The sound did not pull my attention. Too often had I been frustrated by turning just in time to see only the spreading waves. I never managed to see the fish themselves break the surface, but only the water’s concentric rings dispersing. I never quite have my eyes in the right place. So I didn’t turn around. Straightening my back in mild irritation, I pulled my elbows in and grasped…
Nothing. And all things. I’m surprised that after almost six months of daily observation and photographing the backyard wild, it remains so new, and I still enjoy it to such a degree. Actually, this moon, this is pretty new and exciting. It was late afternoon, the temperature falling as the sun set bathed the tree tops in light, the moon sat high on the other side. I am inordinately pleased…
It is more than halfway through my 30 day challenge. I’m not entirely pleased with the quality of my writing, and will be rather relieved not to have to do this everyday. Yet, I feel like the obligation is useful since practicing a skill means improving that skill – usually. So, it turns out that what I enjoy most about this challenge is being able to take note of both…
I overheard someone say today that if winter wasn’t going to show up by December, it just shouldn’t bother. And, though it has been colder, it was pretty chilly for Tampa. It was nice, though, with a balmy breeze, low humidity. Like a nice Ohio fall day. This heron huddled against the gusts of wind. I took this photo from dozens of feet away. The great white heron is one…
Early this morning the birds twittered, the squirrels chattered, and the water rocked the fallen leaves gently, gently. The little birds were active and noisy. The waders were missing: no egrets or herons, no ibises. Then the wind came. The bright blue sky amid the high light clouds swiftly overtaken by thick clouds, dark clouds. Then the birds were silent for a bit, the squirrels were motionless and all that…
This afternoon, the backyard journey extended several miles to the north end of Tampa – Lettuce Lake Park. It is a 240 acre park with a tremendous boardwalk over a swamp that feels almost primitive. The sight of alligators lounging on fallen logs, and snakes curled around themselves next to pond lilies do nothing but enhance that feeling. It is a wonderful place, a half an hour away, that I…
Overnight the world broke into a million tiny shards and fell upon the water. Well, it looked like that this morning, at any rate. As the day dawned the rain fell in large flll droplets and the wind created a grey sheet around the backyard. It is remarkable how the quality of the mornings changes with the gusting winds. As the winds slowed and the curtain of shadows slowly lifted,…
A big reason we moved to this house was the backyard. For obvious reasons. That was four years ago. Over the last six months, I’ve grown in my appreciation not just of the beauty of the vista, but at the idea that I share this space with so many others. Occasionally, I feel like an intruder. I am that, unquestionably, so I think of the feeling as a good thing….
The backyard is great fuel for the imagination, but it is also calming.It is not difficult to find a peacefulness here. I like to see the wind rippling across the water, and the reflection of light laid down like a path. One of the sounds I miss from growing up is the wind through a bamboo grove. It is a different quality from wind through any other trees, I think….
In the backyard, across the water, there is a strip of land wide enough to act as an excellent buffer between this and the neighborhood next door. I would go exploring there but am afraid of Alligators! Alligators are abundant here, but they do something called brummation, which is a reduction in their metabolic activity. So, they disappear. The last one I saw was several weeks ago. Since I don’t…