For a small wetland area in the middle of suburbia, Huntley Meadows is not only an oasis for trees, plants and flowers, but also a place where raptors can be found. Ospreys regularly hunt and even nest in its confines. Some pictures taken on a recent visit.
The swallows are all over the place at Huntley Meadows. They move swiftly through the air, their orange and blue colors shifting like the spectrum Edwin Hubble once saw. Their blue and white brothers are just as swift and try as I might, I consider it a lucky happenstance if I am able to capture a swallow in flight, at full speed. Luckily for me and other photographers, the swallows love to perch on the railings in the various overlooks at the wildlife reserve. They even perch on tree stumps by the water. Some swallows, perhaps to escape the heat, or perhaps to rest from their frenetic frenzy, sit on a small abutment of wood in one of the overlooks at Huntley Meadows. And so I had an idea. Try to get as close to a swallow as luck would permit and take a picture.
As luck would have it, the swallow was seemingly mesmerized by this black tube getting close to where it stood. For a brief moment, the lens was close enough to see the swallow closeup and capture the sense of wonder the swallow shares with all of us.
And a bonus picture. This time with the 200-600mm Sony zoom. A swallow in the middle of an in flight rotation. It happened so quickly that I didn’t even see it happening. Life is like that sometimes. Just go with the flow, with wings that take you to the air and beyond.
It happens every seventeen years, for a few short weeks. Even the rain, finally falling, can’t stop it. The birds, like this Redwing blackbird at Huntley Meadows, seem to have found a new source of protein.
A short video of a swallow and a heron at Huntley Meadows.
Two swallows in flight
Behaving differently
In different light
For many people in the world, today is a day to celebrate the resurrection of the Messiah. To all of us, no matter our beliefs, it is a day to reflect on what Easter really means. It is the rebirth of man, so to speak. Fallen from grace, God sent His son to the world and in the greatest act of sacrificial love, gave His life so that we all may live. The true importance of Easter is that we are reminded that the most important thing that we can give to each other is Love. Love made the the sacrifice possible. We think of death as the end of all things. And yet, the message of the resurrection is that forgiveness, generosity, a willingness to help one another without expectation of reciprocity, can make all of us better. Renew us. In acts of kindness, in acts of forgiveness, we are reborn. The yoke of hatred is a heavy one. Human bondage, human suffering, the torment of sin cannot be forgotten. We hope to learn from the mistakes. And yet, what good is learning if we are not able to do the even more important thing. To forgive. Today, we celebrate the resurrection, the manifestation of the love that the Creator has for all of us. He came to the world not to conquer, but to forgive. To love us all. And in so doing, restore us in our place as true children of God.
We are on this earth for a very short time. Do we spend that time spewing hatred, thinking selfishly only of our own importance to the world? Or do we spend our time on this earth helping one another, caring for one another. We will make mistakes. Some big, and some small. All of us will. It is the act of forgiveness that sets us free. Lighten the yoke. Bear no ill will towards others. Forgiveness. A virtue sometimes difficult to achieve. And yet, if we forgive others, if we forgive ourselves, we may find that a life lived in generosity, forgiveness and sacrifice is a life lived in love.
We of different cultures, different races, different faiths all live in one fragile planet. Do we really want to spend our days blaming each other for all the ills that we see? For all the ills of the world? Or do we proclaim, like the blind man did, that I was blind, but now I see? See, in each other, the likeness of God, the Creator who made us all. And if we are of one body, then why should we seek to harm each other? The body is whole when it assists all its members. When love, universal, is shared among all. It starts with forgiveness. And the understanding that each part of the body, though different, has a role to play. Nothing is unimportant. No one is unimportant. The sacrifice commemorated on Good Friday was not for the select. Not for the few. The love outpoured was for us all.
Happy Easter! And since it is a celebration of rebirth, here are some pictures.
Leap for joy! For today, we are all reborn.
An osprey goes through the motions looking for a meal.
Being in the right place, at the right time, with the right subject, with the wind blowing in your face. Three out of four is okay, but sometimes you need all four things to get the shot you want. Still, good practice on taking pictures of an eagle diving for its meal.
The wood duck is not normally in this tree stump at Huntley Meadows. Then again, it must be interested in what the geese were doing.
Curiosity is a wondrous thing. And not limited to humans.
After several days of cold weather, of on and off snow showers, the morning brought a chill that soon gave way to the warmer days of late February. The ice, little as there was, was melting into water. And Huntley Meadows was wet. Which will suits the gulls and the mergansers just fine.
