I Do Declare!

Posted on October 31, 2015 by J. F. Booth

Envision a group of talented and accomplished artists in a sun-filled room, the backdrop: boats bobbing in a picturesque anchorage.  Now, add voices, some impassioned and some soft, speaking of successes and failures; hear the laughter in response to shared tales of memorable words and deeds – both helpful and hurtful, the murmurs of recognition and support.

You’re with me now, sharing my afternoon.. learning another form of gratitude.

I spent several hours recently talking with and listening to artists; painters, composers, potters, writers, musicians, and poets who magically apply a variety of talents and tools to create something entirely new and intriguing. They are compelled to create, and in doing so they make the world lovely, wise, sweet, raucous, pungent… and so much more.  

Gratitude is the emotion that washed over me as I listened to their observations and anecdotes.                                   

https://i0.wp.com/image.absoluteastronomy.com/images/encyclopediaimages/b/ba/bachlut1.gif

Artists, whose lives are driven by their desire to create, courageously launch their hearts and souls into the world manifesting their thoughts and feelings in music, on canvas, in clay, and in words. How often have I glibly passed judgement on this sculpture or that song, this short story or that play? I may not have given a thought to the artist’s courage when she or he labored alone to create that work. (And, yes, I know there is no need for that insight to play a part in my response to a work of art.)

But I do want to make a declaration here and now:  Thank you, to the beautiful minds, generous hearts and talented hands that create, and courageously share what they create with us all.

 

Posted in Life Lessons, Music | 10 Comments

Indomitable

Posted on July 19, 2015 by J. F. Booth

Last Monday morning Opal Osprey sat calmly atop one of the 60 feet-tall light poles surrounding the Naval Academy’s football field.  She leisurely nibbled her fresh sushi while below her six or seven workers in bright yellow hard hats waited at the base of her light-pole perch, leaning on their work trucks and  sipping coffee beside a crane.

Above our beautiful, strong osprey a thick cable hung from that tall crane. At eye-level, Opal saw an iron ball below which hung a very large and dangerous looking hook.  This cabled hook swayed threateningly in the morning breeze.  Opal moved only to dip her beak into the fish, finishing her breakfast at her own pace.       

I walked on, confident that Opal had this situation well in hand.

You may recall my last update on the two-generations of Academy osprey.  The elder pair, whom I’ve named Opal and Oscar, lost their first nest to an hurricane and their second nest to an Academy clean-up.  This spring, for the first time, Oscar and Opal’s son, Pablo, and his mate, Pearl Osprey, built a sturdy nest nearby, overlooking the Academy’s soccer field and the Severn River.

Since Oscar and Opal had to relocate after their nest was destroyed, I have no idea if they produced young this year. (They have not brought fledglings to the football field.) But Pablo and Pearl are the proud parents of two fledglings.

Oscar - Opal

Oscar’s handiwork in happier days. Circa 2013.

The new “blooming” LED lights.

But wait… their saga continues.

In a commendable effort to be energy efficient, the Academy decided to replace all the athletic-field lights with LEDs.  That meant the huge metal platforms on which the old lights were suspended had to come down from the tall poles, and in their place, the LED lights went up, like ice cream cones in a holder.

As the project began at the soccer field, I spoke to a worker, pointing out the nest and young birds.  I was assured they would work around the osprey nest until the fledglings were independent.

Well, two weeks later, as I approached the soccer field, the cranes had done their work and moved on. Pablo and Pearl’s nest was gone!  Where was the family now?

But wait, just as my heart contracted, out of the blue sky over the soccer field two slender osprey dipped and swirled, while above them, Pearl and Pablo used their distinctive calls to caution and encourage… or so I interpret their chirps.

Since then, I’ve seen Pearl and Pablo individually, perching on the soccer field’s new LED lights.  I think I’ve also seen the parents doing training runs with their fledglings over the Annapolis harbor.  I anticipate a new nest over the soccer field next spring.

But what of the elders? you ask. I can tell you this, our indomitable Oscar has already begun festooning the new LED rods with twigs and limbs.  He has turned the old-homestead light pole into a veritable pincushion with twigs protruding in all directions. This morning, Opal sat quietly atop the pole, as though checking out Oscar’s efforts.  (And are you asking how I know it’s she and not Oscar? Well, Opal and Pearl are larger than their mates.  Also, they are usually silent.  Oscar is a noisy fellow, always letting me know he’s overhead, demanding I look up and admire his fancy fly-by.  He’s a real flirt.)

So, all signs point to the two, and perhaps three generations of osprey family remaining in our neighborhood, part of the fiber of the Navy family in Annapolis. I certainly hope so.

Posted in Life Lessons, Nature, Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Pablo & Pearl Take the Field

Posted on April 4, 2015 by J. F. Booth

I have hesitated to write the next chapter on our friends, the Osprey, residing at the Naval Academy.  I’d hoped for… I’m not sure what I had hoped for. But, here’s the latest…

Pearl and Pablo, the younger generation, returned from the south around March 12th. They found their intact nest and got to work fluffing the pillows and sweeping out the winter’s dust.

Opal and Oscar, the elders, flew in a few days later to a less welcoming discovery.  For the next week, Oscar and Opal worked assiduously carrying branches back to reconstruct their nest.  The weather has been cold and windy, and the osprey did not have an easy time.  The last time I saw them was the morning after a March snowstorm.  They were perched randomly, and forlornly it seemed to me, on the field lights overlooking the Annapolis harbor.

I have not seen them since that morning.

Pearl and Pablo, however, are flourishing.  I see them daily, sometimes swooping low as if to wish me good morning. They seem to have a clutch and share the duties guarding and warming the eggs in the nest.  Today, Pearl was enjoying her fresh catch-of-the-day on one light post, while Pablo called out in a somewhat annoyed series of chirps from his duty post. (She seemed in no hurry to take over the nesting chores.)  

So, what am I to make of all this?  Well, I’m so glad I saw Oscar and Opal one final time, so I need not wonder if they survived the return to Maryland.  I will think of them nesting this spring on a more congenial perch along one of our nearby creeks.

Pearl and Pablo are fine and carry on their parents’ proud tradition of familial devotion. Their progeny will delight me with their fledgling flying lessons and fishing expeditions.

Life goes on…  and around the Bay all of us, creatures great and small, are rousing ourselves for another go at survival and procreation and joy.

                           

Posted in Nature | 3 Comments

Osprey Update: Oscar & Opal’s Dilemma

Posted on March 4, 2015 by J. F. Booth

With only two weeks before St. Patty’s Day and the anticipated Oscar - Opalreturn of the ospreys to the Chesapeake, I am saddened to report a calamity that has befallen our old friends, Oscar & Opal Osprey.

The Naval Academy has cleared away both of the double-decker nests built by our intrepid friends in 2001 and in 2003. Not one stick, not one feather or ribbon or bit of detritus remains where two glorious nests once resided.

If  Oscar and Opal do return, as I hope they will, they will have their work cut out for them, building yet a third nest from scratch.

I did check up on the younger generation’s home, Pablo & Pearl’s nest, on the other side of the Academy grounds.  Their nest seems to have been overlooked by the “clean-up” crew.  So, that is some small comfort.

I will keep you posted as further developments unfold.

Posted in Nature, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Embracing My Second Childhood

Posted on February 10, 2015 by J. F. Booth

Yup, I’m here. I’ve made it to the second half of my sixth decade. And, as you may be discovering too, dear reader, it’s not all bad, moving into retirement, social security, and conversations about yoga poses and herbal supplements for aged bodies.
I’m embarrassed to admit that there was a time in my life when “over 60” was a pejorative phrase in my book. I dismissed others thoughtlessly with… “Oh, don’t mind him; he’s old.” or “She said that?  Ignore it; she’s in her second childhood.”
Now I hear that dismissive tone in the voices of younger people. I see expressions of pity slip across unwrinkled brows when I stumble or ask someone to speak a bit louder.
I’ve spent enough time, here, “over the hill,” to be able to draw some conclusions and make some decisions about my life… and my future.  Yes, my future!West side of Mt Desert 8-5-8 025

And so, here’s my Declaration of Acceptance, my manifesto – I am in my “second childhood” and lovin’ it.

  • Everything is waiting to be revealed. Like children,  for me everything is new and captivating, waiting to be discovered and explored.
  • Mistakes are part of learning. Like children, I am not afraid to try, and perhaps fail, and try again.
  • The feelings of those around me matter. Like children, I listen, not for objective information, but for tones and moods – humor and sadness, little signals that someone needs a hug, or a laugh, or privacy.
  • There is delight around every corner. Like children, I am not afraid to admire and express my joy in people and things both ordinary and exceptional.
  • Now is the time to have fun. Like children, I have time to play. I play well alone or with others.
  • Love is to share. Like children, I will love without reservation. (Broken hearts heal.)
  • Wonder is my natural state. Like children, I am amazed and awed by the antics of a squirrel and the rainbow spilling through a raindrop.  Larry painting @ Salisbury Covet 8-5-8

That’s it, my manifesto,  my seven guiding principles for the hours, days, and years left before me.

In The Art of Happiness, the Dalai Lama speaks about “basic spirituality — basic human qualities of goodness, kindness, compassion, and caring… as long as we are human beings, as long as we are members of the human family, all of us need these basic spiritual values.”

Children come to us with these qualities, and we can deepen or regain them when we choose.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCss0kZXeyE

Posted in Life Lessons | 4 Comments