gorey tribute 2

Ok, I said in gorey tribute that this bird is a yellow crowned night heron, but I was wrong, wrong, wrong. And I don’t know what it is. What is it? I am in San Antonio, Texas and have seen this bird twice on Riverwalk. It is not shy, though perhaps a bird has to get over that to live on this section of the river. It let me take four flash photos from about four feet way and never spooked. I thought it was a heron, but that is a pretty aggressive looking beak for a heron….

gorey tribute

This is a twilight cell phone photograph and terrible, except that it reminds me of Edward Gorey. His book The Doubtful Guest has a creature that looks amazingly like this! It is not really clear if the creature has wings or arms, but his creature wears a scarf.

This is one of a small pair of herons that I walked by two nights ago. I think this is a yellow crowned night heron, even though we can’t see the crown. The other was in the path ahead of me.

doubt 2

I did not use the flash and this one looks even more like the Doubtful Guest in the low light. This one flew when two other people walked by, but the one beside the path waited and let me attempt flash photographs… thank you, kindly, Edward Gorey inspirational birds.

blind shot

This is for the Daily Prompt: overcome.

I took this with my camera at full zoom and knew I was photographing a bird, but not what bird. I did know there were goldfinches around, because I would spot their flight, up and down like a wave, and heard them. IΒ  hold my breath and freeze to try to catch the shot. This worked! Overcoming the disadvantage of distance and my limited vision…. and letting the camera work.

Let us also continue to work to overcome discrimination.

Sweet Honey in the Rock: Would you harbor me?

I am sorry about the wings

I am sorry about the wings

During the massage today
my poor back aches so
where my wings should be

Guilt

If the Beloved gives me wings
I should fly

but I would rather be in the water
I feel so much safer here

and then I think
maybe I should stop
jumping off of cliffs…..

I should stop jumping off of cliffs….

I follow that thought
I should stay in the water
keep my tail and scales

I have come out so many times

lately only for you

you will not come in the water

you don’t want to hear me sing

you want me to be silent and listen

you want me to agree about the past

and collapse

I say here

here is the future

I can see it
and you don’t answer

you don’t listen
when I return to the sea

you call me
and you come to the edge of the sea
to call me
but you won’t come in

I have come out to you
on those painful legs
for which I sacrifice my voice

you would have scales and a tail
if you came to me
come to the future with me

we will meet at the edge of the sea
me in the sea
you on the beach
and talk

but this is goodbye
I won’t come out again

and I say to the Beloved
I am sorry about the wings
I will use the wings

my back was so sore
where the wings were

the wings are back

I still have my scales and tail

I rise to the surface of the sea
I spread my wings
scales, tail and wings

I begin

now I will fly

8/3/16

Another fog photograph from last Saturday. Why don’t we spell it phog?

schoolhouse door

I am submitting this to Thursday Doors, did not have time yesterday. This is a Wisconsin rural schoolhouse that friends of mine own. They added on to it when they retired and moved there. Things change and the next move is closer to family, but everyone came to say farewell to the schoolhouse.