Although the camera stopped the action -
these sandpipers are running to beat the band!
Up and down the wave as it ebbs and flows,
faster than anything,
and then flying to the next wave, and running again,
and again and again.
They tickle the funny bone,
these masters of slapstick,
making any willing heart lighter.
St. Augustine Beach, May 2014
It is still the birds that bring me back to the wonder of this world, flying over the waves or diving for their dinner, wild and free and alive!
It's the birds' songs lately,
just before dawn (how do they know?)
that make me smile
and remind me of life's simplicity.
Then the ride over the river,
seeing the calm waters filling the marsh -
all of this soothing to the restless mind.
Deep breath in...
Deep breath out...
Ahhh, almost whole again.
Moultrie Creek, St. Augustine.
©LaineQuinn Reprinted from Laine's Blog, April 2014
These two pelicans, flying and diving together in the shallow waters of Tampa Bay,
in time to their own music -
Reminded me of the two humpback whales dining together off Cape Cod,
and the pilot whales, cruising in perfect harmony.
Occasionally humans can, without a word, step together harmoniously to the shared music of life.
It's great fun when it happens,
and like the dance instructor said,
"Don't worry if you misstep, it's part of the fun!
Reprinted from LainesBlog February 2013.
©LaineQuinn2023
Landing gear down...
Check.
Landing gear up...
Check.
These Brown Pelicans, up close enough to see the accordion wings against the sky,
are proof positive that we live in a very beautiful, complex,
and fascinating world.
You are clear for takeoff!
Saint Augustine Beach Pier, once again hosting the people who fish and the birds who love them.
Reprinted from LainesBlog, February 2015
©LaineQuinn 2022
Does a pelican in the water ever doubt that he can raise his sails and take to the air?
In three powerful strokes, this huge bird is airborne and glides away.
©LaineQuinn 2022, Republished from LainesBlog January 2012.
My Christmas Tree this year is a Live Oak Tree!
The tinsel is silvery Spanish Moss.
The ornaments are Squirrels and Birds and Lizards!
The Star at the top is our very own Star, the Sun!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
And this is my Christmas Card to Everyone!
With Love,
Laine
Sign created by Aden with Lizard lazing on top!
Birds are, Black and White Warbler, Red Bellied Woodpecker and unknown maybe sparrow or warbler!
©Laine Quinn 2021
Does the Egret apologize to the fish?
Is the fish feeling like a victim, getting angry and huffy?
These two marvelous creatures are
living and dying on the same page.
No apologies.
No blame.
When we seek honestly that which nourishes us,
we thrive.
Reprinted from Laine's Blog, October, 2011
©LaineQuinn 2011
Spotting a Baby bird outside my window, I watched to see if she was in distress...
And here comes her mom or dad!
A few seconds later, after mom left,
one of her siblings flew in and knocked her off the railing!
They tussled on the ground until the intruder took off and she flew back up to the rail
waiting for the next feeding!
So, she could fly!
And her parents were feeding more than one babe!
And all of this outside my window!
Lucky me!
©Laine Quinn 2021 Baby Tufted Tit Mouse and parent!
Sometimes when I am standing at the water's edge,
looking out over the waves,
I think that I should be having some profound thought
or insight into my life or life in general.
But, I never do.
Sometimes I am worried about something.
Sometimes I am not worried!
Standing there or walking,
loving the wind on my face and the waves bumping into each other
and the low ceiling of clouds moving overhead -
it is enough -
more than enough.
Just being there!
Yes,
it is plenty!
©LaineQuinn 2020
Waves at Vilano Beach, Egrets and Pelicans and Gulls in the distance and Dolphins and fish swimming below!
Noisy birds in the Hollies
dozens of them
with a familiar sound from childhood
Robin Red Breasts
feasting in Florida
away from the Arctic Air and ice up North,
and stopping for a bath!
Canadian Robins, a long way from home and probably glad of it, the original "Snow Birds!"
©2021 Laine Quinn
Collectively it is time that we imagine a better world.
No matter what happens in the next months or years,
it is time to put our minds on better things.
Call it the power of positive thinking,
of visualizing,
of collective prayer -
it all works and can change the world.
Psychopathic leaders of politics and industry - be warned -
it is time for the Human takeover of our world.
Time to imagine a world where we live harmoniously with the earth,
harmoniously with each other - near and far,
harmoniously with all creatures -great and small.
A world in partnership.
A world of compassion and love and generosity.
If it fits in your mind,
it fits in your world.
We are more than what we can imagine.
Collectively it's time to imagine
what comes after -
to dream big and have faith in the human heart,
in the human desire for connection.
Photos of our Beautiful Planet in the days ahead.
Full Twist
Alternate leg stretch
©2020, Laine Quinn Snowy Egret, Great Blue Heron, St. Augustine Beach
(Sea gull wondering if it is safe to join the others...)
*"If social distancing needs to be extended long term,
scientists recommend forming an inner circle of uninfected friends and family
that you can rely on
to maintain social bonds..."
Some others call this a pod -
forming a pod of trusted friends and family.
But when can we do that?
When is it safe -
when the very best thing we can do is to isolate?
Listen to your heart...
when it feels okay,
then wait another week!
If it still feels okay,
take small steps.
Go slowly.
Be sure.
Trust your feelings.
*Quoted from a CNN article by Ryan Prior.
© 2020 Laine Quinn St. Augustine inlet with the Schooner, Freedom and a gaggle of gulls. Or should I say a pod?
HELP!
What if, when chemical companies came up with the idea
to spray food crops with the deadly compounds
that were developed in wartime,
someone very important had said,
"This is a really bad idea."
OR
What if, 20 or 30 years later, when a bright caring poet/scientist
saw the effects of these deadly poisons first hand
and sounded the alarm, that birds were dying, bees and butterflies too.
And the chemical big wigs had said,
"Oh my, this is not what we had intended.
We can do better than this."
If either one of those things had happened,
we would have vegetables and fruits
that actually tasted like something, instead of tasting like nothing.
And the bees and butterflies wouldn't be on the edge of extinction.
The Earth would be healthier and her people and their children.
Silent Spring was published in 1962, by Rachel Carson who died of breast cancer 2 years later, in 1964.
"Though much is taken, much remains and much returns." John Elder quoting Wordsworth with an addition, in Courage for the Earth, Celebrating the life and writings of Rachel Carson.
Things we can do...feed the birds, and plant flowers that attract bees and butterflies and grow our own veggies!!!! And buy organic when we can afford to.
Whenever I see a line of pelicans coming along the beach, over the waves,
their wingtips just grazing the water, I get a little bit jealous of how simple
their life appears to be.
It seems that the creatures of this world are better at meeting their daily needs
than the oh so intelligent higher mammals who actually destroy or poison
the very things that support them.
From now on, my blog is dedicated to our home planet,
the lifeboat that we - all of us - are sailing on through space.
I am joining the chorus of concerned citizens of Mother Earth
to do my small part to alleviate the pressure of too many years
of human recklessness that has threatened our time here.
My first step is appreciation, and gratitude for the beautiful world we still live in.
The wonderful old oak trees in my neighborhood, and just last week, the hungry caterpillar on the butterfly weed,
and of course the beaches and all the life bursting there, the birds and fishes and dolphins.
A heartfelt appreciation and gratitude.
Bowing in humility before the multiplicity of life, here on planet Earth.
Brown Pelicans doing what they do as they surf along the waves at St. Augustine Beach.
©LaineQuinn 2020
I'm going to learn to fish!
Not like the patient and swift Egret, or the people who go out to sea,
no matter the weather.
No, more like the folks standing on the shore patiently casting and reeling in.
But, I never could stomach putting a live worm on a hook
or removing the hook from a struggling fish,
and the thought of killing a living thing - sure a mosquito- but a beautiful fish?
No, better that I plant some winter greens and then harvest from the earth in my own backyard.
Yes, that sounds more probable.
Yes.
Fishers, at the inlet. © Laine Quinn 2019
Good-bye 2019!
A serene scene for anxious times...
Mother Nature hasn't given up on us yet.
St. Augustine Beach, 9.11.19 ©Laine Quinn
What we can do to support the climate strike on Friday, the 20th of September-
Don't buy anything on line that has to be delivered to your home, buy local.
Don't throw away any plastic at all for that day.
Drive as little as possible.
Be kind!
Little did I know that when I accidentally shot the door to this cottage in May,
(while trying to find a bird in the oak tree at dusk that was making an unusual call),
that 4 months later, I would be moving in there.
That's most of the reason for my absence!
Then there is the other,
my new old car!
And now it is Thanksgiving,
and there is much to be grateful for.
Thank you to
all the friends who helped me along the way,
clearing out and painting and cleaning and moving.
It seemed endless.
And especially to the "Land Owner" who invited me to move into her studio,
Thank You, for all.
For All.
And to the one who practically donated the car to me!
Thank you!
Thank You!
Thank You!
Now that things have settled down a bit, I just might have more time to Blog!
Everything has to do with loving
and not loving.
Rumi
Do you come here often?
Nice view, hey?
What's your sign?
Do I know you?
Pigeons on top of the Oldest Wooden Schoolhouse, St. Augustine, Florida.
©Laine Quinn 2018
In between the sky and the sea.
Rain clouds closing in from the south and the north.
Whenever a boat takes to the water,
there is a story to tell.
Storms, sea creatures,
and the one that got away.
There is always a story!
Crescent Beach, storms brushing by and a shrimp boat minding it's own business. 7.10.2017.
One beautiful day after another...
people go to the beach,
the waves roll in and out again,
pelicans fly in their lines.
Just another day in Paradise!
St. Augustine Beach, May, 2017.
Nestlings are so very vulnerable.
This little one endured severe thunderstorms, only to be stalked by a crowd of noisy crows
and survived that too.
Nature provides lots of drama for her creatures.
Perhaps we all have a nestling within us...our inner hatchling.
It's the part of us that has come through the storms
and evaded or slayed the scary monsters -
sometimes with grace and other times not -
but through it all have come to trust the deep instinct to grow stronger and to thrive.
Spring is upon us - a good time to acknowledge our strengths
and our connection to the fragile new arrivals.
After all, we were once just like them.
Baby Robin, reprinted from Laine's Blog, March 2012.
Be kind
To your web-footed friends,
for a duck may be somebody's Mother.
Be kind to your friends in the swamp,
where the weather is very very damp....
The End!
Muscovy Ducks at Treaty Park being very friendly.
Movement in the stillness,
more in the woods behind us,
squirrels and owls,
and under the surface of the water.
A balance is struck at the end of the day
as the light fades
and we rush to beat the darkness home.
Sunset at Vail Point on Moultrie Creek.
Let the beauty that you love,
be what you do.
Rumi
Fish together!
Vilano Beach, this morning!
Human, Stork, Egrets.
Ducks still swim in ponds and the sky still reflects beautifully on the water.
The sun rises and sets and the moon too.
And so we must also,
rise and set with the rhythms of life.
Ducks at Treaty Park where a historic treaty was signed with the Natives and subsequently broken.
St. Augustine, Florida.
What, you can't see my spoon bill?
O well.
Can you see the Roseate?
Okay, then.
Roseate Spoonbill, at the Duck Pond, St. Augustine.
Black skimmers, passing through Vilano Beach.
There is a ton of debris and the St. Augustine Beach Pier
is still closed,
but we are survivors,
we, who love the beach...
The Atlantic's back porch...
Yoga? Anyone?
It's still dangerous to swim, but people were swimming
and surfing and kite surfing.
Bless us all.