Scotland

I love Scotland. 

I especially love the trees, they are so old and mossy. I love the heather and the bracken and the cold water that travels down the stream that meanders through all of this. I love the warm autumn colors. They are more intense than our colors at home, I think it's because the place is filled with ancient stories of magic and fairies and owls...

I'll be back

I'm off to Scotland for a while. 

I'm leaving behind the comings and goings of the neighborhood. It seems that mockingbird and squirrel have been spending time together lately. They are in the tree where I have placed a platform for future osprey to use as a nesting site. The osprey are not interested in it but the rest of the neighborhood spends a good amount of time there.

Mockingbird is the local entertainer, singing mostly.

Squirrel is usually too busy collecting stuff, I think he is our local hoarder.

I'm going to miss everybody while I'm gone.

Bald Eagles

What a thrill to see these powerful birds! Here is mom or dad, not sure which, sitting on a limb along the shores of St Andrews in New Brunswick, Canada. 

And just above the parent is this handsome juvenile waiting to be fed. 

Look at that beak! 

looking back

Why do I love this image, is it the saturated color, the light on the old fish nets, the reflections in the water, the mystery of the blackness? A simple pile of forgotten usefulness dripping into the green algae? Working hands touched every bit of it, probably coarse and callused hands. And now the beauty lies there for me to capture as I float by in the cold waters of Canada. 

falling in

This is a good time of year to get to the heart of things, to take time out to feel the transitions all around us. I've been spending time walking along the edge of ponds, almost fell in yesterday. My earth was soft and decayed and let me go when I least expected it. A fallen tree saved me. The sky and the earth are deep in communication at the pond. A reflective pat on the surface given by the cool blue sky as it reveals yesterday's fallen leaves. A deep mystery that pulls on me this time of year.