Last stroll through WWS of 2023

Barred Owl, December 29, 2023

A new year begins. May it be rich and meaningful!

As you might know about personal loss, the two months since Terry died have been full of grief with a particular loneliness and longing to talk to him about this remarkable dying experience. John O'Donohue knew of this when he said, "Lonesome for all the conversations we never had," and more. Conversations spontaneously arise in my mind as I wonder what Terry would think. 

When a wave of grief arose, I'd step outside and start walking. To be with the birds and trees. With nature. 

Poet Rainer Marie Rilke's recommendation for when things get turbulent and troublesome: stay close to nature. I have. So here are some things I noticed and photographed. 

I'll begin with the lucky sighting of a Barred Owl two days ago, around 4 PM, across the pond from the butterfly garden in Pineneedle near my place. I've heard it multiple times very early (3 - 5 AM), and then yesterday, I heard caterwauling, so it looks like a pair might nest nearby.

Cormorants on the big pond. Many of them! 

Wood Storks resting. Edge of big pond.

A female Eastern Grey Squirrel. Notice her teats - nesting in a Laurel Oak.

Mourning Dove taking a bath in a puddle.

A pair of Limpkins, north Wildewood. A Limpkin hanging out with juvenile Wood Storks, big pond.

Anhinga catches a fish.

Red-bellied Woodpecker. See the red belly?

Tri-colored Heron, north Wildewood pond near Pickle Ball courts.

Bluejay and Northern Cardinal

So many ducks in the ponds. This is an American Widgeon.

Monarchs finding nectar in Orchid tree blooms. Woodland Village.

European Honey Bee hive, north Wildewood Drive in a wooded area.

The Dombeya tree is blooming, and the bees are delighted!

A bird of a different sort - took a helicopter ride with a granddaughter. What fun! Saw the gulf from a bird's-eye view.

A saunter, Wood Stork, and Terry

December 17, 2023

The photo above is of a Juvenile Wood Stork and a personal awakening. Here’s what happened. A flock flew in – adults, juveniles. They huddled, but this young one immediately hop-stepped to the pond. Just before I took this picture, its parent charged and squawked with big-deal heightened energy. Juvenile cowered in fear, yet stayed. Ten or so seconds later, that scuffle disappeared, and I took this photo. 

 

Just like that. Calm, open. Being itself. 

 

This young bird would remind me, again and again, to face, feel, and remember my basic nature as Terry* (and I) similarly and differently began the Bardo between our life together to the next. To rebirth - something already familiar in one breath to the next, moment to moment, yesterday to today.

 

In our shared life, Terry was a notice-er. I remembered a work trip to Italy, when we wandered the streets of many cities. I watched him pause and study flaking paint on cathedral doors and decaying and crumbling walls. Unlike others like me rushing off to take photos of iconic artworks such as Michelangelo’s David, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, or Florence’s Duomo Santa Maria, his eyes were drawn to the layers and dissolution. When he showed me the photographs, I realized the importance of slowing down. Teachers say speediness affects presence.

All of Terry's photos are here.

This might be too personal. It’s significant. Five days before the energy I knew as Terry continued, he surprised me late in the night. He woke from a sleep state and crawled partway into our bed. (His hospital bed was next to our bed.) The crown of our heads touched in the dark. I felt an exchange of energy as if I was dying, too, within a context of love. I experienced timelessness –an ineffable peace. A blessing for us?

 

I believe Terry is okay.

 

I’m okay, too. 

Juvenile's practice is mine, and that late-night experience gives me confidence and devotion. Though mourning arises as it will, I'm waking up anew in response to it. Practice, being with wise teachers, trips to the planetarium to see a James Webb cosmos perspective crystalize the Four Thoughts. Pema Chodron’s book title and phrase, no time to lose, rings a bell for study and practice. 

Sitting like bird fosters peace.

Onward… 

* Terry (my beautiful husband) died peacefully October 29, 2023.

Barb's beautiful view

Wood Stork, photograph by Barb Reis

Stunning Barb.

Today was special. Neighbor and friend Barb stopped by. Oh, how I love to talk to her. She's a birder. She dropped off a jump drive with a few photos to share with you. Let's take a moment to be with her, beginning with a few more photos she took of the stately Wood Stork. 

Juvenile Bald Eagle

Great Blue Heron

Breeding female Anhinga

Juvenile Little Blue Heron

A breeding Great Egret and its Brown Anole lunch. Its breeding plumage shows in the green around the eye, and though not in this photo, long feathery plumes grow from its back.

 

Last, the Brown Thrasher visits an area next to Barb's sliding glass door.

A Wood Stork flock on a special day

November 9, 2022

Heart-shaped wings, Great Egret

Dawn lit the day to reveal a flock of Wood Storks behind our place. Seeing one or two is common, but a flock? That's special. 

One flew across the pond with a stick.

Outside with my camera, I turned around to see Wood Storks in the butterfly garden.

One lone Wood Stork remained. I took many photos.

I collected their feathers after. And the stick.

This was the morning of my son's birthday (he passed away 16 years ago), and later that day, our beloved beautiful sister, mom, grandmother, aunt, and friend Sandy had a catastrophic brain bleed. 

Yesterday, a flock of Wood Storks circled in the sky as I entered the hospital - the day she would continue on. 

We can think whatever we wish about this. 

My thought is about the boundless gifts from nature to uplift, inspire, and remind us how connected we are.

Day after Ian, Beth Price's photographs of birds in WWS

Chestnut-sided Warbler, Beth Price, photographer, WWS, September 30, 2022

Follow Beth on Instagram or on FB

Bird photographer, Beth Price, was here in Wildewood Springs photographing birds immediately after Hurricane Ian passed. Most of these sightings were made in Woodlawn, just off the Oak Street wood walkway where there is a lot of natural woodland growth by the pool. She identified 35 bird species in about 2 hours.

Here are a few of those 35: a Yellow-billed Cuckoo.

A cool fact about the Yellow-billed Cuckoo - it is one of the few birds who eats hairy caterpillars, for example feasting on 100 tent caterpillars at a time. Links are included in this post to learn more about these migrators.

Beth also shared these photos of Wood Storks resting after the storm.

This next photo is of a female Black-Throated Blue Warbler. Where is the blue? Look at the next photo.

A male Black-throated Blue Warbler

These two photos are of a Chestnut-sided Warbler which was a "lifer" for Beth. This means it was her first-ever sighting of this species.

This looks like a Halloween special bird. It's a male American Redstart.

This is a female American Redstart.

A Bald Eagle soaring above the big pond.

Many thanks to Beth for letting us see through her lens, and for giving permission to share these photos on Wildewood Wonders.