Tag: carolina wren

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Day 18 of #VerseLove with Shaun: Motivational Speech

Photo by Jack Bulmer on Pexels.com

Shaun of Las Vegas, Nevada is our host today for the 18th day of #VerseLove2024. He inspires us to read this poem by Charles Bukowski that you can find here, along with the full prompt. [Bukowski, Charles. Sifting Through the Madness for the Word, the Line, the Way. New York: Ecco (An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers), 2003.]

Then, he urges, Think about your life. Do you feel like there is something holding you back? Do you feel stuck or helpless in your circumstances? Do you remember a time when you persevered and overcame the challenges thrown at you? Perhaps you can tap into your inner-coach and deliver that life-changing halftime motivational speech!

I found inspiration in these lines of Bukowski’s

just watch them.
Listen to them.

I also added ending lines from Old Woman of the Roads by Padraic Colum

out of the wind’s and the rain’s way

The Neighborhood

there they are
building nexts 
in the garage
again
three already

we can’t even
put the door 
down because
there’s one on top
and on the toolbox
and in the corner 
in a box

three wrens

friends?

just watch them.
Listen to them.

building houses
chirping dreams

in this
regular
bird-friendly
neighborhood

out of the wind’s
and the rain’s way

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May 19 – No Prayer too Big or too Small

I thought I’d share a few photos of wildlife on the Funny Farm I’ve seen throughout the week. This week has been stressful, finishing testing and analyzing data, along with the other general parts of wrapping up a school year. It’s nice to come home and walk the dogs and breathe fresh air and forget about the demands and deadlines, if only for a few minutes.

Carolina Wren on the front porch, gathering nesting materials

Carolina Wren, singing, singing, singing

Mourning Dove

Funny Farm Bunny – there is a colony of them that lives down at the end of the driveway.

Funny Farm Finch

Carolina Wren singing a morning song

Deer (picture taken through a screen)

Northern Cardinal

May 18 – Hawk in a tree, Johnson Funny Farm

Hawk in a tree (just left of center) – funniest thing: I said a quick prayer, “Lord, I would love to see a hawk today.” I always feel my mother’s presence when I see one. I did what I always do: I pulled into the driveway, turned off the air, put the windows down so I could drive slowly, hearing the gritty crunch of gravel under my tires, and began inching up the driveway. I first saw a tufted titmouse, then a robin. As I approached the top of the hill, I caught a glimpse of a large upward wingspan swooping up off to the left. I grabbed my camera, and for one moment the hawk took it all in and the next swooped off back into the deeper woods. I caught one photo, here, and one of just his tail as he flew away. What a beautiful moment – a prayer for a hawk sighting, a hawk, and the feeling of the presence of my mother. No prayer is ever too big – or ever too small!

TGIF! Cheers to weekend fun and relaxation!