Saturday, September 30, 2017

September 30: Island wedding

When a professional birder gets married on an island that's a fall bird migration hotspot, there are more important things to focus on than getting him into his suit.
 
Wedding party
trying to help the groom
see a rare bird.

Friday, September 29, 2017

September 29: Wave action

Waves crashing
the length of the harbor.
Late night conversation.

Thursday, September 28, 2017

September 28: Beauty enough

Heron preening
under the daylit half-moon.
What more do you need?
 

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

September 27: Restless

Migrants' flight calls
within the evening fog.
Restless night alone.

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

September 26: Foghorn

Feel it in my heart--
foghorn's long, low bass note
sounding above the surf.

Monday, September 25, 2017

September 25: Lunar photography

After nightfall
it's all out of focus--
trying to shoot the moon.

Sunday, September 24, 2017

September 24: Card games

Cards on the lawn--
explaining what it means
when hearts are broken.

Saturday, September 23, 2017

September 23: Butterflies

Searching for Question Marks--
existential dilemma
in the garden.
 

Friday, September 22, 2017

September 22: Equinox

autumnal equinox
in the trail smooth new chestnuts
offering balance

Thursday, September 21, 2017

September 21: Ants

Trying to drink my tea
without disturbing
the sugar ants.

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

September 20: Storm

Wakened in the night
by wind rattling my door.
Ghost stories.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

September 19: Focus

Morning meditation:
trying to find the green bird
among the leaves.

Monday, September 18, 2017

September 18: Island flora

island cemetery
where to find gentian flowers
disturbed soil
 

Sunday, September 17, 2017

September 17: Fog

Fogbound island.
Watching painted ladies sip
at the zinnias.
 
 

Saturday, September 16, 2017

September 16: Chrysalis

On the slop bucket
perfect chrysalis
embellished with gold leaf
 
 

Friday, September 15, 2017

September 15: Night sky

Rumors of northern lights
draw us out
under the Milky Way.
 

Thursday, September 14, 2017

September 14: Class trip

Yesterday I helped lead a group of seventh graders on a nature hike in the Hodson Preserve in Camden, during which they were to record observations in a journal. What seemed to interest them: plants they could eat and the orderly lines of sap wells made by sapsuckers in birch bark. But mostly, as is natural, they were interested in each other.
 
Kids on a field trip.
I catch their interest
with Indian cucumber.

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

September 13: Red

How to ignore it:
up on the mountain
first glimpse of red leaves.

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

September 12: And so it goes

waning moon
boughs of ripening apples
long walk alone

Monday, September 11, 2017

September 11

Remembering.
Goldenrod shakes under
the weight of bees.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

September 10: Long distance

Hurricane news.
Crows relaying calls
up and down the river.

Saturday, September 9, 2017

September 9: Red alert

When we hear the crows making a racket in the yard, we never know what we're going to find back there. Sometimes it's an eagle up in a tree, sometimes a hawk or an owl, and sometimes a more terrestrial creature.
 
after crows harangued
the fox over the river
chorus of crickets

Friday, September 8, 2017

September 8: Hurricane 2

Hurricane season.
Radar shows clouds of songbirds
making their way south.

Thursday, September 7, 2017

September 7: Hurricane

Tracking the hurricane.
Last night I dreamed
of staring ghosts.

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

September 6: Youth

heavy rain falling
young finches wait in feeders
chowing down, unafraid

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

September 5: Osprey

Atop the schooner's mast
osprey has a lot to say
to us earthbound souls.
 

Monday, September 4, 2017

September 4: Dark night

powerless
on a dark and stormy night
until we're asleep

Sunday, September 3, 2017

September 3: At the restaurant

family restaurant
small girl at the door says "bye"
to all of us

Saturday, September 2, 2017

September 2: Head Harbour

heart of stone
exposed by low tide
at the mercy of the moon

Friday, September 1, 2017

September 1: Bog

raven overhead
each pitcher plant a pond
in which we might drown