Scenes from a Long Walk

Walking sometimes means undertaking an inner voyage of discovery. You are shaped by buildings, faces, signs, weather and the atmosphere…Walking as a combination of movement, humility, balance, curiosity, smell, sound, light and - if you walk far enough - longing. A feeling which reaches for something, without finding it.

Erling Kagge, from Walking

A seagull flying into the sunrise over the Atlantic

fighting for scraps of food in the air

lizard basking in sunshine on the rocks at the marina

Fish crow gazing into the water of the shipping channel

rock dove perching on a ledge above a small local grocery store

egret fishing in a public fountain.

a single white flower floats on the surface of a pond

Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.

Steven Wright

This was not just a single walk, or even a single day, but in hindsight it felt like one continuous experience. I am on the cusp of a change, trying to decide how and where to focus my time in the near future. I may begin blogging a little less frequently to make space for other work. Decision making is hard. Walking helps.

Thank you for being here.

The Welcome Party

Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way.

John Muir

A female boat-tailed grackle in the park where I walked, singing or screeching (depending on your point of view)

hopping around,

and looking for little scraps of food. She was unbothered by my camera and fun to watch.

The first iguana I saw since arriving in Miami Beach- ran up a palm tree beside my balcony. If I hadn’t seen him do it, I might not have seen him at all. His colors blend so well with the tree.

A fish crow contemplates the grass at South Point Park.

A little iguana I’m calling Ignatius perched himself on the top of a palm branch right next to my balcony - he’s been keeping me quiet company almost since I got here.

A beautiful little starling landed on the peak of a house across the alley, singing its heart out.

Ignatius pokes his head from the palm leaves yesterday - giving me a curious (or suspicious) look.

Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.

William Shakespeare

I am always a little nervous about what I’ll find when I come back to Miami. I worry that the people I know won’t be here or that construction projects may have altered the places I know and love. I am sometimes afraid that I won’t find anything new to photograph, and that my photos will become repetitious. This time was no different, but the first morning, when I walked out to watch sunrise, I saw a friend. Then on the beach, I saw another friend. Then, I took my camera out and started noticing the animals. I felt like they were welcoming me, too. I hope you enjoy the photos. I enjoyed taking them!

Thank you so much for being here!

P.S. My technical problems were mostly resolved thanks to my husband, Tom. The new hard drive that I’m storing my photos on got corrupted and he recovered everything and repaired the drive; so… whew!

It has been surprisingly overcast and rainy most of the time I’ve been here so far, but on Tuesday this week we had a beautiful sunrise. This picture was taken overlooking the jetty next to South Point Pier, where some native plants are growing in a protected area.

Winter Joys

Look at the trees, look at the birds, look at the clouds, look at the stars-and if you have eyes you will be able to see that the whole existence is joyful.

Rajneesh

A tree standing alone on the edge of a dormant field of tall grass

A red bellied woodpecker hanging on the feeder

Give food to the birds, you will then be surrounded by the wings of love, you will be encompassed by the joys of little silent hearts!

Mehmet Murat Ildan

a tufted titmouse holds a seed

Robins wintering in an old apple orchard

I caught a glimpse of happiness, and saw it was a bird on a branch, fixing to take wing.

Richard Peck

Crows chatting and cawing in the treetops

The perfection of an empty nest

I spent my last week in Michigan (for a few months) feeling sad that I had to leave. I had some major technical problems this week, but I still wanted to share some of the pictures I took at home and in my neighborhood before I left for Miami.

Hope you had a wonderful week. Thank you for being here.