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Songs of November

Yesterday was a gray day with occasional snowfall adding a white mist to the air. In the afternoon I took a hike at French Regional Park hoping to see migrating trumpeter swans on the lake. I found no swans but I did hear Songs of November — songs of cold winds, gray skies, and empty space in nature’s late November days. The only wildlife I saw on my hike was gulls at the edge of the lake, four mallard ducks swimming in a marshy area near the lake, a group of Canada geese honking and flying high overhead, and a Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

The Inevitability of Winter

As the end of November approaches, bare tree branches reach for the sky. Gardens have been put to bed for the year. The world is becoming less colorful. Creatures, large and small are preparing for the long winter months or migrating south.  The weather begins to turn colder and The Inevitability of Winter arriving soon is undeniable. Darkness comes early now. We are just a month away from the shortest day of the year. When I look for something to be grateful for as we approach this, my least favorite season, I am grateful that it’s easier to be up Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

A Walk before the Rain

This morning after going to the exercise class that I love to hate (though it’s good for my body it’s really hard work!) I decided to take A Walk before the Rain at nearby West Medicine Lake Park. The sun was still shining through thin clouds and lots of people were out talking and walking in the park. There was a group of dog walkers who seemed to know one another chatting near the parking lot. And I saw a birder out with his binoculars checking to see if there were any interesting migrating waterfowl. We chatted for awhile, asking Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Feathered Friends

Here is my next photo/essay in my project series of photos and essays (#6)… Feathered Friends As a child growing up on an Iowa farm I was surrounded by animals. Our farm had milk cows, chickens, ducks, hogs, and cattle. Because both my parents worked so hard caring for all the animals, crops, and large garden they didn’t really pay much attention to the birds. But I did. Even then I loved birds and thought of them as my friends. I remember seeing lots of red-headed woodpeckers in the trees in our grove. Birds were a constant in my childhood Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Seeing the Unseeable

Often when I make photographs I think about Seeing the Unseeable Through the lens of my camera I look deeply into the marrow of life to discover its hidden order, its rhythms, the luminant transparency of it all. I want to look deeply into the nature of things and see the hidden grace and intelligence that is often overlooked. Everything I want to make poems that say right out, plainly, what I mean, that don’t go looking for the laces of elaboration, puffed sleeves. I want to keep close and use often words like heavy, heart, joy, soon, and to cherish Read more…

By Marilyn, ago