Author: Mihaela Limberea

Ghosts

  1. Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale
  2. From Blossoms
  3. Wild Geese
  4. The Peace of Wild Things
  5. My Gift to You
  6. Departing Spring
  7. The Skylark
  8. What a Strange Thing!
  9. Although The Wind …
  10. The Old Pond
  11. Spring Is Like A Perhaps Hand
  12. Hast thou 2 loaves of bread …
  13. Youth and Age
  14. A Postcard From the Volcano
  15. The Kraken
  16. He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
  17. There Is a Solitude of Space
  18. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
  19. Mad Song
  20. Answer July
  21. Success Is Counted Sweetest
  22. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
  23. The Bluebird
  24. A Vision of the End
  25. The Crying of Water
  26. A Rose Has Thorns As Well As Honey
  27. Winter
  28. The Dark Cavalier
  29. There is no Life or Death
  30. Sheep in Winter
  31. To a Snowflake
  32. Sextain
  33. A Crocodile
  34. Sea Fever
  35. The Giant Cactus of Arizona
  36. The Coming of Night
  37. Going to the Picnic
  38. Moon Tonight
  39. A Southern Night
  40. Greenness
  41. Twilight
  42. On the Wing
  43. In Summer
  44. Before Parting
  45. Sonnet
  46. The Red Wheelbarrow
  47. Acceptance
  48. At The Pool
  49. Incurable
  50. Bluebird and Cardinal
  51. [Say What You Will, And Scratch My Heart To Find]
  52. The River
  53. Vas Doloris
  54. Squirrel
  55. Ghosts
Ghosts, abstract photo

There are ghosts in the room. 
As I sit here alone, from the dark corners there 
They come out of the gloom, 
And they stand at my side and they lean on my chair 

    There’s a ghost of a Hope
That lighted my days with a fanciful glow, 
In her hand is the rope
That strangled her life out. Hope was slain long ago. 

    But her ghost comes to-night 
With its skeleton face and expressionless eyes, 
And it stands in the light, 
And mocks me, and jeers me with sobs and with sighs. 

    There’s the ghost of a Joy, 
A frail, fragile thing, and I prized it too much, 
And the hands that destroy
Clasped its close, and it died at the withering touch. 

    There’s the ghost of a Love,
Born with joy, reared with hope, died in pain and unrest, 
But he towers above
All the others—this ghost; yet a ghost at the best, 

    I am weary, and fain
Would forget all these dead: but the gibbering host 
Make my struggle in vain—
In each shadowy corner there lurketh a ghost.
 

Ella Wheeler Wilcox (1850 – 1919) was an American poet and journalist.


To read more poems, click here.



Favorite Photos: October 2024

  1. Favorite Photos: January 2023
  2. Favorite Photos: February 2023
  3. Favorite Photos: March 2023
  4. Favorite Photos: April 2023
  5. Favorite Photos: May 2023
  6. Favorite Photos: June 2023
  7. Favorite Photos: July 2023
  8. Favorite Photos: August 2023
  9. Paris Is Always A Good Idea
  10. Favorite Photos: October 2023
  11. Favorite Photos: November 2023
  12. Favorite Photos: December 2023
  13. Favorite Photos: January 2024
  14. Favorite Photos: February 2024
  15. Favorite Photos: March 2024
  16. Favorite Photos: April 2024
  17. Favorite Photos: May 2024
  18. Favorite Photos: June 2024
  19. Favorite Photos: July 2024
  20. Favorite Photos: August 2024
  21. Favorite Photos: September 2024
  22. Favorite Photos: October 2024
Boxing Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Joeys

Boxing practice: two young kangaroos sparring at sunset. This is how they learn to fight: first with their mother and then with other young males. As they grow, sparring with other males helps them establish their position within the mob. With experience, the sparring sessions become longer and more intense.

Kangaroos use their sharp claws, strong back legs, and muscular tails —capable of supporting their entire body weight — to deliver powerful kicks that could disembowel a human.

However, these youngsters were only playing and started grooming each other shortly afterward.

This is one of my absolute favorite photos from 2024, but the year isn’t over yet, so we will see which one wins in the end.

🦘Kangaroo Island Kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus)

📍Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Grazing sheep silhouettes in the golden light

Sometimes, simple is best—just a few grazing sheep and the beauty of the rising sun. There’s something about that golden light that makes everything—sheep butts included—look fabulous!

We were on our way to Seal Bay for a 7am appointment with the research team when we came across these sheep grazing peacefully as the sun rose. Everything was bathed in gold; it was breathtaking.

Unfortunately, we were in a hurry and couldn’t afford to stop for too long. I literally jumped out of the car and quickly took a few photos, hoping some would be good enough 😅. 

📍Kangaroo Island, South Australia

Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

Did you know that woodpeckers store seeds, berries, and acorns  in the hollows of trees to prepare for the winter? In late autumn, these resourceful birds not only stash food for the colder months but also occasionally utilize these tree hollows as shelter for resting.

Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

📍Lidingö, Stockholm (Sweden)

Red squirrel with Halloween pumpkins
Red squirrel with Halloween pumpkins

Another hoarder 😉 squirrels are, of course, known for squirreling (pun intended) food to prepare for the cold season. They stopped a few moments between supply runs to pose for the 2024 Halloween cards, though.

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)

📍Lidingö, Stockholm (Sweden)


All photos were taken with Canon EOS R5 and Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM.


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Happy Halloween!

Squirrel with Halloween pumpkin

Trick or treat, bag of sweets, ghosts are walking down the street.

Happy Halloween!



It’s World Kangaroo Day!

Kangaroo Island Joey
Kangaroo Island Joey

Happy World 🦘Kangaroo Day!


📸 Canon R5 & Canon RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM

📍Kangaroo Island, South Australia

🦘Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Joey (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus)


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Squirrel

  1. Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale
  2. From Blossoms
  3. Wild Geese
  4. The Peace of Wild Things
  5. My Gift to You
  6. Departing Spring
  7. The Skylark
  8. What a Strange Thing!
  9. Although The Wind …
  10. The Old Pond
  11. Spring Is Like A Perhaps Hand
  12. Hast thou 2 loaves of bread …
  13. Youth and Age
  14. A Postcard From the Volcano
  15. The Kraken
  16. He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
  17. There Is a Solitude of Space
  18. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
  19. Mad Song
  20. Answer July
  21. Success Is Counted Sweetest
  22. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
  23. The Bluebird
  24. A Vision of the End
  25. The Crying of Water
  26. A Rose Has Thorns As Well As Honey
  27. Winter
  28. The Dark Cavalier
  29. There is no Life or Death
  30. Sheep in Winter
  31. To a Snowflake
  32. Sextain
  33. A Crocodile
  34. Sea Fever
  35. The Giant Cactus of Arizona
  36. The Coming of Night
  37. Going to the Picnic
  38. Moon Tonight
  39. A Southern Night
  40. Greenness
  41. Twilight
  42. On the Wing
  43. In Summer
  44. Before Parting
  45. Sonnet
  46. The Red Wheelbarrow
  47. Acceptance
  48. At The Pool
  49. Incurable
  50. Bluebird and Cardinal
  51. [Say What You Will, And Scratch My Heart To Find]
  52. The River
  53. Vas Doloris
  54. Squirrel
  55. Ghosts

Red squirrel climbing an oak tree in the winter
Swift and agile
Sleek and prehensile –
Skittering across bark
And as dexterously over brick –
Squirrel.
The arch survivor –
A thief in woodland
A bandit of suburbia,
Beautiful peanut pirate.
You skim the rigging of
Rotary washing lines
And old telephone wires:
Your sail-tail
A Spinnaker of balance –
A back garden acrobat.
Grey down of fur covers
The machine of sinew
Tendons tight
Like bowstrings
Wired to shoot across
Fence top,
Gate post, sign post,
Post box – post haste.
The highwayman of the high street,
Terror of the terraces
Ply your profession –
Livelihood in the manmade Landscape.
A narrow escape
With a clutch of grapes
Hijacked from garden vine
Jam-packed with sweet juice.
You make a getaway
Into ornamental spruce
Where you have your hideaway.

by Finn Farnsworth who came second in the People Need Nature competition set on the Young Poets’ Network.


To read more poems, click here.



Celebrating Squirrel Awareness Month

Red squirrel and Halloween pumpkins

Did you know that October is Squirrel Awareness Month?

It all started in 1995 when Greg Bassett, deeply moved by his encounter with a fox squirrel at the Grand Canyon, founded the Squirrel Lover’s Club and Squirrel Awareness Week. This initiative later expanded into Squirrel Awareness Month, a testament to the profound impact a single squirrel can have on a person.

Red squirrel and Halloween pumpkins
Red squirrel holding a strawberry

The creation of Squirrel Awareness Month helped highlight the critical role squirrels play in our environment. ‘Squirrel Awareness’ refers to the understanding and appreciation of the ecological importance of squirrels and the need to protect their habitats.

Red squirrel licking its paw

However, due to deforestation and urbanization, squirrel populations are declining in many areas. Squirrels, with their unique behavior of burying nuts, are key players in forest regeneration. Many of these buried nuts sprout into trees, contributing significantly to reforestation. This behavior underscores the vital role squirrels play in maintaining healthy ecosystems, a fact that we should all appreciate.

Red squirrel
Red squirrel

Interesting Facts About Squirrels

  • Red squirrels change their body fur twice every year, but their tail hair only changes once.
  • They can jump over 2 meters (6.5 feet), ten times their body length (without the tail). The long tail, measuring another 20 centimeters (8in), helps squirrels to balance and steer when jumping.
  • Squirrels live in a nest known as a drey. Dreys are located high up in trees, made from twigs, and lined with moss, leaves, and other soft materials.
  • They engage in deceptive caching. The squirrel digs a hole and fiercely plugs it up without using the nut to fend off any food thieves.
  • Squirrels like to gnaw on reindeer horns. The horns provide a good supplement of calcium, phosphorus, glucosamine, and chondroitin, with trace amounts of magnesium, potassium, zinc, and iron. 
  • Squirrels’ front teeth don’t stop growing. Like those of other rodents, squirrels’ front teeth continue to develop throughout their lives. Gnawing on animal horns (see above) helps squirrels grind down their teeth.
  • They zigzag to avoid predators. Squirrels flee in a zigzag fashion when they are threatened.
Red squirrel in the snow
Red squirrel in the snow

How to Celebrate Squirrel Awareness Month

  • Feed the little critters nuts, fruits, and vegetables. Squirrels love walnuts and hazelnuts (all kinds of nuts, really), so you can start with that. You can go to a park or set up a simple feeding station in your backyard. Fill feeders with a mix of nuts, seeds, and fresh fruits. You could also transform your garden into a squirrel-friendly sanctuary by setting up squirrel houses, planting nut-bearing trees, and creating safe spaces for them to hide.
  • Plant some trees to support squirrel habitats. They provide food and shelter for the squirrels and other small animals and birds. You can also create a safe space for squirrels to hide by leaving some areas of your garden undisturbed and providing water sources.
  • Share the Joy: capture the squirrels in action and share their shenanigans on social media, using #SquirrelAwarenessMonth to connect with others who appreciate these fascinating creatures.

Bonus: NASA engineer designed a squirrel-proof birdfeeder. Or so he thought.


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Vas Doloris

  1. Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale
  2. From Blossoms
  3. Wild Geese
  4. The Peace of Wild Things
  5. My Gift to You
  6. Departing Spring
  7. The Skylark
  8. What a Strange Thing!
  9. Although The Wind …
  10. The Old Pond
  11. Spring Is Like A Perhaps Hand
  12. Hast thou 2 loaves of bread …
  13. Youth and Age
  14. A Postcard From the Volcano
  15. The Kraken
  16. He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
  17. There Is a Solitude of Space
  18. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
  19. Mad Song
  20. Answer July
  21. Success Is Counted Sweetest
  22. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
  23. The Bluebird
  24. A Vision of the End
  25. The Crying of Water
  26. A Rose Has Thorns As Well As Honey
  27. Winter
  28. The Dark Cavalier
  29. There is no Life or Death
  30. Sheep in Winter
  31. To a Snowflake
  32. Sextain
  33. A Crocodile
  34. Sea Fever
  35. The Giant Cactus of Arizona
  36. The Coming of Night
  37. Going to the Picnic
  38. Moon Tonight
  39. A Southern Night
  40. Greenness
  41. Twilight
  42. On the Wing
  43. In Summer
  44. Before Parting
  45. Sonnet
  46. The Red Wheelbarrow
  47. Acceptance
  48. At The Pool
  49. Incurable
  50. Bluebird and Cardinal
  51. [Say What You Will, And Scratch My Heart To Find]
  52. The River
  53. Vas Doloris
  54. Squirrel
  55. Ghosts
Shadow of a lace curtain on a white wall, photograph in B&W.

I come from the remote borders
of the land of oblivion. My songs
will not sound beneath your balconies,
I am the singer of the broken sanctuaries.

Artist, dreamer, sensitive and tender,
my music is a voice of affirmation . . .
I am like a winter twilight
in love’s garden.

I love the fire of the sun. My delights are
the flaming rose, the bleeding pink,
and I love the white swans on the lakes
and the blue clouds in the wind. 

I love the sad—for life is Pain—
I love your black half-opened eyes
fixed in an unknown direction
where dead loves are forgotten.

I know full well that love is sleep . . .
and my soul sleepless. You are not
to blame for my sorrow. You are a dream . . .
I call you when I wake and you do not come!

You can come only as does death,
silent and fatal. You are anxiety,
no matter, come; my heart is strong . . .
Shed your petals in my hands, faded rose. 

I knew in my dreams that love is good
and today, impenitent, a rebel against love,
I weep upon the lilies of your breast
and kiss you on the forehead.

Julián del Casal (1863 – 1893) was a Cuban poet and one of the most important forerunners of the Modernist movement in Latin America

Translated from the Spanish by William George Williams.


To read more poems, click here.



The River

  1. Things to Do in the Belly of the Whale
  2. From Blossoms
  3. Wild Geese
  4. The Peace of Wild Things
  5. My Gift to You
  6. Departing Spring
  7. The Skylark
  8. What a Strange Thing!
  9. Although The Wind …
  10. The Old Pond
  11. Spring Is Like A Perhaps Hand
  12. Hast thou 2 loaves of bread …
  13. Youth and Age
  14. A Postcard From the Volcano
  15. The Kraken
  16. He wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
  17. There Is a Solitude of Space
  18. Because I Could Not Stop for Death
  19. Mad Song
  20. Answer July
  21. Success Is Counted Sweetest
  22. Hope Is the Thing with Feathers
  23. The Bluebird
  24. A Vision of the End
  25. The Crying of Water
  26. A Rose Has Thorns As Well As Honey
  27. Winter
  28. The Dark Cavalier
  29. There is no Life or Death
  30. Sheep in Winter
  31. To a Snowflake
  32. Sextain
  33. A Crocodile
  34. Sea Fever
  35. The Giant Cactus of Arizona
  36. The Coming of Night
  37. Going to the Picnic
  38. Moon Tonight
  39. A Southern Night
  40. Greenness
  41. Twilight
  42. On the Wing
  43. In Summer
  44. Before Parting
  45. Sonnet
  46. The Red Wheelbarrow
  47. Acceptance
  48. At The Pool
  49. Incurable
  50. Bluebird and Cardinal
  51. [Say What You Will, And Scratch My Heart To Find]
  52. The River
  53. Vas Doloris
  54. Squirrel
  55. Ghosts
Jebel Kissu, in northwestern Sudan, emerges abruptly like an island in the vast Sahara Desert. The plateau is the eroded remnant of a granite dome. The bright linear features are truck tracks, common in the Sahara where there are no paved roads.

Photo by USGS on Unsplash

With graceful waves, ye waters, frolic free;
   Uplift your liquid songs, ye eddies bright,
   And you, loquacious bubblings, day and night,
Hold converse with the wind and leaves in glee! 
O’er the deep cut, ye jets, gush sportively. 
   And rend yourselves to foamy tatters white, 
   And dash on boulders curved and rocks upright, 
Golconda’s pearls and diamonds rich to see! 
I am your sire, the River. Lo, my hair 
   Is moonbeams pale: of yon cerulean sky 
      Mine eyes are mirrors, as I sweep along.
Of molten spray is my forehead fair;
   Transparent mosses for my beard have I;
The laughter of the Naiads’ is my song.

Manuel José Othón (1858 – 1906) was a Mexican poet, playwright, and politician.

Translated from the Spanish by Alice Stone Blackwell


To read more poems, click here.



Protecting Our Planet’s Precious Wildlife: Celebrating World Animal Day

Kangaroo Island Kangaroos holding paws

Today, October 4th, marks World Animal Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of protecting our precious wildlife. It was Steve Irwin who once said, “If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.”

Now, this is my mission, too. Share beautiful photographs of the amazing creatures we share our planet with, share my wildlife, and touch people’s hearts. Because humans want to save things they love.

October 4th is World Animal Day, but every day should be animal day. We share this Earth with other living beings, and the topic of animal rights isn’t just about animals; it’s also about us. Let’s all take part in building a world where both animals and humans can thrive. Animals also have a right to live free lives unharmed and unexploited.

As Emmanuel Kant famously said, “He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” This is a powerful message that reminds us that the way we treat animals reflects who we are as a society.

So, on this World Animal Day, let us celebrate the beauty of our planet’s wildlife and remember that it is our responsibility to protect it. Let us work towards building a world where both animals and humans can coexist in harmony.


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The Lion’s Share

Close-up of a lion

The sun was shining high in the African sky when Lion, Jackal, and Wild Dog went out hunting together. It did not take them long before they had brought down a wildebeest, a springbok, and a hare.

Lion spoke to Wild Dog. “My cousin, how shall we divide our food today?” Wild Dog answered, “My King, I think that you should have the wildebeest, our friend Jackal should have the hare, and for myself, I don’t mind if I have the springbok.”

Lion’s eyes had grown wide and fierce. He raised his mighty paw and knocked Wild Dog to the ground. With one eyebrow raised, Lion turned to Jackal, “Now, my good friend, you may like to divide our meal a little better.” Jackal spoke with a serious heart, “My King, the wildebeest will be your lunch, the springbok will be your dinner, and the hare you shall have for breakfast tomorrow morning.”

Lion was taken aback, “Jackal, when did you become so wise?” Jackal responded simply, “When I saw Wild Dog lying on the ground.”


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