northern mockingbird
November ends. I come across a poem by my favorite poet — she describes the sense of loss and disconnect I had been feeling all month.
She could not live upon the Past
The Present did not know her
And so she sought this sweet at last
And nature gently owned her
The mother that has not a Knell
For either Duke or Robin
~ Emily Dickinson
(The Poems of Emily Dickinson, #1535)
I’m grateful for and encouraged by nature, poetry and my books, and family and friends, as I imagine most of us are. This squirrel came up to me on our last visit to the botanical garden, as if to say, “I’m here, too.”
The poorest experience is rich enough for all the purposes of expressing thought. Why covet a knowledge of new facts? Day and night, house and garden, a few books, a few actions, serve us as well as would all trades and all spectacles. We are far from having exhausted the significance of the symbols we use. We can come to use them yet with a terrible simplicity. It does not need that a poem should be long. Every word was once a poem.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
(The Poet)
simple healing in
watching a mourning dove feed
on the forest floor
~ Barbara Rodgers
(In the Woods)
Barbara,
Nice job with penning your own poem to end with.
It may be Dec1, but in 3 weeks the Solstice will be here and the sun will start coming back. That is always a positive thought for me.
Thank you, Janet! Interesting fact, according to Google, the earliest sunset occurs before the winter solstice because the length of a day varies slightly due to the Earth’s spin. Until Dec. 7 the sun is setting at 5:02 here, and by Dec. 21 it will be setting a few minutes later, at 5:06. But Dec. 21 is still the shortest day of the year because the latest sunrise occurs after the winter solstice, around January 5. 🙂
“looking up! – what a revelation – heavenly
Thank you, Leelah! 🙏
I ❤️ your personal mourning dove poem!
These photos would make lovely notecards. You are very talented!!
You’re so kind, Teri, thank you!!! I hope I keep seeing the mourning doves as they so gently heal my spirit. 💙
Lovely simplicity! 💕
Thank you, Eliza! As Peter Matthiessen once wrote, “Simplicity is the whole secret of well-being.” 💙
Your photos are so gorgeous and writing so heartfelt Barbara – you embrace nature, from the last colorful leaves on the trees, to the beauty of the mockingbird perched so prettily on the fence and even noticing the “me-too” chubby squirrel on the ground. And your own special poem with a mourning dove is beautiful. A potpourri of photos and thoughts about Autumn as it quietly slinks away.
Thank you so much, Linda! I almost walked right by that mockingbird, but I heard Tim stage whispering to me, “Barbara, look over to your left!” And it stayed there on the fence long enough for me to focus and get a few pictures. It makes me wonder how many other birds I might have missed over the years. The squirrel was so friendly I thought he might actually touch my shoe, but he turned around at the last minute. Maybe he thought I was somebody else. 😉
Sometimes there is so much to see that our heads are swirling around and we are bound to miss something – good thing your sidekick Tim is your “spotter”. The wild turkey from last week’s post – well, I was taking photos of the singing frogs in the puddle in the grass and was just mesmerized by them and when done I looked up and the turkey had crossed the walking path while my back was turned. The gray squirrels are always so timid, but this one liked you and gave you a pose as well!
Those doves are simply stunning, Barbara! Your photos capture their simplicity and gentleness … as well as their understated beauty. I, too, find it hard to say goodbye to autumn, probably because winter is my least favorite season. Oh, I always want to live where there are four seasons — just not such a long winter one!