I first read Rainer Maria Rilke one autumn in "Letters to a Young Poet" -- a book handed off to me with pages stained by office carbons. Rilke's letters to Franz Kappus, published by Kappus after Rilke's death, are sympathetic and inspired. There's a reason this collection finds its way to the paws of young writers, as it did mine that fall day. Everything is gestation and then birthing. To let each impression and [...]
Mondo Maple - ©ingridtaylar For perspective, Hugh's shoe in this photo is about 12 inches. I photographed the fallen leaf in our local green space, Discovery Park. It wasn't until I started looking at world-record maple leaves that I realize this particular one -- although not a record setter -- is in the ballpark (or tree park) of some of the largest. The current record is around 21 inches. I'm indoctrinated to not [...]
"Under the brine you won't notice the dark Can stone and steel and horses heels Ever explain the way you feel? From Scapa Flow to Rotherhithe, I felt the lapping of an ebbing tide Oh the heavy water how it enfolds The salt, the spray, the gorgeous undertow Always, always, always the sea Brilliantine mortality." ~ British Sea Power - from the song Carrion :: A solitary stem in a mini kelp forest that invited [...]
This was a serendipitous capture ... getting the two honey bees in a straight line, and in the same plane of focus. I was photographing a single, pollen-soaked bee when the other entered the frame and queued up behind. Whenever I see bees on a slow approach to sunflowers, I can't help but think of mother ships and gravitational pull. I shot the bee photo in one of Seattle's vibrant P-Patches, tucked below [...]
Click for Larger Image Nereocystis luetkeana I saw these bull kelp stipes or stems on Elliott Bay in Seattle, rolling with the pulses of the tide and buoyed by their bulbs. The slickness of their whips and ribbons reflect the sun and paint them metallic. It's a dying sea forest alchemically transformed through the elements of light. The gas-filled bulbs (carbon monoxide) at the tips of 10, 20 and 30-foot strands keep the canopy afloat [...]
On the surface, Brant Geese -- in this case, Pacific Brant or Black Brant or Branta bernicla -- are a marvel to behold. That's but a superficial observation. There's a lot more to a Brant than her aesthetic, but let's face it, aesthetics form our first impressions. Clustered together like Tribbles, they call out in staccato, a sound sometimes described as "throaty" or "crackling," but which to me is the tuning of an orchestra horn [...]
The fragrance of fennel always takes me to Southern California . . . to the untamed hillside of my parents' home . . . years ago now . . . where she and my dad landed after a lifetime of soaking up maritime fog . . . [read the full post ...]
Today, I watched a Marsh Wren collect soft fibers from the head of a cattail -- and dive into the abyss of cattail leaves to build up a hidden nest. [read full post ...]
Every spring, the wood chipper shows up. One morning, Fargo-like, it just appears . . . always while I'm in my bathrobe, never after I've quaffed my caffeine . . . [read the full post ...]
I appreciate spring this year. I didn't in 2009. Our California sod is parched from recent drought -- and the whimsy of a winter that flitted through last year felt like hope lost. [read the full post . . .]
