Summit Lake ~ Washington State

summitlakewashingtonSummit Lakewatertreesgardenflowerslandscapemistpinesnature

This Land Is Your Land....

"This land is your land,
This land is my land,
From California to the New York Island,
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters,
This land was made for you and me.
As I went walking that ribbon of highway
I saw above me that endless skyway,
I saw below me that golden valley,
This land was made for you and me.
I roamed and I rambled, and I followed my footsteps
To the sparking sands of her diamond deserts,
All around me a voice was sounding,
This land was made for you and me.
When the sun came shining, then I was strolling,
And the wheat fields waving, and the dust clouds rolling,
A voice was chanting as the fog was lifting,
This land was made for you and me."
~ Woodie Guthrie

This LandContinental United StatesskymountainslandEndless Skywaycloudsrocky outcroppingshillsvastnessoutdoorflightvalleyssummertimebirthday

View from the Wild Blue Yonder

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.” ~ J.M. Barrie

landscape

rambling beach house ~ Great Lakes and Watershed

Word for the Day ~ sonder
n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own ~ populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness ~ an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk." ~ *The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows*

ramblingbeachhouseLake Michiganshoresonderbirthday

perspective ~ Great Lakes and Watershed

Word for the Day ~ occhiolism
n. the awareness of the smallness of your perspective.
~ John Koenig

strollingGreat Lakes and WatershedskywaterwharflightLake MichiganMichigancoastlinelandscapeshorecoastoutdoorbirthday

The Pier ~ Lake Michigan

"A pier is a disappointed bridge; yet stare at it for long enough and you can dream it to the other side of the Channel." ~ Julian Barnes

j van cise photosGreat.Lakes.and.WatershedwalkLake.Michiganbluepierwatercoastdisappointed.bridgebirthday

Gothic Spires of Wisdom at Old Kenyon ~ Ohio River Valley

"In any modern society, and between all such societies, there are many conflicting interests that are more or less irreconcilably opposed. Pursuing their interests, persons and groups try to block each other, and this blocking invites retaliation.... The blocking and retaliation readily take violent forms. In the end, politics are about finding ways to manage and restrain this struggle. Those who become expert on political issues, who advise political actors, or who themselves take leading roles in the political effort to maintain civility and peace engage in the highest of human callings." ~ Gary P. Freeman, Chair, Department of Government, University of Texas @ Austin

gothicspireswisdomeducationOld.KenyonKenyon.CollegearchitectureGambierOhioresidence.hallbuildingconstructed.between.1827.and.1829Kenyon's.first.permanent.buildingmassive.brick.wallsoutdoortowerschoolcollegebirthday

Before the Ascension ~ Commencement 2007, Samuel Mather Hall, Kenyon College, Ohio

*Kokosing Farewell*

Old Kenyon, we are like Kokosing,
Obedient to some strange spell,
Which urges us from all reposing;
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.

And yet we are not like Kokosing,
Which beareth naught upon its swell
But foam of motion's own composing;
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.

But when we are far from Kokosing,
We still shall hear a calling bell,
When round us evening shades are closing;
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.

And see a river like Kokosing,
In meadows sweet with asphodel,
Where mem'ry dwells dear past supposing;
Farewell, Old Kenyon,
Fare thee well.

j van cise photoscommencement2007celebrationKenyon.Collegeascensionsamuel.mather.hallGambierOhioKokosing.Rivergraduationcollegeprivateseatinglight.and.shadows

Soul of a Cat

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened." ~ Anatole France

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Spring Gardens ~ Huron River and Watershed

"A fine and subtle spirit dwells in every little flower." ~ Anne Brontë

Virginia CowslipVirginia BluebellsMertensia virginicaspringgardensflowersperennialherbaceousbluewildflowernative to Missouriclumpformingdaintybulbous

Corner Table ~ Ohio River Valley

"There's a table in the corner
Of a honky-tonk in town
And if you should ever want me
There I can be found."
~ Conway Twitty

j van cise photostableseatingsquarestilesmodernbirthday

Dream Café ~ Ohio River Valley

"I'm in the corner with the coffee
at The Dream Café." ~ Greg Brown

j van cise photosdreamcafeOhio River Valleycorner tablecoffeebirthday

a winter's day ~ Michigan

"A winter's day...gazing from my window....on a freshly fallen, silent shroud of snow.." ~ Simon & Garfunkel

j van cise photossnowMichiganwinterlate.afternoontreescoldcoolwintertimewintertidefreezingoutdoorwinter's daysilent.shroud.of.snow

Evening Contrails

"Your imagination is the preview to life's coming attractions." ~ Albert Einstein

contrailseveningcondensation trailslineshaped cloudsproduced by aircraft engine exhaustseveral miles above earthprimarily water in form of ice crystalshomogenitusproduced by changes in air pressurehomomutatuscirrus aviaticuswingtip vorticesbiofuelsradiative forcingcloudsskysunset

Ranger, the Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

Note tethering and perching gear for this rescued beauty of nature.

RangerRedTailed Hawkbirdcaptive birdButeo.jamaicensisraptorshrill cryoldest known 30 yearsred tailbroad round wingsshort wide tail2nd largest buteo hawkresidentshort distance migrant

Red-Bellied Woodpecker Takes the Peanut ~ Melanerpes carolinus ~ Huron River and Watershed

“Great photography is about depth of feeling, not depth of field.” ~ Peter Adams

Redbellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinusbarred backsred capoldest12 yearspale bellyred napeclings to tree barkundulating flight patternbird

Blue Jay with Peanut and Friend ~ Cyanocitta cristata ~ Huron River and Watershed

"Taking pictures is like tiptoeing into the kitchen late at night and stealing Oreo cookies.” ~ Diane Arbus

Blue JayCyanocitta cristataHuron River and WatershedMichiganbirdsongbirdcomplex social systemtight family bondsfondness for acornssometimes migratorymimi calls of hawkstool userblueoldest known 26 yearsprominent crestbold black necklacebold white wingbarwings tail barred wblackabundant near forest edgesknnown for intelligenceoften mate for lifecommunicate vocally wbody languageimmense vocabularyexcellent mimicsgular pouch

Ranger, the Red-tailed Hawk ~ Buteo jamaicensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

Notice tethering and perching gear for this rescued beauty.

RangerRedtailed Hawkbirdcaptive birdButeo jamaicensisraptorshrill cryoldest known 30 years Michiganred tailbroad round wingsshort wide tail2nd largest buteo hawkresident shortdistance migrant

White-Breasted Nuthatch, with Photographer in Background ~ Sitta carolinensis ~ Huron River and Watershed, Michigan

"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." ~ proverbial saying

White breasted NuthatchSitta carolinensisHuron River and WatershedMichiganbirdbird foodnaturefauna

Time and Tide ~ Southern Outer Banks

"The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears and the sea." ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

seaseasideoceanisleislandBogue BanksAtlantic Oceantime and tidetideSouthern Outer BanksEmerald Isleoutdoorcoastlandscapeshoreseascapeblue shoresandwaterskybeachmistynatureCrystal Coastbluesalt water

Northern Cardinal ~ Cardinalis cardinalis ~ Michigan

"There is no discovery without risk and what you risk reveals what you value." ~ Jeanette Winterson

Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalisredbirdperching birdsweet whistles in the morningsongbirdcrestsunflower seedsnatureoutdooranimal

European Starling ~ Sturnus vulgaris ~ Michigan

"If we wait for the moment when everything, absolutely everything is ready, we shall never begin." ~ Ivan Turgenev

European StarlingSturnus vulgarisbirdShakespearemumationsongbirddark and glossy in summerperching birdDarwinian Danceroostnatureoutdoor

song of the river ~ Huron River

"The song of the river ends not at her banks, but in the hearts of those who have loved her." ~ Buffalo Joe

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Shells ~ Great Lakes and Watersheds

“The camera makes you forget you’re there. It’s not like you are hiding but you forget, you are just looking so much.” ~ Annie Liebovitz

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Sunset ~ Lake Michigan

"The only way to truly know a person is to argue with them. For when they argue in full swing, then they reveal their true character." ~ Anne Frank

sunsetSaugatuckLake Michiganwatercoastgolden hourshorelinewaterscapeNikon D7100 AFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR IIContinental United States

What's Up?

"In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this." ~ Terry Pratchett

Oriental Shorthaircatfelinegreen eyesanimalpetkittyMauidomestic catalmondshaped eyestriangular head shapemuscular bodysocialintelligentvocalrelated to Abyssinians and Siameselarge earsmammalsoft furfelis domesticusfelidfelis catussvelteebony silverspottedkittenportraitbirthday