Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.
LIN YUTANG
a week of minimalist photography and few words …
Red flowers after the rain,
A collection of seashells
arranged.
A bouquet of sunflowers discarded,
then immersed.
Tracks made in sand
as the snow moon set.
Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler.
Albert Einstein
Silence is a sounding thing, to one who listens hungrily.
Gwendolyn B. Bennett
January 25, 2023 - Pigeon watches the seagull fly away
Listening Practice
Listen to the pigeons on the pier-
just cooing, you might say,
except for a rumbling bass note
deep in their bellies
following it
solemnly rising at the end,
into a plea.
Listen as they murmur together,
on the rocks of the pier-
turning toward the sun
where the seagulls fly.
January 25, 2023 - One step
January 26, 2023 - Seagull bathing in sunlight
January 26, 2023-South Pointe, Miami Beach
how do i capture the sound
of the ocean on a calm day,
when waves lightly kiss the sand
and the white foam lingers there -
slowly sinking in
beneath the seagull’s feet?
At the beginning of the year, I wrote about a few themes I wanted to focus on this year (Savoring Transition). Listening was one of them. Not long afterward, my friend Lisa sent me a great article called Sound Tracking by Rob Walker, with a listening practice to try; which I did nearly every day this week; focusing my attention on and trying to identify the sounds I heard around me.
When I wanted to write about what I heard, I looked up words for sounds (like the pigeons’ “coo”) and realized how inadequate language can be to describe the sounds we hear. Too many of the words are the same for completely different sounds. Is that because we don’t listen, or because the sounds are too complicated to be captured in a word?
January 26, 2023 - Sargassum sunrise
January 26, 2023
Weeds are flowers, too, once you get to know them. A.A. Milne
These weeds, sargassum, float on the water and are left behind by when the tide moves out. They pile up on the beach this time of year, until the tractors come by and bury them under the sand. Most people think they are a nuisance; but today, in the sun, this little one was beautiful.
January 27, 2023 - Fish Crow holding court
January 27, 2023 - A fish crow looked like he was holding court over the seagulls on the sand today when I walked by. It is amazing how many different varieties of gulls there are here. From a distance you might think they’re all the same; but even in just the small sample in this picture; you can see that they are not.
January 30, 2023 - Larus Gull
January 30, 2023 - This seagull caught my eye because of its varied feathers. I believe it’s a Laurus Gull, possibly a banded-beak laurus. I didn’t realize how striking its eyes were until I got home from my walk.
January 31, 2023 - Boat-tailed grackles gathered to sing with a wren listening.
January 31 2023. The grackles were singing their hearts out on this sign overlooking the boating channel in Miami Beach. The other bird (maybe a wren) flew in afterward. He looked like he was listening.
As I walked along the marina, I got lucky and saw the green heron below, just calmly sitting on the rocks. - probably waiting for a fish to swim by? He didn’t seem to mind me stopping.
January 31, 2023 - Green Heron Fishing from Marina
January 28, 2023 - Another iguana stopped by,
January 28-January 29, 2023.
Last week, I wrote about the iguanas that have been sleeping in the trees next to my apartment. I couldn’t resist taking a few more pictures, because two more showed up this week. One of them was HUGE. Since I took these pictures all but one has left the trees. I think they like these trees because they’re sheltered from the wind but still in a high and sunny location. Now that the winds are not as strong; they’ve moved on.
January 28, 2023 - Make that two.
January 29, 2023. A Big Iguana of a different color appeared for a few hours today.
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January 29, 2023 - This is the same little iguana from yesterday; his pose and his smile almost human.
January 26, 2023 - Gently rolling surf at sunrise.
Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.
A. A. Milne
A final moment of zen. I love the quote from A..A. Milne because it feels like daydreaming, and that’s what you should do sometimes when you’re walking along the water, or even just staring out your window. I hope you get a chance to try it this week. Thanks for joining me here!
“… it is one thing to read about dragons and another to meet them."
Ursula K. Le Guin
January 21, 2023 - Miami Beach - Iggy making himself at home
The Dragons Move In
In the morning
Green dragons appeared
Under the canopy of palms
Absorbing sunshine and heat,
Nestling into the branches,
Adopting our trees as their home-
Shy roommates.
January 21, 2023 - Posing for the camera.
January 21, 2023. I came back from a sunrise yoga class on the beach to find an iguana - no two iguanas - resting in a palm tree next to the balcony of my apartment. One was bigger than the other; so I assumed it was a male, and the smaller one female. Iggy and Ivy. Ivy was much shyer than Iggy, climbing out of sight when I approached, so I couldn’t get a clear picture this morning.
They are amazing, like little dragons, with their long spiny backs and tails. Herbivores, I read. The flap under Iggy’s head looks like a folded scarf, his claws are so long and flexible, they look like fingers. When he moves, he curls his body and wraps his tail around it. Sleek little devil. His eyes are such a beautiful golden brown. Ivy is brighter green with smaller eyes and a smaller head, and less variation of color. I hope they stay around for a while. I love to watch them.
January 22, 2023 - Ivy branching out.
January 22, 2023. Today I got a picture of Ivy. She moved into a different palm tree, which was right outside my kitchen window, so I took her picture from inside to avoid scaring her off. The light was so bright, I had a hard time getting her in focus, but I managed at least this once.
I learned that Iguanas have a third eye on the top of their heads that connects to their pineal gland. (Facts About Iguanas: Information, Pictures & Video (activewild.com)) It doesn’t produce images, but they can detect light and motion with it, which explains why they know I’m coming even when it seems like they’re looking away from me.
January 23, 2023 - Together.
January 23, 2023. Ivy, (or another small iguana?) returned to the palm tree where Iggy has been staying. She leaves for part of the day, but he is always there - moving from place to place around the tree.
January 24, 2023 - Iguana climbing a tree in Marjory Stoneman Beach Park.
January 24, 2023. It’s funny how you start seeing something more often once you’ve turned your attention to it. I was walking in the park today and an iguana ran across the grass to a palm tree and climbed up at a run. He was fast and big, with a really long tail. I read they can shed part of their tails if necessary and then grow them back. So, if anything grabs him by the tail; he can make it fall off to get away.
He was a colorful beast, multiple shades of green, yellow, brown and orange. I wonder if they get more colorful as they get older; I didn’t see anything about that in my reading. He also looked pretty healthy and strong. I guess they can live up to 20 years in the wild.
January 24, 2023 - A third iguana, Ivan, arrived this morning,
When I came back to the apartment after walking through the park, there was a third iguana, in a different tree, resting there. This one was smaller than ivy, but more colorful. I’m calling him Ivan. He actually seems to be smiling in this picture and looking at me sideways with those sweet golden-brown eyes. I am in heaven. I love them hanging around the house, keeping wary company with me. I try not to check on them too often, in case I scare them away.
I’ve heard that iguanas are considered an invasive species in Florida, destroying and eating native vegetation and ruining landscapes. The state encourages people to get rid of them, either by hiring an extermination company or using a legal method of extermination themselves. I could never do it. These palm trees need trimming anyway.
January 24, 2023 - Iggy Stretching out, while eyeing me sideways.
Green dragon, wary,
in the palm tree next to me-
I will not slay you.
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“I do not care what comes after; I have seen the dragons on the wind of morning.”
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Farthest Shore