Peaceful Sunrise

Light begins to fill the sky on the rocky coast of Gloucester, Mass. on Sunday morning. Sometimes, to more fully appreciate a sunrise, you have to wait in the dark for a while.

“Every sunrise holds more promise. Every sunset, more peace.” – Anonymous

Halsey Pond

I was beginning to wish I wore warmer socks. After all, it was 18 degrees this morning and the Canada Geese looked even colder than I was. Suddenly, after a great deal of honking and splashing, the geese took off, in squadrons, to their feeding grounds.
This brilliant, male, Hooded Merganser swam close enough to shore for me to photograph. Halsey Pond is in Irvington, New York. I hope to spend many mornings here as winter gives way to spring.

Bird by Bird

A Red-tailed Hawk landed on our back deck yesterday. And today, a Mourning Dove stood on our deck in the morning light.

“Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report written on birds that he’d had three months to write, which was due the next day … and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books about birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.”

― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Winter Walk

“Never let yesterday use up too much of today.” – Will Rogers

Animal House

Yesterday, the nearby Bronx Zoo provided a wonderful respite from the latest news. For much of the time that I was there it seemed as if it was just me and the animals.

Burrowing Owls watched and listened while keeping a close watch over their dens. Having each other’s back is one of the keys to survival in the animal kingdom.

“Animals have a sense of justice and also display empathy, forgiveness, trust and reciprocity. We can learn a lot from them if we open our minds and hearts to who they really are.” – Marc Bekoff author of Animals Matter

Traveling Mercies

We admired an American Oystercatcher on the beach at Little Water Cay in Turks and Caicos after taking a short boat ride that crossed the incredible, turquoise-colored water of Grace Bay.

When we departed, our taxi driver wished us well with a local blessing; “Traveling Mercies,” she said.

With Gratitude

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie

“Grace, growth, and gratitude. These are my highest aspirations.” — Gloria Arliss

Autumn’s Light

“Never lose an opportunity to see anything beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Out and About

“Sometimes I get nature to pray when I don’t have the words – I let a rushing river say my prayer. I let the mountain wind be my whisper. I let the chirping birds be my song. A day in nature is never wasted.” – Jared Brock from his book A Year of Living Prayerfully