nest with his shrill KRAA! KRAA! KRAA!
The male rushes towards it, hissing. Canadians, normally patient, and ever-courteous, can be pushed only so far. Nasty black scavenger, steps back, offers a half-a**ed kraa! and takes watch from a distance. I look around for a stone to join in the defense. Lucky for you Ray, I didn’t find one.
Mother Goose, meanwhile continues to peck away at her nest.
There’s no sign of eggs.
No sign of little ones.
I wait.
And watch.
No eggs. No little ones.
She’s pecking, poking, arranging. And then, she tugs and pulls on what appears to be a fetus, skin color, reddish orange.
I watch for a moment longer. And leave. Can’t watch this.
I walk up to the bridge, the entrance to the park. Take another look from this vantage point. No eggs. No little ones. Maybe they’ll both be gone by the time I return. And some kind soul will sweep the remains of that hardscrabble nest into Long Island Sound.
I walk around the park, not anxious to return to the funeral, and return 30 minutes later.
She’s still poking at her nest. Odd.
The raven has departed, tired of waiting for a free meal.
Her mate is now sitting on the pier. Must be waiting for her to be done grieving so they can move on.
I cross the bridge. Still no sign of any eggs, or little ones. Ever the optimist DK.
I look away. Sad, all of it. Heavy.
I get in the car, and turn up the heater. Cold? 53° F? I can’t bear to keep looking at the scene.
I’m ready to back out of the parking lot, and take one last look. She’s still cleaning her empty nest. What is she doing? Strap on your zoom lens and let’s see what she’s poking at.
I turn off the ignition, and get out of the car.
Camera, super zoom lens affixed, I walk back out to the fence and zoom in on the target…
Show Time!
April 30, 2021 by 19 Comments
DK @ Daybreak with Mother Goose doing some housecleaning. (Note Mate on look out, never far away.) 6:16 am. April 30, 2021. 61° F. Cove Island Park, Stamford, CT.
And the show (still) MUST go on…
April 23, 2021 by 19 Comments
And the show MUST go on…
April 20, 2021 by 15 Comments
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night…
April 17, 2021 by 31 Comments
133 pictures taken on my morning walk. And only THIS one stirs the soul. Mother Goose @ Cove Island Park. 6:49 a.m. Saturday, April 17, 2021.
Nest. Where you make it.
April 11, 2021 by 42 Comments
And her mate was just to her right, keeping watch…
DK & Daybreak. Dense Fog. Cove Island Park. 7:26 a.m. April 11, 2021. 51° F.
T.G.I.F.: Running. With Mother Goose (3).
May 8, 2020 by 48 Comments
4:48 a.m. 8 hours of sleep. Rested.
I jump out of bed. Dress. Gear up.
It’s 5:04 a.m., and I’m out the door. Running. With Mother Goose. (Again.) 9th consecutive day pulled outside by The Call of the Wild.
44° F, feels like 42° F. No wind. No traffic. Dark. Full moon beams from up above. Jenny Offill: “The moonlight through the windshield. No one talks.”
Same route. Down the hill. Around the corner. Down the street to U.S. 1.
There, up ahead, silhouetted under the street lamp, is the Masked Woman. 5:09 a.m. Can’t be her. No chance. She hustles across the street. I glare at her. You better make way for me Lady. She says nothing, but sweeps both hands up to cover her face. It’s going to be a good day.
I run.
Down U.S. 1. I work my way around the construction, crossing the bridge, the highway and into The Cove.
The same pair of geese stand at the entrance, that’s them in the photo above.
I pause for a moment to snap the shot, and keep moving, pulled forward towards the main performance.
The same acceleration of heartbeat.
The same anticipation.
Running. With Mother Goose (2).
May 7, 2020 by 71 Comments
5:15 a.m.
In bed.
Both knees ache. Hips sore to the bone. I pass my right foot over my left toe, blister forming. I slide it further, abrasions on the tips of my little toes. Raw.
This would be the 8th consecutive day of running. My body screams No. But that’s not going to happen. She’s responsible. I must see if she’s there.
I check my watch. 43° F, feels like 39°. I bundle up.
5:35 a.m. and I’m out the door. Running. With Mother Goose. (Again.)
My pace is too quick. I’m winded at 0.5 miles, and she’s at 1.7. My God, you’re a child. So anxious to see Her.
I slow my pace and cross U.S. 1 into The Cove.
I see two of them at the turn, and stop to take a picture. That one above. Pink sky in the morning, sailor’s…
I shake the disappointment off. Her nest was further up. Maybe that’s not them.
I run, eyes looking ahead for her nesting along the guard rail. Christmas Eve at 8 years old.
Miracle. All of it.
March 15, 2020 by 12 Comments
The bar-headed goose can fly at almost thirty thousand feet, allowing it to migrate over the Himalayas before sweeping south. Pairs of them have been spotted over Mount Makalu, the fifth-highest mountain on earth. In certain villages the birds are caught and the names of the dead are written in dark ink on the underside of the birds’ bellies. The geese are said to bring news of the dead to the heavens.
~ Colum McCann, Apeirogon: A Novel (Random House, February 25, 2020)
Notes:
- Bar Headed-Goose Photo: “Bar-Headed Geese Slow Their Metabolism to Soar over Everest” from the Scientist
- Post title Inspired by Albert Einstein’s quote: “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
4:11 am. And, Inspired…
November 14, 2012 by 15 Comments
Good Wednesday morning. Here’s a selection of inspiring posts of the week from my favorite bloggers:
Scott Marshall @ Land-Sea-Sky-Lathail. Check out his photographs from Scotland. MUST SEE…(and btw, that’s his photograph above).
Jenny Wright @ Jennyiswright with her post: Are you?: …You’ve heard that before. Carpe diem, right? That’s not what I mean. I’m not telling you to be content with what you have, either. I’m just suggesting that you step away and look from afar. Your life may be a hell of a lot better than you think…Everything isn’t all sunshine, roses, and unicorns (though unis are totally real) every day. That’s a fact. Some days feel super bad. Chin up, buttercup. Maybe that silver lining is right in your face. Try not to hurry. You might miss it…(Read this post)
Ivon @ Teacher as Transformer with his post: The Right Moment Arrived: “It arrived– A winter storm. Unexpected, I felt unsure. Slow down. Grasping frantically, Busyness overtakes. I let go. I arrive on time. In the very moment that just arrived.” [Read more…]
4:14 am. And, Inspired…
November 7, 2012 by 16 Comments
Good Wednesday morning. Here’s a selection of inspiring posts of the week from my favorite bloggers:
Vanessa @ One Thousand Single Days with her Post: My Time Is Running Out: “…From the moment we are born we have a number. It sits invisibly above our head ticking down as we saunter through life. The number is the seconds we have left, the number of breaths left in our lungs, the number of beats left in our heart. But we are not aware of it. We don’t see that number ticking backwards before us in the mirror as we brush our teeth angrily after the argument had with our spouse and we don’t see it as we close the door behind us as we face another day of work, we don’t see it as we make choices, rejected ideas or grow too shy to speak up…(Read more)
Anton Ferrie @ My Spring Awakening with his post: “The Yellow Balloon.” “I was clearing my room out the other day…and I stumbled across a small balloon that had been lying in some forgotten corner, having fallen from a bag or pocket. Normally a small piece of debris like this would hold no significance whatsoever…But this balloon symbolized something much greater…A young man had been seen wandering around the pub, evidently lost, and I approached him in the hope that I could be of assistance. I soon found out that the 23 year old American was…(Read more) [Read more…]
Sunday Morning: Love the Gray Toulouse…
November 4, 2012 by 34 Comments
Must-see TV. A retired salesman from Los Angeles shares a special bond with a Gray Toulouse goose named Maria. Thank you Another Day in Paradise for the share. Wonderful clip for a Sunday morning.
Source: Thank you Another Day in Paradise
Live & Learn 