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Welcome!

I’m a photographer who writes to paraphrase Austin Kleon. Therefore, my blog combines posts on books (reading, writing, musing over), lots of photos (all taken by me, unless otherwise stated), culture and arts in general, some astronomy and space (I’m a Science-Fiction fan), and cats as cats rule the internet.


Not much time? Read My Top Ten Blog Posts.


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 Scheduled for 15th October 2024
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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Favorite Photos: September 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
Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) licking its paw

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris). That tiny pink tongue 😍.

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) posing in a lilac bush holding a lute

The original photo was a bit meh so I played around in Photoshop and voilà! The little musician ❤️.

Close-up of an Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus)

The Australian pelican (Pelecanus conspicillatus) has the longest bill of any living bird, the record one measuring 50 cm (1.6 ft)! However, females tend to have smaller bills than males.


📍Emu Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia


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


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[Say What You Will, And Scratch My Heart To Find]

  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 Scheduled for 15th October 2024
Pine tree reflections in the sea

Say what you will, and scratch my heart to find  
The roots of last year’s roses in my breast;  
I am as surely riper in my mind  
As if the fruit stood in the stalls confessed.  
Laugh at the unshed leaf, say what you will,  
Call me in all things what I was before,  
A flutterer in the wind, a woman still;  
I tell you I am what I was and more. 

My branches weigh me down, frost cleans the air.  
My sky is black with small birds bearing south;  
Say what you will, confuse me with fine care,  
Put by my word as but an April truth,—  
Autumn is no less on me that a rose  
Hugs the brown bough and sighs before it goes.

Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 – 1950) was an American lyrical poet and playwright.


To read more poems, click here.



How The Giraffe Got Its Long Neck

Giraffe

This is a charming African story explaining the long neck of the Giraffe.

In the beginning, the Creator gave the Giraffe the same legs and neck as all the other animals; in fact, the Giraffe resembled the larger antelope. All was well until the drought came.

As the best grazing and browsing were eaten, the animals began to go hungry. One day, Giraffe and his friend Rhino were talking, “Oh, Rhino, there are too many animals looking for grass on the plains; all they do is trample the last remaining grass.” Despite the dire situation, Giraffe’s determination to find a solution was unwavering.

Rhino suggested they go see the man-magician, a wise and powerful figure known for his ability to solve problems. After they told him their story, the man-magician told them to come back at noon the following day, and he would help them.

Giraffe, filled with hope, went to see the man-magician. They waited and waited for Rhino, who, unfortunately, had forgotten the plan.

Finally, the man-magician gave the Giraffe all the magic medicine, including Rhino’s share. That potent potion made his neck and legs grow long. Since that day, Giraffe has been able to feast on the succulent leaves on the treetops, which he now has all to himself.


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Bluebird and Cardinal

  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 Scheduled for 15th October 2024
Cardinal bird sitting on a tree branch overlooking a valley and a river at sunset

                                  I 
Thou winged symbol of the quiet mind,  
Thou straying violet, flying flower of spring,  
Heaven-hued and heaven-hearted! Thou dost sing  
As thou some sweet remembered thought didst find,  
And, counseling with thyself in musing kind,  
Didst softly say it over. Thy swift wing  
Knows but a quiet rhythm; thou a thing  
Of peace, to passion innocently blind. 

Thy russet breast means married love, long hope,  
Sheltered experience, small and sweet and sure.  
All of the brown earth’s natural purity;  
But something heavenly, beyond our scope,  
Steeped thy blue wing in color strange and pure,  
Intense and holy as the mirrored sky. 
                                  II 
Pulse of the gorgeous world, jubilant, strong,—
Thy song a whistled splendor, and thy coat  
A fiery song! From thy triumphant throat  
How I have heard it pouring, loud and long.  
Whipping the air as with a scarlet thong—  
The joyous lashing of thy triple note  
Which all the tamer noonday noises smote  
And clove a royal pathway through the throng! 

Thou singest joy of battle, joy of fame.  
Glory, and love of woman; joy of strife 
With life’s wild fates; and scorn’st, with jocund breath  
For prudence’ sake to dim thy feathered flame—  
Thou heart of fire, epitome of life,  
Full-throated flouter of vindictive death! 
                                  III 
And lo, among the leafy, hidden groves  
Within my heart, they both do flit and nest,  
Saintly blue wing and vaunting scarlet crest,  
Yea, all of life and all its myriad loves.  
Even as Nature holds them, sifts and proves  
And balances, so shall my soul find rest  
In Her large tolerance, which without rest  
Or lagging, toward some wide conclusion moves. 

So, though I weary sometimes of the stress,  
Leave me not, little lovers of the air.  
Dearest of Nature’s fine antitheses!  
Thou of the musing voice and heavenly dress.  
Thou, royal firebrand,—neither could I spare.  
My scarlet Passion, nor my winged Peace!
 

Karle Wilson Baker (1878 – 1960) was An American writer.


To read more poems, click here.



The Origin of the Elephants

Elephant portrait in black and white

This is a charming origin story, said to come from the Kamba tribe in Kenya, explaining elephants’ intelligence.

Long ago, there lived an extremely poor man. For years, he lived with extraordinarily little, and eventually, he became very tired of his poverty. At last, he went to see his witch doctor to ask for help. “Go and see Ivonya-ngia,” he advised,” he who feeds the poor.”

When he reached Ivonya-ngia, he asked, “Please tell me how I can become rich.” Ivonya-ngia told his herdsmen, “Give this man 100 cows, 200 sheep, and 300 goats.” No, no, no,” said the poor man, “I do not want charity; I only want advice on how to become rich.” The rich man thought for a while and then gave the poor man some ointment: “This is a magic ointment. You must rub it on your wife’s pointed teeth. Wait for them to grow, then take them out and sell them.

The man did what he was told, and within a few weeks, his wife’s teeth had grown as long as his arms. He took them out and sold them, for they were pure ivory. He did this several times, and he became wealthy. 

A jealous neighbor came to ask him how he’d become so wealthy, and he gave the same advice, “Go and see Ivonya-ngia.” Soon, the neighbor was rubbing the magic ointment on his wife’s teeth. They grew and grew.

Unfortunately, the man had not been told to take the tusks out and sell them. Eventually, the woman’s face grew strange, her body swelled to an enormous size until she turned into an elephant. Finally, she burst through their little hut and she ran off into the bush. There she gave birth to a son who was a baby elephant, and there they remained. 

That was the origin of elephants, a species still as clever as people.


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Incurable

  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 Scheduled for 15th October 2024

And if my heart be scarred and burned,  
The safer, I, for all I learned;  
The calmer, I, to see it true  
That ways of love are never new—  
The love that sets you daft and dazed  
Is every love that ever blazed;  
The happier, I, to fathom this:  
A kiss is every other kiss.  
The reckless vow, the lovely name,  
When Helen walked, were spoke the same;  
The weighted breast, the grinding woe,  
When Phaon fled, were ever so.  
Oh, it is sure as it is sad  
That any lad is every lad,  
And what’s a girl, to dare implore  
Her dear be hers forevermore?  
Though he be tried and he be bold,  
And swearing death should he be cold,  
He’ll run the path the others went.… 
But you, my sweet, are different.
 

Dorothy Parker (1893 – 1967) was an American poet and writer of fiction, plays, and screenplays known for her caustic wisecracks.


To read more poems, click here.



Another Cover Photo!

Australian sea lions(Neophoca cinerea)
Australian sea lions (Neophoca cinerea), Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island, South Australia

I’m grateful and honored that Canon Sweden chose my photo of these cute Australian sea lions as their Facebook cover for September. I am so excited to share my passion for wildlife photography with a broader audience!

The Facebook page of Canon Sweden

This is what the Canon Romania Facebook page looks like now; I’m so proud!


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