A Year on Clear Lake-Jun 15, 2013

Out on a Limb — June 15, 2013

After seeing so many herons and egrets along the shoreline, it seemed strange to find one perched in a tree, but this juvenile green heron appears perfectly at home out on a limb.

An early morning visit to the peninsular yielded a magical glimpse of the elusive deer. Not more than three seconds  worth of a sighting–not even enough time to lift a camera–but confirmation that indeed at least one deer lives on the peninsular. Now, the quest to capture an image intensifies.

One of my favorite authors, Eudora Welty, wrote, “One place understood helps us understand all places better.” That might explain why I love returning to the same place over and over again, until I know every tree, every rock, and what’s waiting around every bend. Getting to know a place in depth establishes a connection, and a bond. (I get it, Scarlet.) I think in today’s modern, mobile world, we’ve lost our sense of connection.  Even when we live in the same place for years, we’re always so busy, and on the go that we seldom have time to really get to know the place we are. Our loss.

Green Thought: All I want is to stand in a field
and to smell green,
to taste air,
to feel the earth want me,
Without all this concrete
hating me.
~Phillip Pulfrey, from Love, Abstraction and other Speculations