reciprocity

If I sit long enough they will come and they will forget that I'm there. And then we all belong to the shoreline, each of us sustaining ourselves.

Filling our needs with the gifts of the sea.

black and white warbler

Aren't you glad you don't have to go out and find YOUR next meal?

a memory

Hawaii certainly knows how to end a day…. 

this morning

Some people fish, while others surf.

Personally I prefer my coffee, tripod and trusty camera.

A red wall

This captured my attention while in Cuba, the colors are amazing. Such a simple vine that comes to life against all that red...

beak to feet

Taking a time out with this cormorant.

feather fluffs

The feathers go every which way, it must be hard to keep them where they belong and ready for flight. But what better way to spend the remaining hours of the day while he waits for fish bait to be thrown overboard. 

patience

I spent an inordinate amount of time lining up this Great Blue Heron with the colors in the background. He finally stepped into the blue stripes and the contrast between his golden beak and eyes brought the pop I was looking for in this image.

Openings

The next time I travel to Cuba I would like to enter these doors and meet the people who are living there.

 I would like to come away with a better sense of their strength and endurance, their will to carry on. 

These doors will change in time. 

These are my final shared Cuban images with you. Yes I still have hundreds but I haven't the heart to keep going, I need to return to my beloved birds and look up to the skies. I need to breathe deep and contemplate our world. 

A common thread

An early morning routine in Havana. A greeting and a hot cup of coffee in the neighborhood kept clean by the street sweeper. And sadly the dogs, who wander in hopes of finding a scrap of something that will keep them alive in a world that no longer takes care of them. Survival is the common thread that creates the fabric of all their lives.

When you look closely you will see the torn plastic bags that have created a cushion to rest upon and the discarded foam rubber that lines his back rest.

The Cubans are resilient people and I am in awe of them...

Intermission

Just taking a break from my Cuba images 

Tomatoes for sale

This is one of my favorite images of the trip. It speaks volumes to me. The doorways, the dog, the decay and his demeanor. Tomatoes for sale...

A walk

Everyday is laundry day in Havana.

Blue hope

looking up

Havana

I am on the rooftop of our hotel looking across the city that I have not met yet. The sun is setting on the mysteries of Havana. 

Our hotel neighborhood expands a few blocks and then it pushes up against where the Cuban people live. Families together in their housing, babies, parents, grandparents, great grandparents, all together under one roof.

Cuba

I've been home from Cuba for three days now and I haven't been able to share my images with you because I'm overwhelmed with my inner dialogue. I have over 900 photographs. Yes, I will cull them down to a few hundred and then from there a smaller number. But for now I study them and try to sort out how I feel about Cuba. It seems I am unable to express the complexity of what I've experienced. Until just now when I came upon my photograph of this bird in a cage in Cuba. She is beautiful and proud and has settled inside these bars that define her world. She didn't ask to be there but that is where she is.  The song in her heart will be released one way or the other. What will happen if the latch is released, will the flight be a soaring celebration, or will it be filled with danger and peril? 

This captive bird has helped me find the way to share my images with you. I'll start tomorrow...