Day 78

I love to watch little song sparrows sing, they put everything they have into it, they throw their little heads back and sing away. All the birds this time of year are singing, as if they're so happy spring is here, well almost, but it's close to official. I'm also happy because Montezuma is finally open, that means the birds are on the move, some coming back for the summer, some are just stopping for a rest on their way farther north. When I drive through the refuge, I like to take my time, sometimes stopping and just watching and waiting, if you have patience and just wait you'll see all kinds of things. You have to be patient to see the little birds, they blend in to the surroundings, I usually wait and listen and before too long I can find them, they may be too far away to photograph but I still watch and marvel at their antics. It often takes me a couple hours to drive the two or three mile Wildlife Drive, and I am amazed at the cars that pass me, they fly through not stopping or looking, why come at all? If there are no large birds right in front of them they don't seem to notice any thing else, they just speed past me kicking up dust and startling the birds I've been waiting for to come out of hiding.

One of my most favorite pictures is one where there isn't a bird in sight, it was a frosty morning this past fall and everything was perfectly still, and beautiful. I wouldn't have seen the stillness if I hadn't taken the time to look. I can be maddeningly patient when I am out looking for photographs, that's probably why I like to go alone, I don't have to worry about others and if they're having a good time. But sometimes I just want to get out and stop the cars who are speeding by me and show them what they're missing.

"Without a song, each day would be a century." -Mahalia Jackson

Day 77

To me fog is comforting, it's like a big soft blanket. It has movement almost as if it's living and breathing, it floats in and out at a whim, with just a breath of wind it seems to disappear, then reappear. It can hug the ground, or the tree tops, it will literally roll in off the ocean, one minute you can't see five feet in front of you, the next it's completely gone. It sucks up sounds, cars and trucks are not as loud, the only thing you can hear clearly are the birds, it allows their songs to come through loud and clear. Today the whole area was covered in thick fog, as I walked around I couldn't hear the usual traffic sounds, there were a few people out along the lake but not many, even they seemed to be silent, I think that I would have whispered if I had to speak, I enjoyed being alone even though it was damp and chilly, I didn't mind one bit. As I walked along the lake with all of the big old willow trees standing guard, it was silent, no wind, like being in a cathedral, the trees making the walls and the fog the ceiling. I suggest the next time it's foggy, go outside, breathe deep, and enjoy.

The fog comes

on little cat feet.

It sits looking over

harbor and city

on silent haunches

and then moves on.

-Carl Sandburg

Day 76

I'm glad my brother pointed out this little group of daffodils to me, it was a very long week at work and an even longer Friday, so my brain was fried and I wasn't thinking too hard about a picture. I was planning on taking one, but had no ideas on what it would be, I was just going to see if something caught my eye. So I was glad to take this before we left work, then I didn't have to pay attention on the way home, I know, that's not a good thing to do if you're the one driving, you really should pay attention, but I got home safe and sound. So this picture of these little yellow daffodils is pretty much how i feel today, a little dark, fuzzy and out of focus (I should have paid attention to the camera settings), and at the same time bright and cheery because it's Friday and it's going to be a nice weekend.  

"Flowers are those little colorful beacons of the sun from which we get sunshine when dark,

somber skies blanket our thoughts." -Dodinsky