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Swans and Falling Snow

  I headed down to Medicine Lake with my Canon camera and long lens this morning and photographed some of the remaining trumpeter swans in the falling snow. Swans and Falling Snow Watching the swans calmly feeding and grooming themselves as snow gently fell reminded me that these birds are accustomed to weather of all kinds. In 2017 when I was staying in a cabin near Ely, MN from March through May, a pair of trumpeter swans appeared in the Burntside River as soon as the ice was mostly gone from the stream. Day in, day out I would see Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Everyday Grace

The day began with overcast skies but the clouds soon gave way to blue skies, thin white clouds, and sunshine. Any time the temperature gets above freezing this time of year I feel like celebrating. Add in the sunshine and I am feeling total gratitude for this day (and for all of the above freezing days last week). My day has been filled with mundane tasks like buying groceries and filling the bird feeders. It feels like Everyday Grace! This morning I drove by Medicine Lake and saw that there are still some Trumpeter Swans and many ducks in the Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Life As We Know It

It struck me today that we humans are often full of hubris about our place in the world. Life as We Know It is much more complex than we imagine. Our culture likes to play up the idea of  Darwin’s idea of “survival of the fittest,” when in reality this simply is not true. Cooperation is life’s superpower, not struggle. We people are just like our planet-mates. We cannot put an end to nature; we can only pose a threat to ourselves. The notion that we can destroy all life, including bacteria thriving in the water tanks of nuclear power Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Take Flight

  This morning I went down to Medicine Lake to see how many migrating birds were on the lake. As I was approaching the lake a huge flock of geese flew over my head, honking loudly as they flew. There were about 3 times as many geese in the flock as you see in this photo. The sight and sound of the geese soaring above me caused my spirit to Take Flight with joy right along with them. Hope is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul, And sings the tune without the words, And never stops at Read more…

By Marilyn, ago

Giving Thanks

It’s a time of Giving Thanks although I think every day is a time for giving thanks. The older I get the more I am grateful for all of the blessings of my life. Sometimes I wonder how I got to be so lucky. And I realize that I will never know. But I do realize that in the overall scheme of things I am blessed beyond belief. So I am sharing today a poem about gratitude from my favorite poet. Gratitude What did you notice? The dew-snail; the low-flying sparrow; the bat, on the wind, in the dark; big-chested Read more…

By Marilyn, ago