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Forster's Tern ~ Sterna forsteri ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I ~ I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." ~ Robert Frost
Forster's Tern ~ Sterna forsteri ~ Southern Outer Banks
"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there." ~ Lewis Carroll
sunset ~ Southern Outer Banks
"No one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it for anyone else."
Tree Swallow ~ Tachycineta bicolor ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Whatever you decide to do, make sure it makes you happy." ~ unknown
double-crested cormorant ~ Southern Outer Banks
"the earth has music for those who listen." ~ Shakespeare
Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Blessed are those who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused." ~ unknown
Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"the meaning of life is to find your gift. the purpose of life is to give it away." ~ William Shakespeare
Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Pine Knoll Waterway, Southern Outer Banks
"In the Greek tale of Ulysses, after a storm broke the mast of Ulysses' raft, a sea nymph disguised herself as a cormorant and handed Ulysses a girdle to keep him afloat while he swam to shore." ~ https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/what-does-the-cormorant-bird-symbolize-in-mythology
doublecrested cormorantPhalacrocorax auritusganglyprehistoriclookingfishing birdbirdwaterbirdsshaped crook to neckPine Knoll WaterwaySouthern Outer BanksNorth CarolinaEmerald Islewaterwingsseabird
Black-Crowned Night-Heron ~ Nycticorax nycticorax ~ Southern Outer Banks
“How often, in the gathering dusk of evening, have we heard its loud, choking squawk and, looking up, have seen its stocky form, dimly outlined against the gray sky and propelled by steady wing beats, as it wings its way high in the air toward its evening feeding place in some distant pond or marsh!” ~ Arthur Bent
BlackCrowned Night HeronbirdSouthern Outer BanksNycticorax nycticorasmost active at nightgray and black plumagelongwhite head plumesheronsocial birdscommon in wetlandsskypinesbirdinflight
Black-Crowned Night-Heron ~ Nycticorax nycticorax ~ Southern Outer Banks
"You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." ~ A. A. Milne
Black-Crowned Night-Heron ~ Nycticorax nycticorax ~ Southern Outer Banks
"May the heron carry news of you to the heavens, and the salmon bring the sea's blue grace." ~ James Berlolino
BlackCrowned Night HeronHeronbirdSouthern Outer BanksNorth CarolinaEmerald Islestocky birdPine Knoll Shores Waterwaygrayandblack plumagelongwhite head plumesocial birdsbreed in coloniesmost widespread heron in worldblack crownforagers in eveningroost and nest in groupswetland habitatfeed between evening and morningmonogamous
Great Egret, breeding plumage ~ Ardea alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
“On foot its movements are as graceful as those of the Louisiana Heron, its steps measured, its long neck gracefully retracted and curved, and its silk train reminded one of the flowing robes of the noble ladies of Europe. The train of this Egret ... makes its appearance a few weeks previous to the love season, continues to grow and increase in beauty, until incubation has commenced.” ~ John James Audubon
Great Egretbreeding plumageArdea albaSouthern Outer BanksNorth CarolinaAtlantic OceanBogue BanksBogue SoundEmerald IsleCrystal Coastbirdwingswhite
Great Egret ~ Ardea alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance." ~ Gibran
sanderlings snoozing ~ Calidris alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Poetry: the power to persuade that vulnerable part of our consciousness of its rightness in spite of wrongness all around." ~ Seamus Heaney
Tricolored Heron (formerly, Louisiana Heron) ~ Egretta tricolor ~ Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge, Outer Banks
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when we bring what is within us out into the world, miracles happen." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
sand and foam ~ Southern Outer Banks
"I am forever walking upon these shores,
Betwixt the sand and the foam,
The high tide will erase my foot-prints,
And the wind will blow away the foam.
But the sea and the shore will remain
Forever.
Once I filled my hand with mist.
Then I opened it and lo, the mist was a worm.
And I closed and opened my hand again, and behold there was a bird.
And again I closed and opened my hand, and in its hollow stood a man with a sad face, turned upward.
And again I closed my hand, and when I opened it there was naught but mist.
But I heard a song of exceeding sweetness." ~ Kahlil Gibran
Bonaparte's Gull (adult in winter plumage) ~ Chroicocephalus philadelphia ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion." ~ Martha Graham
elegant Great Egret ~ Ardea alba ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Keep your face always toward the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you." ~ Walt Whitman
flying White Ibis ~ Eudocimus albus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"I swear to you, there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell." ~ Walt Whitman
Double-crested Cormorant ~ Phalacrocorax auritus ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Promise me you will not spend so much time treading water and trying to keep your head above the waves that you forget, truly forget, how much you have always loved to swim." ~ Tyler Knott Gregson
It's not what you look at that mattersit's what you see. Henry David Thoreau
seaside ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Do not grow old no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the Great Mystery into which we were born." ~ Albert Einstein
seasideSouthern Outer Banksshoresea grassEmerald IsleNorth CarolinaBogue BanksCrystal CoastAtlantic Oceanislandseaoceanskycloudslight
the sea, with sunlight ~ Southern Outer Banks
"And now that you don't have to be perfect, you can be good." ~ John Steinbeck
Brown Pelican ~ Pelecanus occidentalis ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Live in the sunshine. Swim the sea. Drink the wild air." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
evening by the sea ~ Southern Outer Banks
"For whatever we lose (like a you or a me), it's always our self we find in the sea." ~ e. e. cummings
sand pebbles ~ Southern Outer Banks
"It's amazing to think that these pebbles have been erosed and smoothed out over the millennia by ocean waves. I think I'll taken them and use them to make a path to my garden." ~ William L. Bergenstein
fishing from the jetty ~ a year later ~ Southern Outer Banks
"A friend is someone who reaches for your hand but touches your heart." ~ Anonymous
on the beach ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Our greatest experiences are our quietest moments." ~ Friedrick Neitzsche
long, tall grass ~ Southern Outer Banks
"Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the idea that life is serious." ~ Brendan Gill
sand fence ~ beach preservation and dune restoration ~ Southern Outer Banks
"It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine." ~ Eeyore
tall grass ~ Huron River Watershed
"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." ~ Winston Churchill
May your days be merry and bright!
This line comes from the song, *White Christmas,* written by Irving Berlin ~ full lyrics are below. Clyde McPhatter, of the Drifters, sings one of my favorite versions of the song.
"I'm dreaming of a White Christmas
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
and children listen
To hear sleigh bells in the snow.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
May your days be merry and bright
And may all your Christmases be white."
Cessna 195 and Monocoupe 110 Special "Gee Bee" (keepsakes)
"Flyers feel a certain kinship with the sight of the earth unencrusted by humanity, they want to see it that way in one sweeping view, in reassurance that nature still exists on her own, without a chain-link fence to hold her." ~ Richard Bach
Hooded Merganser ~ Lophodytes cucullatus ~ Huron River and Watershed
Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatusHuron Riverduckcrestedcavity nestingnicitating membraneoversized headchestnut flankdiving birdusually silent
Blue Jay by the river ~ Cyanocitta cristata ~ Huron River Watershed
"You can't deny laughter; when it comes, it plops down in your favorite chair and stays as long as it wants." ~ Stephen King
Hooded Merganser ~ Lophodytes cucullatus ~ Huron River
"When your spirit cries for peace, come to a world of canyons deep in an old land; feel the exultation of high plateaus, the strength of moving waters, the simplicity of sand and grass, and the silence of growth." ~ August Fruge
Hooded MerganserNikon D7100Huron RiverMichiganbirdLophodytes cucullatusAFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR IIwaterfowlduckcrested
river dock ~ Huron River, Michigan
"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day." ~ A. A. Milne
on the wing ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” ~ George Eliot
on the wingCanada GeeseBranta condensesHuron RiverMichiganNikon D7100birdinflightAFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR IIchallenge
Autumn Leaves ~ Huron River and Watershed
"In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you." ~ Buddha
Downy, by the River ~ Picoides pubescens ~ Huron River, Michigan
"Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written across the whole world in letters too large for some of us to see." ~ C.S. Lewis
Picoides pubescensDowny WoodpeckerHuron RiverMichiganNikon D7100AFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR IIwoodpeckerdownytreeclinging birdbird
Happy Fence Friday!
"In today’s rush, we all think too much....seek too much....want too much...and forget about the joy of just being." ~ Eckhart Tolle
fenceFridayMichiganContinental United StatesNikon D7100AFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR IIbokeh
sweet autumn light ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
"Nature, whose sweet rains fall of just and unjust alike, will have clefts in the rocks where I may hide, and secret valleys in whose silence I may weep undetected. She will hang the night with stars so that I may walk abroad in the darkness without stumbling, and send the wind over my footprints so that none may track me to my hurt: she will cleanse me in great waters, and with bitter herbs make me whole." ~ Oscar Wilde
autumnfallbokehNikon D7100MichiganContinental United StatesHuron River WatershedAFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR IIlightgolden
one morning by the river ~ Huron River, Michigan
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ~ Lao Tzu
rollin' on the rivergolden hourHuron Rivertwo bridge scansNikon D7100AFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR IImorning
the secret life of petunias ~ Michigan
"If you can't get quiet enough to hear yourself, your life is too loud." ~ Terri Guillemets
petuniaspurpleblossombloomflowerMichiganNikon D7100AFS DX ZoomNikkor 1835mm f3.55.6G IFEDsecret lives
Outside that Sunny Summer Window ~ Ohio River Valley
"The peddler has arrived at a substantial old farmhouse on a warm and sunny summer's day (a door and several windows are open, and the flowers ~ many of them staked or potted ~ are in full bloom)." ~ William T. Oedell
sunnysummeroutsideflowersplantwindowscreenpotted.plantbloomfloratextureleavesredgreen
rhythm of the rails ~ Huron River Watershed, Michigan
*City Of New Orleans* ~ Willie Nelson
"Ridin' on the City of New Orleans Illinois Central Monday morning rail
Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail
All along the southbound odyssey the train pulls out of Kankakee
And rolls along past houses farms and fields
Passing trains that have no name and graveyards full of old black men
And graveyards full of rusted automobiles
Good morning America how are you? Say, don't you know me I'm your native son
I'm the train they call the City of New Orleans
And I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
Dealin' cards with an old man in the club car
Penny a point, ain't no one keepin' score
Pass that paper bag that holds the bottle
And feel the wheels a rumbling neath the floor
And the sons of poor men porters and the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpet made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep rockin' to that gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel
Good morning America...
[guitar]
Night time on the City of New Orleans changing cars in Memphis Tennessee
Half way home we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness rolling down to the sea
And all the towns and people seem to fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news
The conductor sings his songs again the passengers will please refrain
This train has got the disappearing railroad blues
Good morning America..."AFS Nikkor 70200mm f2.8G ED VR IINikon D7100train tracksMichiganHuron River Watershedrhythm of the railscover
