Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged birds, colors, dublin, feathers, Inspiration, ireland, myths, nature, Photography, st. stephen's green, storytelling, swans, travel, white, wildlife, William Butler Yeats on November 9, 2013| 3 Comments »
Okay, I have to admit, not only the mallards paused to let me snap a photo. As I watched the swans’ feathers rustling in the winds whipping through St. Stephen’s Green, I thought of the Greek myth Leda and the Swan. Only later as I walked through the National Library of Ireland’s exhibit on William Butler Yeats did I learn that Yeats had published a highly regarded sonnet on the subject in 1924.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged birds, dublin, ducks, Inspiration, ireland, mallards, nature, Photography, travel, water on November 6, 2013| 3 Comments »
I don’t remember seeing any ducks where I grew up in Virginia so maybe that’s why they caught my attention so much in Boston. Plus they are one of the few birds that don’t seem to mind me stalking them from shore. Sometimes they even come right up to me. Like this little lass on the Liffey River in Dublin.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged birds, colors, dublin, feathers, Inspiration, ireland, nature, phototgraphy, swans, travel, water, white on November 5, 2013| 4 Comments »
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged ballet, beauty, birds, dance, David Hallberg, Eric K. Yue, flight, hawks, Inspiration, motion, music, nature, Nowness, Olafur Arnald, Photography on October 16, 2013| 2 Comments »
I was walking along the Charles River, years ago, when I saw this hawk taking flight. I just happened to bring my camera up in time. I don’t know what I expected to capture but memory is fickle and so I must have wanted something to help me remember the beauty of that moment, of the hawk’s motion.
There was no music by the river that day as there is in this short video of ballet dancer David Hallberg. And it is the combination of his motion with the music of Olafur Arnald that made me pause, mesmerized … and inspired to move. I will never move like Mr. Hallberg but it was interesting to be reminded of the physical self when it is too easy to get stuck to a chair behind a keyboard.
Director Eric K. Yue states that the video is “… less about the dance or context of a story, but rather a state of mind …” into a dancer’s preparations. I don’t see much ballet on stage but after watching this video I am tempted to seek some out. Enjoy the video when you can. 😉
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged birds, cityscape, colors, Inspiration, life, musings, nature, Photography, pigeons, Somerville, urban wildlife on October 10, 2013| 1 Comment »
… some bubbled with age and double paned
through which are seen such sights as red eyes staring back
and which draw the hands of visiting young artists.
They are portals onto worlds of concrete and asphalt …
and dead trees …
… all of which are places where great beauty can still be found.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged architecture, art, Back Bay, birds, Boston, Church of the Covenant, frederick wilson, jesus parables, Photography, sparrows, stained glass windows, Tiffany windows on July 12, 2013| 4 Comments »
With more time available, I was able to return to the Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street in Boston. Given the time of day and the angle of the light, I was drawn to photograph what I later learned to be the Sparrow window. Here’s what the church’s self-guided tour brochure says: “Based on one of Jesus’ parables, the Sparrow window is a tour-de-force of Tiffany art using drapery or ribbed glass for clothing, and mottled glass or confetti glass for the background. Frederick Wilson designed this image of Jesus as a young working carpenter, with a yoke on his back, pausing to sympathize with the plight of a small bird that only he can see clearly.”
Additional stained glass images can be viewed here.
If you’re in Boston and would like to visit for yourself, information can be found here.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, tagged art, birds, friendship, gifts, imagination, Inspiration, leaves, nature, nature photography on December 18, 2012| 2 Comments »
I do not know if I would have looked down upon this leaf as it lay on the ground and thought bird, but it does make me smile to know that a friend did think such a thing of this leaf and then went on to think that I might like to have it and so she safely tucked it away until she could give it to me as a gift. I took it home and placed it in a bowl with other leaves and stones. Every now and then I’d glance at it and squint and try to see through my friend’s eyes. Somehow it was this morning that I looked upon it and saw the bird in flight.
Posted in Inspiration, Nature Notes, On the Road, tagged birds, colors, dublin, flowers, gardens, Inspiration, ireland, landscape, nature, Photography, spirituality, St. Audoen's Church, travel on October 15, 2012| 3 Comments »
… I found beautiful blooms …
… and even a bird or two …
… and of course a few more leaves.
FYI, you can learn more about St. Audoen’s Church via this link.
Posted in Inspiration, tagged animals, art, beauty, birds, cut paper, design, Inspiration, interview, music, nature, song on March 16, 2012| 2 Comments »
It was the owls that first caught me, dark eyes so wise and brilliant with life.
Then I noticed the other little birds, dark bodies reminiscent of the sparrows of my Virginia youth. The artist, Angie Pickman, is based in the midwest of Kansas. I don’t make it out that way very often and so when I see glimpses of her work in my email box via her blog I am thankful for the internet for allowing me to see such creative beauty made out of black paper.
Without ever seeing her blog posts about music, one can sense the lyricism in Angie’s cut paper work. I’ve told her — and I am being sincere — that she has redefined my sense of black paper and negative space. Given that she does post on occasion about music and that her paper cuts titles sometimes refer to birdsong, I asked her how music influences her visual art. And to my pleasure she replied. Simply click on any of the images above to learn how music has shaped this artist’s work. Enjoy!
Posted in Branches, Inspiration, tagged birds, Contributing Writer, Inspiration, nature, reflections, spirituality, Thich Nhat Hanh on January 11, 2012| 7 Comments »
Outside the office where I work today, in the branches of a dead tree, a tiny black and white woodpecker is having an awfully good time. As I watch him inch his way around the trunk, I notice that there are many tiny holes in the brown surface of the tree. It must be a popular stop for woodpeckers on their way from here to there. My little friend is alone so far. No others of the woodpecker tribe do I see. He was runoff for a bit by the blue jays but quickly returned upon their departure. He looked askance at a couple of cardinals but didn’t let their presence stop him from knocking head to wood. There is a part of me that wishes to get up and find my camera but I know that if I do, when I return he may be gone. For a while I felt a bit of chagrin that I was spending time watching this fellow instead of being productive, i.e. doing something that I could put a dollar value towards. But then two experiences came to mind. The first involved a recent conversation with a friend about Thich Nhat Hanh. After I noticed one of his books in her home, she mentioned that she’d read much of his writing with one of her greatest take-aways being a reminder to be present … not just in yoga class but even while washing dishes! The second experience took place yesterday when I chanced upon the blog, Touch2Touch, and the post, “In the Morning, Whatever.” A lovely piece that I hope you read. What I took away, or what came back to me this morning, was this: it is okay to pause in one’s day, to look around one’s self and to simply enjoy the moment.
And now that I’ve done that, I suppose I should get back to work. 😉
Words + Images 