Saturday, November 24, 2012

Zen of Fishing

Years of intense preparation
Hours of patient waiting
Moments of sheer exhilaration.
Bull Red, 34 lbs, 43 inches, Nov 17. 2012




Sunday, November 11, 2012

Crimson Pitcher Plant






Crimson Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia leucophylla) 
Tarkiln Bayou State Park Preserve, Pensacola, FL
November 11, 2012

Today has been too windy to fish, so Bill and I packed a picnic and went to the Tarkiln Bayou Preserve just a few miles up the road. Tarkiln Bayou is set aside to protect four species of rare pitcher plants. After enjoying our picnic, we took the short 1/2 mile hike out to the bayou. On the way, we saw many of the plants. I had passed by them at first, thinking that we wouldn't see any in November. They are more abundant in the spring and early summer. When we return in March, we will take the wet prairie trail and hope to see the other species.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Deserted Places


Alone with Spirit
Renewed in meditation
Sometimes just alone. 


     A deserted place can be a refuge from the business of the world, a place for gaining sustenance and gathering strength, a place eagerly sought and hard to find. 

     A deserted place can also be where we find ourselves alone, friendless, abandoned, frightened, without the resources we need to live. 

     To intentionally find our deserted places may bring us peace that can help us in the times when the deserted places find us. 

Written July 10, 2012, as a response to an "Alive Now" online meditation.

At the Beach - Week 1

Dance
Flying Formation
Skimming surface, soaring up. 
Pelicans' air dance.
(Nov 2)


I couldn't catch them in flight, but I caught this one soaking up the sun. We were anchored next to the channel marker at the entrance to Perdido Pass. (Nov 5)


Sunset
Gentle surf sound rock
In rhythm with my heartbeat
Music to sleep by.
(Nov 6)



Feeding
Sharing surf and sand,
Seeking food, body and soul.
Sanderling and me
(Nov 9)


Bill's Big Red - 40 inches, 28 pounds - Poetry in Motion
(Nov 9)



Morning Prayer
Holy Spirit, wash me clean as the waves wash the shore.
Bathe me with holy light as the rising sun bathes the earth.
Fill me as the gentle breezes fill the air.
Abide with me, in me and through me.
Amen
(Nov 10)