Category Archives: Photography

Gone Picking

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"If you would know the flavor of huckleberries, ask the cowboy or the partridge. It is a vulgar error to suppose that you have tasted huckleberries who never plucked them. A huckleberry never reaches Boston; they have not been known there since they grew on her three hills. The ambrosial and essential part of the fruit is lost with the bloom which is rubbed off in the market cart, and they become mere provender. As long as Eternal Justice reigns, not one innocent huckleberry can be transported thither from the country's hills."

- Henry David Thoreau

Tangy and sweet, hanging in thick clusters, the mere sight of plump red berries bursting on the branches is enough to get any hunter gatherer’s heart thumping and blood pumping. This doesn’t only apply to humans, the bears and birds are also pretty keen to get to the berries before they are gone so the competition is pretty fierce. Just as it was in Thoreau’s time it takes some effort to get to the berry patches, or even find them for that matter. Success is also contingent on the weather and their receiving the proper amount sun and rain and if these conditions are not met the season is spoiled. That is not the case this year so I am particularly thrilled. That is because I find berry picking to be one of the most pleasant and practical ways to spend time, the whole experience is medicine. The berries are by far more delicious than anything you could purchase in a store plus you get the bonus of fresh air and exercise. It is far better and more practical than a combined trip to the doctor, gym and grocer’s, plus money is not part of the equation, it is the ultimate all natural experience.

© TS Ni hUiginn

In The Caterpillars Lair

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"'Are you content now?' said the Caterpillar.

'Well, I should like to be a little larger, sir, if you wouldn't mind,' said Alice: 'three inches is such a wretched height to be.'

'It is a very good height indeed!' said the Caterpillar angrily, rearing itself upright as it spoke (it was exactly three inches high)."

-Charles Lutwidge Dodgson AKA Lewis Carroll

It isn’t likely that anyone will destroy this silky creation being the alder that host’s it is little more than a roadside weed that no one will step into rescue. This includes myself as it is not my place to interfere in the relationship between tree and caterpillar, for all I know they both may be benefiting from each other. It doesn’t look good though to see the leaves all chewed away and barren and many would say their presence spoils the view.

Many people find these types of creatures unpleasant and unsightly however there is beauty found glistening off of their intricate silky home. There is beauty in everything which you will eventually find if you carefully look for it. It is indeed a pretty wondrous and impressive to be able to weave such an amazing abode and to be able to spend your summer in such a scenic and comfortable location simply through your own effort. This is something as humans, even if we could do, we would never dare reduce ourselves to do. Instead we would create rules against performing such practical and natural activities in order to sate our egos by separating us from the lowly animals as well as stimulate our ever failing economies.

© TS Ni hUiginn

Hummingbird and Garlic Blossoms

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"Everything is made out of magic, leaves and trees, flowers and birds, badgers and foxes and squirrels and people. So it must be all around us. In this garden - in all the places."

― Frances Hodgson Burnett

This scape is one of the hummingbirds favourite natural feeders ergo it is one of my favourite places to go looking for hummingbirds. This Rufous, who are annual visitors here, has aggressively laid claim to this blossom and is driving off the other Rufous’ along with native Anna’s. This scape is a volunteer, and being I am allergic it is left to grow for the hummingbirds to enjoy, and they absolutely love it. It will flower for the rest of the summer so I highly recommend growing one for the hummingbirds.

© TS Ni hUiginn

Beautiful Blooms

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"Beauty's a fragile boon, 
and the years are quick to destroy it,
Always diminished with time, 
never enduring too long.
Violet's always fade, 
and the bloom departs from the lily;
When the roses are gone, 
nothing is left but the thorn."

- Ovid

Wild roses and flower blossoms compete for the attention of the busy bees and pretty flies by luring them with their exquisite scent. Unfortunately I could not figure out how to share the loveliness of the scent with everyone as I did with their beauty. Beauty never last long and disappears as quickly as the breeze removes their perfume their beauty is also gone.

One must never put off going to see them they likely won’t be there when you finally get around to it and that is how it often is with what mattes in life. The one thing I long for much more than money or possessions, is time. Unfortunately is is, like the bloom of the roses, too brief and thus we should never waste this most valuable commodity because no matter how rich you are, time is something money can never buy. and is something if wasted, cannot be gotten back.

© TS Ni hUiginn

The Eagles are Feeling Frisky

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“'Seek, seek, seek,' sang Son of Eagle as he sailed down from his tall, tall tree and with his great talons he picked up the salmon, and in one graceful swoop he circled the wide area of the pool and sailed back to his house. All the while the beautiful, silvery salmon was wiggling helplessly in his strong talons.” 

- George Clutesi

The young eagles were feeling particularly frisky yesterday, squawking and soaring, delighting in their being alive and showing off for their folks. For me there is nothing more lovely or soothing than watching youth delight in their bodies, strength and playfully developing their skills. They are not any different than human families, they came equipped with the same natural family bond human beings were blessed with. They protect, love, nurture and respect each other much like people used to do, and need to again.

While I was out with the eagles yesterday I had a little surprise when this black bear crashed across the path running in terror away from me as well as the noisy people, dogs and vehicles around here. He was a nice size and well nourished, and much bigger than me. I waited and watched as he crashed through the roadside bushes to determine which way was the safe way to proceed. It is common to come across black bears, wolves and cougars in urban spaces and when we do it is important to react in a reasonable and cautious manner. Although black bears aren’t aggressive when terrorised, as this one was, they can, just like a human over react so it is wise to keep a respectful, very calm distance.

© TS Ni hUiginn

Preening Heron

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"We grieve as the blithe birds, never again, leave shingle and elm,
The heron and I,
I young Aesop fabling to the near night by the dingle
Of eels, saint heron hymning in the shell-hung distant"

-Dylan Thomas

I had the great fortune to spend some quality time with a lovely Heron as she preened herself before her well earned sleep. The fishing had been exceptionally good so with full belly she worked grooming her lovely form. Unlike with human grooming, she is not performing these tasks due to vanity, or to garner compliments or likes on her social media. It is necessary for her very survival as her feathers keep her warm and dry during the storms and long nights. Herons are however incredibly beautiful creatures and I could not help but to hang around and pester her with my camera. Once she was done fluffing her downy form I left her to nod off and refresh her energies before the next round of fishing.

© TS Ni hUiginn

The Jawshop Presents Cedar Branch Scout

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Paul Clifford returns with quick scouting video demonstrating the tuning of cedar branches that in a second future attempt, will be bowed and broadcasted using three submerged speakers into an underwater forest spring/ pond using contact mics, whilst exclusively being recorded by a hydrophone.

Life and Death on a Garden Wall (Macro)

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"Like delicate lace, so the threads intertwine, oh, gossamer web of wond'rous design! Such beauty and grace wild nature produces... Ughh, look at that spider suck out that bug's juices!"

William Boyd Watterson II

The sights and scenes of spring aren’t always lovely or endearing, like this hatching of these sweet, harmless, tiny garden spiders. To those of us who are not afflicted with arachnophobia this scene is wholesome and delightful giving us happy fuzzy feelings. However those good feelings disappear and are replaced by something less pleasant when we notice the predator in their midst’s hunting the vulnerable babies. And unfortunately this is a natural reality in that predators will seek out the most innocent and vulnerable to prey upon and Humanity is no exception. Children are our most valuable resource, we have no future without them and as a species our ongoing survival is contingent on our children. Unfortunately they are the first target of predators, exploiters and monsters amongst us who put their own hedonistic needs above the rights of the rest of humanity, particularly our children. We have had too many generations of child abuse, exploitation and abuse. Every child matters and their rights to grow up in natural healthy bodies is just as important, if not more than any other facet of environmental justice or social equality.

© TS Ni hUiginn

The Waxwings Are Back!

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"Hold fast to dreams, 
for if dreams die, 
life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly."

Langston Hughes

Around about this time every year scores of pretty little gluttons arrive keen to clean us out of berries before heading back to where it is they came from. The truth is that these particular little gluttons are very much appreciated and we look forward to seeing them each year even it they are greedy. For without them visiting we would be stuck with a great deal of rotting fruit and far more bugs to bug us, so this natural and necessary invasion is very welcome.

Human gluttons, on the other hand, are far less appealing than the Cedar Waxwings. Our gluttony is not natural or healthy, it is not charming, cute or attractive, it is mean spirited and is not beneficial to us or the world around us either. Human gluttony is not limited to just food, we extend it to every facet of our existence, clothing, housing and even items with imaginary values attached to them. The reason for this is that gluttony is promoted in modern, consumerist cultures and it is something we have to be aware of and consciously not participate in. To me it is less a matter or choosing which product than taking personal responsibility for how much I consume and having reasonable expectations and not feel so entitled. Entitlement, by the way, is not exclusive to any culture or race, I know entitled, insufferable people from all backgrounds, of both sexes and of all races. Keep in mind our natural purpose is not the same as it is with Cedar Waxwings, and we cannot gobble everything up and still remain attractive. Particularly if you are like myself, and were never really that attractive in the first place making beauty unobtainable for me at least. Fortunately being attractive isn’t all that matters in life, one can still appreciate beauty even if they cannot be appreciate for being beautiful. However being healthy and not suffering does matter and is far more important than beauty, as is living full lives and in order to enjoy as many of the annual visits from the Waxwings as humanly possible. Be good to yourselves and each other.

© TS Ni hUiginn

Eagle Dining Out on the Boulevard

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“Tranquillity base here. The Eagle has landed.”

-Neil Armstrong

We normally watch the eagles enviously from our lowly positions admiring their beauty and strength as they soar so far above us, symbolically as well as physically. Despite how we objectify them, Eagles are creatures like all others and are not above scavenging a free meal from the side of the road. This beauty seems to have found the remnants of someone’s chicken dinner and is happily polishing it off despite the protests of the neighbourhood crows. Urban wildlife, despite not fitting into our stereotype of nature is as natural and capable as their country cousins. My apologies for the quality of the images but I didn’t creep to close so he wouldn’t lose out on his meal but as you can see he is not proud or foolish. He, like all eagles and humans, is a lowly scavenger as well as a magnificent hunter and there is nothing wrong with that because both result in survival.

© TS Ni hUiginn