From the category archives:

Fauna

Dancing lightly

April 19, 2004

Two days ago, while simultaneously washing the dishes and looking out the window above the kitchen sink, a brightly coloured male Scarlet Robin came and perched himself on the loosely balanced stones that sit atop the much larger guardian stone. How delicate, I thought, to be able to land on these three stones; stones that [...]

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Feast for whom?

February 27, 2004

I was so looking forward to picking the peppers off the thickly leafed potted pepper plant that I had been watering and caring for for the past several months. They were growing in the protective atrium which is attached to the dining room. Just last week I took the above photo of the ripening peppers [...]

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Imposed balance

February 20, 2004

When I first noticed this family of caterpillars munching away at a silver peppermint eucalyptus leaf, I thought it was “one” larger insect rather than the seventeen individuals grouped together. This was because they had the habit of simultaneously arching their bodies upward from the head, giving the impression of some winged creature or dangerous [...]

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Day 500

February 17, 2004

I want to explain why it is that even after 500 days I will continue to swim; why this daily immersion into the waters of Roaring Beach is still important enough for me to continue unabated. In early April there is to be a colloquium of gathered nature writers discussing the issue of art and [...]

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Roaring Beach dreaming

September 9, 2003

Went down to the beach today and came across these footprints in the sand. Many years of hunting and tracking animals in the wild left me perplexed as to what was being dragged between the feet. The creature, whatever it was, had come from the dunes and headed straight for the water. Must have wanted [...]

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Twin billing

June 19, 2003

The sound woke me up. Massive waves cresting at 24 feet roared into Roaring Beach this morning. Quickly, I scurried over to the Drop Stone bench and sat spell bound like a seven year old on Christmas morning. With great joyful anticipation of bigger and bigger things to come, I saw with widening eyes the [...]

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Tiny friend

April 14, 2003

Question: What’s missing in this photo? Answer: A diminutive, red breasted scarlet robin sitting on my head singing a song. Every morning I start my day off by first going over to sit on the Ancestral bench for a few moments, meditating and thanking the ancestral spirits for protecting this property. This morning, I sort [...]

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Omen of war

March 18, 2003

Animals seem to know when something dangerous is about to happen. Birds head north (or south) when winter approaches. Ants get desperately busy before a storm. Quiet falls across the land before an earthquake. These are harbingers and nature’s message that the days ahead might be difficult. Up against my fire wood shed and facing [...]

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