an attempt

This is dad trying to feed his youngest. I have watched this family and I'm amazed at what they will do to get these kids fed. It's not easy. (The older of the two is out of our view on the tippy top of the tree.)

A feather full of excitement and chaos and oh no, a dropped fish. The littlest almost went with it!

Dad eventually went and got the fish and ate it himself...

Really I'm not kidding..

fully fledged

I went out in my kayak heading for the osprey nest, and when I got there I was not surprised to see it empty. I had mixed feelings, but mostly happy. I looked everywhere for them but found no family member. I paddled my lonely paddle checking along the shore line, but no, nothing there.

There is a high tide nook that is a favorite place for me to go, I'm often found in there just floating and taking it all in. And that's where I saw them. Both brave littles had flown all the way across the harbor and were sitting in a tree, waiting for me.

Well ok then maybe not for me, but definitely for a parent to come feed them!

 And there below them in the tree was one of the great blue herons who calls this place home. And to think they are all living in our watery front yard.

fractured lens

I know you think I've made a mistake, and I suppose I have but a happy mistake! If you just look at this image on it's side you see the world in a different way, it helps us to use our inner eye when we are out in nature. When that happens we don't use our brains as powerfully as our hearts. We don't use our taught labels to express ourselves but rather our creative energies, or maybe our intuitions? 

Go ahead out there and squint until you see something that surprises you.

Be your own kaleidoscope!

all a flurry

This small Great Blue Heron family built their nest at Wakodahatchee in Florida. Mom had one precious chick left and was raising a very demanding and hungry little one. Look at her! She gives new meaning to the term "don't ruffle your feathers"!

off wing

He flew overhead and left me a reminder of him.

A celebration of Today

Today has tested his wings and soars with grace and dignity. 

He chanced  it and now the skies the limit.

 I wish I could fly...

Today

This is the view from across the bay taken later that day. I just want you to see where they have built their nest, yes it's a private dock but as you can see I'm on it so it's not that secluded.

This is Today, he has decided to go for it. (reference to Today, Tomorrow and Yesterday is in blog archive february 15th, 2012)

He is strong and healthy and I believe he can make it. 

And then before my eyes he takes flight, and my heart went with him..

unsettled waters

I took Tully for a kayak ride this morning. She sat in my lap with her head on my rowing arm, up and down she bobbed along with me. We went along the shore line mostly to get her used to being out on the water. Her heart pounded in the beginning but then she settled in. She likes being on my lap. It was getting pretty choppy out there so I brought her back and went out on my own to check on the Osprey nest. This is what I saw when I got there. A single little on the nest and mom looking, well, shall we say proud? I panicked, where was the other little?? 

Out at the end of the dock, simple as that, she had fledged and was viewing the harbor from a lovely new angle.

The winds have picked up thankfully, but in a kayak it can create a lot of movement so I had a difficult time photographing them. I left, got in my car and went across the bay to get a closer look. I'm so glad I did. More of that tomorrow...

witnessing

The littles have been left alone in the nest. Good time to test those wings now that there is room to expand. The heat is unbearable for us humans, I don't know how these birds manage being baked in the scorching sun all day long. It's meant to feel like 105 degrees today.

Mom has returned in this image, she has the yellow eyes and he has the red ones. She is loving him and giving him support, not unlike our great horned owls, Yesterday and Today. I am so blessed to witness these amazing Ospreys.

The image below shows Dad trying his best to feed them.

And we think parenting is hard!

out of the blue

This osprey family lives on my kayak route. The tides have been high in the evening and I have been out there watching them. These littles have grown so much in the last few weeks. I imagine that one day soon I will see an empty nest.

Sometimes their world gets busy with human activity and when that happens mom leaves the nest. She stays close by but not on the nest. I am quiet and keep my distance. I captured this moment when she was returning after being scared by boaters. They are all learning how to cope with stress. 

More to come.

It is what it is....

He came, he tried, he failed

He came, he tried, he ate me out of house and home.

He brought a bunch of rowdy friends, but they left in time for the finches to return.

invited guests

I had coffee with the extended finch family this morning. At one moment there were 12 finches having breakfast.

This pair shared their sunflower seed

These two got competitive and fought over their place at the table. Probably siblings....

purple haze

One side is more beautiful because of the existence of the other.

reflections

It's important to love yourself.

another point of view

Somethings are better viewed from beneath, the underside reveals the transition of change.

The beauty of time.

emerging pink

I went to shoot the sunset because the clouds were so beautiful during the day, a front was coming.

It was low tide but still enough water to reflect the parting light. But I was disappointed that the skies were thick with clouds, not the sunset I had hoped for. I leaned into the bridge railing and just settled into the night. Then this beautiful mushroom cloud made it's way across the sky and the light show emerged in it's thickness and shadows.  Pink flashes of lightening were my celebration of the night.

I should have brought a sleeping bag...

I'm hot

I'm inside because it's so hot. I'd like to be outside where it's not so hot but it is so hot so I"m not going outside. 

I would however like to be back at this beach with the rain misting my face. Now that would bring me  back out again.

Tully is worried...

 Last night there were rumbling thunderous sounds in the night and I couldn't bring myself to pee out there.

 I was worried about that.

Now that it's daytime I'm hoping to SEE where the noise comes from but I don't see it. 

I'm worried about that.

Mom has provided earphones for me but I don't think it's going to work. 

That worries me too.

Tonight I have decided to take charge and I'm planning on going to bed early and staying under the sheets, with my bone

I recommend that you do the same.

red, white and blue

My garden celebrates independence day!

drawn in

These blossoms dropped into this dark murky pond and and floated heavily one afternoon. Everything was saturated and slippery and vibrant with color. The oldest petals were trading their pure colors for deep shades of rich brown. The newest arrivals were white and light and barely touching the water. They will eventually all meet at the bottom, but only after their memory has become imprinted on my heart, a nourishment for the soul.