Sorry, friends. I’m on vacation this week, having a wonderful time birding on Dauphin island. My #YearInReview has not been top priority, but this morning I’m taking a minute to let it warm up a bit outside before I head out again. Back in March 2024, my chapter of Louisiana Master Naturalists was making final plans for the statewide Master Naturalist gathering in April, which we were to host in northeast Louisiana. I was going to be leading a couple of kayak tours of the lake, so I was out scouting. I have kayaked that lake often but on this…
February: Chicago
If you know me well, you know I go to Chicago several times a year to indulge in opera. That started, according to my Google calendar, in 2011. But I think it was the very next year, 2012, that I contacted an online acquaintance via the now defunct Google+ social media platform that was so much loved and used by photographers around the world. To make a long story short, he agreed to meet me at “The Bean,” a must site for photogs in Chicago, and today I have a whole bunch of Chi-town friends. Getting together with them to…
January: Backyard Birds
Once again, a new year calls me to bravely begin my #YearInReview, namely a pilgrimage through my past year’s photographs to pull out one image a month that helps me tell the story of my photographic year. It takes bravery because I don’t always like what I see and I don’t always have much to choose from! Nevertheless, it has been a valuable exercise, so hear goes. I begin by breaking a rule. For January 2024, I will post multiple photos because I love the diversity of birds I sometimes have in my backyard. January is prime time–especially if there’s…
#AdventWord #Fruit
The Simple PathSilence is PrayerPrayer is FaithFaith is LoveLove is ServiceThe Fruit of Service is Peace–Mother Teresa–
#AdventWord #Come
God comes to you disguised as your life.–Paula D’arcy– Queen Anne’s Lace, also know as “wild carrot,” can be found across the United States and in southern Canada. It’s not nearly as common in northern Louisiana as in Arkansas, so when I drive north to hike with friends at Arkansas Native Plant Society gatherings, I look forward to seeing roadsides blanketed with flat-topped flowerheads called “umbels.” Look closely at an umbel from above and you’ll see that the florets comprise a complex, intricate repeating pattern quite reminiscent of the sort of lace needlework Queen Anne of Britain and Scotland was…




