Black-Crowned Night Heron
I love nature partly because she is not man, but a retreat from him. None of his institutions control or pervade her. There a different kind of right prevails. In her midst I can be glad with an entire gladness. If this world was all man I could not stretch myself—I should lose all hope. He is constraint; she is freedom to me. He makes me wish for another world; she makes me content with this.
Thoreau's Journal (January 3, 1853)
There can be no very black melancholy to him who lives in the midst of Nature and has his senses still.Thoreau, Walden
We must go out and re-ally ourselves to Nature every day. We must take root, send out some little fibre at least, even every winter day. I am sensible that I am imbibing health when I open my mouth to the wind.
Thoreau, Journal (December 29, 1856)
White Ibis
How important is a constant intercourse with nature and the contemplation of natural phenomenon to the preservation of moral & and intellectual health.Thoreau's Journal (May 6, 1851)
We need the tonic of wildness—to wade sometimes in marshes where bittern and meadow-hen lurk, and hear the booming of the snipe; to smell the whispering sedge where only some wilder and more solitary fowl builds her nest, and mink crawls with its belly close to the ground.
Thoreau, Walden
Brown PelicanFor my part, I feel, that with regard to Nature, I live a sort of border life, on the confines of the world, into which I make occasional and transient forays only, and my patriotism and allegiance to the state into whose territories I seem to retreat are those of a moss-trooper. Unto a life which I call natural I would gladly follow even a will o' the wisp through the bogs and sloughs unimaginable.Thoreau, "Walking" in Excursions
I have a room all to myself; it is Nature.
Thoreau's Journal (January 3, 1853)
The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow I have clutched.Thoreau, Walden
The greens, oranges, yellows, blues... This takes my breath away. What a treasure this is, and the quotes are life's most important lessons all wrapped up succinctly. The south is lovely this time of year...:)
ReplyDeleteSuch detail and vivid color on the birds, George. Hardly can pick a favorite although that Ibis with the droplets falling is very special. I started reading Thoreau when I was in Junior High. I believe I still have that old copy of Walden packed away somewhere. Perhaps he led the way for me to appreciate the gifts Nature bestows.
ReplyDeleteI Love the Thoreau quotes, but those photographs are stunning! So elegant, each in their own way. I'm partial to that sweet brown pelican. I love his fuzzy brown neck and head. Really wonderful photographs, George. Such a nice combination of ideas and images.
ReplyDeleteAS you can probably guess I agree with everything that Thoreau says:) Although I've been familiar with his name for many years I've never actually read any of his work other than short quotes. I know that Walden Pond is not that far from where my NH friend lives but when I've suggested visiting she's been decidedly unenthusiastic saying that 'there's nothing there to see'. She doesn't do outdoors or the natural world I'm afraid. Your bird photographs are spectacular.
ReplyDeleteA love affair with Nature need never end, though perhaps we have to love her differently than we have. To open one's mouth to the wind! Oh I love that.
ReplyDeleteI heard in this a continuation of Robert's post on Robinson Jeffers, who said love things, not men in the very wonderful poem "Sign-Post." The poor doll humanity has a place under heaven . . .! and Thoreau understood that it had to be rooted in a healthy relationship with the earth.
Of course he did have trouble relating to people, which is always the challenge, isn't it? Some of us would prefer solitude in the wild to certain types of human interaction.
Your images of these birds are simply fabulous. I just don't know how you manage to capture them in such detail, so close, as if you are standing there with them in the water. The light is tremendous; you are acutely talented in your craft, and in choosing that magic hour of light. Bravo!
A lovely posting with superb images. All yours?
ReplyDeleteWell done.
Great quotes, stunning bird portraits. Moreover, I expect many of share Thoreau's "nature first" values. A wonderful post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your lovely comments, MARGARET. Glad you liked the quotes and photos, and, yes, it's been quite beautiful here in South Carolina this winter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughtful comments, BARB. I, too, love those droplets falling off the beak of the white ibis. And, yes, I think that it was Thoreau who led many of us to an appreciation of the gifts of nature.
ReplyDeleteThanks, TERESA, and I'm especially glad you liked the shot of the brown pelican. Although the pelican may not be as exotic as some of these other species, I decided to throw in this shot because I liked the simplicity of the composition—the still pelican, the grass foreground, the sky background, and nothing more.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, ROWAN. Oh yes—I suspect that you and Bilbo Baggins have been known to channel a bit of Thoreau on some of your nature walks. Delighted to know you liked the photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks, RUTH. While I had been working on a draft of this post before Robert's posting on Robinson Jeffers, I think there is a subconscious link here, at least in the timing of my completing the task and publishing it. While some regard statements by Jeffers and Thoreau as unduly misanthropic, I do not. Some of us cannot have proper relationships in the society of people if we do not first have a proper relationship with nature—and it goes without saying that the problem with human relationships is exacerbated yearly as humans destroy more and more of the natural world in their attempt to dominate it.
ReplyDeleteThanks especially for your kind comments on the photos. If I have any success with photography, I attribute it to many decades of trial and error—this plus good equipment, patience, and a great deal of good luck. Kudos must also be given to the marshes, tidal inlets, and bogs of South Carolina, where the images in this posting were taken.
Thanks for your kind comments, PHREERUNNER. Nice to have you drop by for a visit. Yes, all of the photos were taken by me—these particular images having been taken in coastal South Carolina, where my wife and I are spending the winter.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind comments, GRIZZ. Yes, I suspect we might be able to organize a Nature First club if we put our minds to it.
ReplyDeleteYour photos, yet again, took my breath away, George. The detail, the colours — absolutely fabulous. And as for the Thoreau quotes, well, you knew in advance I would love these. Rather sweet to know, from my reading, that Thoreau was also partial to a spot of good company from time to time — people seemed to drop in on his Walden retreat on an almost daily basis, including Emerson's wife, who brought him food parcels!
ReplyDeleteGive me bog and marshland rather than the wasteland of the city any day (unless that city is Paris).
Thanks, ROBERT. Glad you liked the post, and I was happy to learn some of the information on Thoreau's social life. Yes, I think that those of us who prefer the marshlands of the wild to the wastelands of the city might be hard-pressed to choose if Paris was on the agenda. I've always had this fantasy of living in a small countryside village about an hour's train ride from Paris.
ReplyDeleteThese are my feelings exactly George and are my reasons for living as I do. Lovely photographs too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, PAT. Yes, I suspect Thoreau speaks for many of us. Thank for the compliment on the photos.
ReplyDeleteAll these pictures are great but the first one is the best. It is an action photo.
ReplyDeleteGreetings,
Filip
Thanks for your kind comments, Filip. Nice to have you stop by, and I hope you will make a return visit.
ReplyDeleteand it is the biggest room of all.. and the best room.
ReplyDeleteYour photographs are exquisite. I feel like I can feel their feathers.. Such detail makes me want to draw them.
You must so enjoy being in the places these beautiful creatures live.. how special!
Thanks for your lovely comments, GWEN. Feel free to draw anything you find in my photos. I love your work. As for the location, I have always found that living on the edges of places, such as coastlines, rivers, and mountains, exposes one to great wildlife and scenery.
ReplyDeleteThis Black-Crowned Night Heron seems to take care and to pay most attention to put his foot accurately on that branch. He is my favourite ! Thanks a lot George for sharing all these wonderful photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks, THROUGHIDEAS. Your observation is very astute. The black-crowned night heron is teaching us to be mindful and present with every step of our lives.
ReplyDeleteOh George, your photos are perfection, good enough to grace any book on swamp living birds.
ReplyDeleteAs for Thoreau, there's nothing much I could add; his words are true even today, when man controls and changes so much of nature.
Thanks, FRIKO. Glad you liked the post, and I agree that what Thoreau said in the 19th century is just as relevant today, perhaps more relevant.
ReplyDelete