Short-eared Owl
Nuptial tooting melodies (accompanied by the rhythmic clapping of wings) and eratic flight patterns, reminiscent of the fluttering of moth wings, distinguish you as a unique bird of prey. Your eyes radiate with the intensity of a fiery horned owl, living up to your namesake, especially when the sun illuminates your feathers just right. When you are curious or feel threatened, you raise your inconspicuous ear tufts, surprising us all with a piercing gaze and a flattened facial disc. Surprisingly, you choose to nest near strip mines, creating a cozy scrape in the prairie and lining it with a combination of grass stems and feathers from your own breast. You are even known to brave long-distance journeys across the ocean in search of optimal breeding grounds. To protect your nest, you perform a captivating broken wing dance, diverting the attention of predators. Additionally, you are one of the two owl species found in the Hawaiian Islands. Your legs and feet are adorned with fluffy pants, adding a touch of charm to your appearance. Mature females are more buff-colored than compared to males, but there are regional variations to consider. The wildlife paparazzi has the opportunity to watch you all day long, as you are typically spotted during the early morning and late evening hours. Catching a glimpse of you atop a blackberry bramble just 15 feet away was truly exciting, as seeing you close-up is highly unpredictable.
Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)
Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)
Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Mountain Lion (Puma concolor)
Some poems live inside of us for years, fermenting in the fertile grounds of our longing, waiting to arise into the daybreak of our alchemical selves. Embodying the spirit of nature can bring a sense of peace, wonder, and interconnectedness with the world around us. Wishing all a merry yuletide. 'May the long time sun shine upon you.'
◇ °•○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○•°◇
I took off my skin
and became a poet;
I became the desert and her stars.
Glittering in the frost of night,
I was swirling mythic river
robed in velveteen moonlight
I took off my skin
and became curled flower stem,
nodding in a woodland glen
I was lion,
a shapeshifting shadow evading the bow of orion,
I took off my skin
and became pastel sunset, embracing canyons in lavender sillohettes,
I was hummingbird,
wings of infinity prismically blurred,
I took off my skin
and became fawn,
stotting into dawn
I was the edge of a lapping sea, waves frothy as they recede.
I took off my skin
and became towering redwood,
guardian of the forest in my elderhood,
I was wind,
divine universal breath refined,
I took off my skin
and revealed my true nature, multi-dimentional, fractally sublime,
primeval in memory,
boundless through infinite time.
________________________________
This is a closeup pic of an animal who has shaped the cosmology of my inner world since I was a child. I met them in a preserve, pausing to take this shot just as their mouth slightly parted and their wild hazel eyes reflected to me all that comprises qualia, the deeply subjective and sensate experience of being that shapes our consciousness. Their contemplative gaze has me wondering about the soul beyond them.
Roosevelt Elk Cervus elaphus roosevelti)
Flock of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis)
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
American Pika (Ochotona princeps)
Great-horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)
Cascades Fox (Vulpes vulpes cascadensis)
Crouched low, peering through folds of lacey shadows and golden streams of komorebi, my eyes take in a weary Cascades Fox. Her coat is healthy, the awn of her underfur smooth, full and lustrous. Her eyes express mild vexation towards the squawking raven, and when those venesion red depths meet mine, I know belonging.
Endemic to the South Cascades, she's a subalpine specialist whose home is the sweeping meadow, the furrowed glacier, and the land of firs whose boughs smell of Christmas.
Being smaller than her cousins, she's nimble over deep, powdery snow and the extra fur on her soles act as snowshoes, allowing her to navigate her mountain home with ease.
Yet she faces increased challenges ahead. Already, she is listed as a Washington Candidate Species for protection and Natural Heritage Critically Imperiled Species. As rising temperatures reduce annual snowpack, cause continued drought, insect infestation and disease of subalpine tree species, and fires threaten habitat loss, her future appears grim. Human encroachment and logging roads in subalpine areas have allowed predators and competitors, such as coyotes and non-native lowland red foxes, to further hinder stable populations. Like the wolverine and pika, Cascades Foxes are important indicators of food web stability and ecological alteration due to climate change. Conservation of this species is dependent on wildlife corridors which allow for movement and gene flow and the ability to adapt to predator/competitor dynamics in an ever changing climate.
Watching her trot across the trail and disappear into the treeline fills me with exhilaration and wonderment. May we continue to aid our wild kin by sharing their stories, having hope for their futures, and assisting scientists with data, to contribute to conservation efforts for this and other subalpine species.
Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus)
💛 Yellow orbs held mine on Coast Salish, Stillaguamish, Duwamish, Muckleshoot, and Suqamish Territory
Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus)
Leucistic Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Willow Catkins (Salix sp.)
River Otters (Lontra canadensis)
“Ever dreamed of being otter? That utter underwater thunderbolter, that shimmering twister? Run to the riverbank, otter-dreamer, slip your skin and change your matter, Pour your outer being into otter, and enter now as otter without falter into water...” -Robert Macfarlane
Snow Geese (Anser caerulescens)
Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)
It's hard to imagine that this little fella can bunker down in a snow drift to keep warm, however, he's adapted to do just that. His white down parka begins at the base of his orange bill and extends to his ankles. As temps drop below 0, he'll adjust his metabolism to meet the demands of heat expenditure.
At this time of year, he'd typically be spotted in the Columbia Plateau. Come mid-spring, he'll migrate to the high Arctic to begin breeding, which makes him the hardiest songbird of the tundra.
Rumor has it that he was with a mate when she was presumably attacked by a hawk (or falcon) that left him alone and on the wrong side of the mountains. Let's pray he gets enough to eat in the coming months and begins his pilgrimage north to find love again.
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Darling daytime napper, what dreams come to you? Your feathers are wet from snowfall and unlike other birds, not as water-resistant. Sunning in the open fields allows you to keep an ear out for prey, dry your feathers, and catch a wink of much needed sleep. You're ever the multi-tasker, Barn Owl. I want to ask you, as your shoulders arch around your face, tucked into the heart of day, what koan of wisdom do you bestow to us?
Three of you show yourselves in this field (possibly four), each spaced about 250 feet or so from the other. Sitting atop blackberry, fence post, and hawthorn branch, you're soaking in the rays of southerly facing perches. Your home range, where you roost, hunt, and breed, overlaps with that of your mate and neighbors. You are not territorial of other barn owls and this is why so many of you gather here. Winter may very well bring out the bird catcher in you, as hunting your usual fare of vole and mice in deep snow becomes difficult. The little rodents don't want to leave their dwellings. Can you blame them? So quiet is the night. You change your foraging behavior and become diurnal, following their movements and whisperings as the sun crests over the foothills. Given enough voles, you'll withstand this colder winter. I know you're especially susceptible to winter starvation. You memorize your foraging routes well and this knowledge keeps you alive in times of hardship.
Encounters such as this are profoundly moving. Your rich presence on this landscape reveals a multiplicity of connections that I feel especially grateful to be a part of. I pray for your health, continued abundance, and prosperity. May all your hunts be successful.
Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Bald Eagles
Barred Owl (Strix varia)
Raven (Corvus corax)
Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)
Hunting GBH (Ardea herodias)
Lupine Meadows (Lupinus sp.)
Hummingbird Moon
Yellow Pine Chipmunk (Tamias amoenus)
Tiger Lily (Lilium lancifolium)
Rufous Hummingbird (selasphorusrufus)
America Dipper momma & fledgling (Cinclus mexicanus)
I adore these gurgling river memories from earlier this summer. Through the window of willows lining the rocky banks, I came across an American Dipper fledgling being fed a combination of mayfly/ caddisfly larvae and other aquatic insects from one of their parents. I lowered myself down into the sand and rested against a downed cottonwood. Luckily for me, this family paid little mind to my complete joy in watching their dipping behavior and in the little one's delight in receiving. No sign of the other parent, whom I was curious about. Perhaps they were further downstream, attending to another hungry mouth. A truly special encounter along one of my favorite rivers. Join me in wishing this sweet family well.
Anna's Hummingbird Bathing (Calypte anna)
Anna's Hummingbird Molting (Calypte anna)
Pacific Wren fledgling (Troglodytes pacificus)
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)
Green Heron Juvenile (Butorides virescens)
Marsh Wren ((Cistothorus palustris)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus)
“Broken wing display”
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Anna's Hummingbird momma and fledgling (Calypte anna)
Fledgling Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)
Great Blue Heron wading (Ardea herodias)
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor)
Band-tailed Pigeon (Patagioenas fasciata)
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Napping Barred Owlet (Strix Varia)
Alex and I stumbled across three sibling Barred Owlets last summer. We watched as this little one grew sleepier and sleepier, eventually conking out on a moss covered big-leaf maple limb.
Cardinal Meadowhawk (Sympetrum illotum)