1•11•2021
Bald Eagle Soaring
Dear Nature,
Yesterday we watched as a bald eagle soared into sight, catching an updraft and lazily swirling upward in a slow, mesmerizing spiral. It struck a course for a man-made perch, a high-power utility tower. As it descended, legs and talons outstretched for a landing, I was reminded of the dual aspects of nature: beautiful in sight and movement but also a stark reminder of the reality of the never-ending struggle of predator and prey.
The bald eagle is our national emblem symbolizing freedom, courage, strength and bravery, especially in times of oppression. It is symbolic of honesty and truthful principles.
The eagle’s appearance reminds me of all that I hold dear and gives me a renewed conviction to have the courage to continue to advocate for truth, honesty and freedom.
With Love, Kelly
1•12•2021
Crows in the Snow
Dear Nature,
Crows in the Snow
cawing, squawking, scold
black on white, shadow and light
strutting, flapping, bold
With Love, Kelly
1•13•2021
Winter Blaze
Dear Nature,
I credit my mother with instilling in me my love of nature, especially birds. She enjoyed watching ‘her’ birds and kept many feeders on the deck of my childhood home. She especially loved the arrival of our bright scarlet bird with the tall headdress, the male northern cardinal. She would greet him with a ‘“hello, your Eminence.”
I have to agree with her, when I catch sight of a cardinal at my feeders I stop to say, “hello Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal.”
With Love, Kelly
1•14•2021
The Bones of Winter
Dear Nature,
Summer here in Connecticut is all about riotous abundance; of every shade of green imaginable, of anticipation of the vegetable garden’s bounty and the slowly shifting parade of blossoms in my perennial gardens. Not to mention the dizzying array of summering bird species.
Winter hones a more subtle eye. The gardens are fallow, the greens are replaced by rusty browns, dusty grays and warm siennas. They are just a memory of the summer past. The bird species have dwindled to the faithful remaining winter-hardy.
But if I only look, you have provided me inspiration in what the summer has left behind, bones for next summer to build upon.
With Love, Kelly
1•15•2021
Gray Ghost in the Gloaming
Dear Nature,
Elusive and ghostly, hovering in that magical moment of time when light gives way to dark. The Gloaming.
The northern harrier is a bird of New England winters. They hunt by hovering over fields and marshes, intently seeking their prey. Only the mature male wears a misty cloak of soft gray. To sight this ghostly creature suspended over a field in the waning twilight of a winter evening is special indeed.
“Gloaming; an old English word meaning twilight, the fall of evening.”
It fell into disuse but was revived by Scottish poet Robert Burns and other Scots after 1785.
I love this word, the sound of it, the feel of it on my tongue, the poetry of it. It is a perfect word to describe the magical world of a perfectly mysterious bird.
With Love, Kelly
1•16•2021
My Long-time Nemesis
Dear Nature,
The pileated woodpecker’s raucous calls as it bombs here & there around my woods mocks me. Yes, that woodpecker, Woody Woodpecker in the feather.
Over the years, Mrs. & Mr. Wood Woodpecker have tantalized me and teased me, mostly allowing only fleeting glimpses.
Once in a blue moon, though, they allow me to photograph them. But more often than not, I catch a movement out of the corner of my eye, only to look to see an impossibly large bird wearing a red hat and bouncing away from me. As he slips into the forest, he mocks me still,laughig his loud “Ha-ha-ha-HAAAAA-HA!” And tipping his red hat my way.
With Love, Kelly
1•17•2021
Magical Desert Night
Dear Nature,
I am on a quest to visit as many National Parks as I can. I have a ‘Top Five’ list that has been changing as I have been slowly fulfilling my dream.
On this date, 1 year ago, my sister Chris & I arrived at our little adobe motel late at night. As soon as I stepped into an unfamiliar darkness, I knew I was somewhere very special. The milky way was pulsing and blazing in all its celestial glory above us and a warm, desert wind was wildly whipping a dry unfamiliar scent into our very being.
Before I had even set eyes on the incredible landscapes of the park, I had sensed it would move into my ‘Top Five’. I was right.
With Love, Kelly