Albedo is the reflectivity of the earth’s surface. Ice, white and bright, has a high albedo, reflecting back the sun on itself, whereas water draws the solar radiation deep into its hues. Water is always in flux, mutable — liquid, vaporous, frozen — evaporating, condensing and expanding. This fluidity of form and purpose fuels life…
Rilke in a Seattle Autumn
I first read Rainer Maria Rilke one autumn in “Letters to a Young Poet” — a book handed off to me with pages stained by office carbons. Rilke’s letters to Franz Kappus, published by Kappus after Rilke’s death, are sympathetic and inspired. There’s a reason this collection finds its way to the paws of young…
The White and the Blue [Birds]
First there was Blue. She came to us from the great blue, the wild blue, as blue as Lightin’ Slim, singing pigeon blues, not Rooster Blues. She came on banded foot, born of two other Blues who gave our Blue her azul feathers and fuchsia feet … in a lineage that swept back through the…
Welcome Home, Seattle Ducks!
I spotted my first migratory ducks on the urban shores of Elliott Bay last week. The new arrivals are on edge — wary and easy to flush. Lifting my lens is enough to send them skittering to the middle of the bay, and I can only imagine what sights and sounds have jarred them into…
The Legend of the White Gallopavo
The color white represents catharsis in alchemy. It’s the point at which a blackened substance, through heat and reactivity, develops a white crust and then puffs into a cloud inside the alchemist’s flask. It’s the stage at which future possibilities become apparent as a material is transformed from one to the other. And it’s symbolized…
Fly Away Home (and Safe) … 2013
This is my annual re-post — on the first weekend of waterfowl hunting season in both Washington (where I’m living now) and California (my home). I’ve been lightly tweaking the post each year, adding new information or links. My reason for re-posting this piece is to bring attention to some of the lesser discussed…
Going All Micro Four Thirds on Wildlife
Update – November 1, 2016: I get many emails and comments related to this post — from people interested in micro four thirds (m43) and mirrorless cameras as a wildlife format. I’ve been shooting with Olympus m43 gear exclusively now for three years and plan to update my impressions before the end of the year. In…
Taking a Break to Mend a Chip in My Heart …
I’ve been absent from this space more than I’ve been here, my heart consumed with care for our four-legged kid. We’ve been nursing our beloved girl, Jackie, through an acute form of leukemia — and she lost her battle yesterday, bundled in a fleece, huddled in our arms. To say that we are heartsick is…
Gull Chicks and Gateway Birds
“When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it’s your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower. I want them to see it whether they want to…
The Hierarchy of Disagreement
I came upon this graphic the other day, illustrating the Hierarchy of Disagreement — with seven stages of argumentation based on the Paul Graham essay, How to Disagree. Excerpt: If we’re all going to be disagreeing more, we should be careful to do it well. What does it mean to disagree well? Most readers can tell the…
