Uncommon
A sunset is doubled when reflected in a lake
So, too, a glowing moon
But oh, to see that sacred art
In the magical mirror of the ruby red eye
Of the mystical common loon
May the wonders of Mother Nature
decorate your heart and your holidays
with beauty, light, and love
While searching my photos for a holiday picture, this one suggested a red tree ornament reflecting candlelight. But it’s natural, which is always my preference. I was delighted to photograph a loon close to my canoe. Discovering the sunset while editing the picture was one of those happy surprises.
Another was being asked to do three photo/poem exhibits in 2023. It kept me busy, but I was honored to be able to share my work. Many thanks to all who encouraged me in so many ways. I will be taking my exhibit at Burnhaven Library down this Sunday, and this is one that will go back up on my wall while I’m missing the snow.
The totally open water on my lake this December is a surprise, but not a happy one. I would be selfish to complain when others around the world suffer devastating effects of climate change and war. Yet I can’t help but wonder how it is affecting my fish friends – Greenie, Slim, and others. I swam nearly every day last summer, often with them, and took lots of underwater video. I’m making progress on Greenie’s chapter book about our eight summers together. Will there be a ninth? I sure hope so.
Yes, that's Greenie, a summer picture dressed up for the holidays with a little editing. I didn't look as good as he does, but I so appreciated celebrating the special lights of Hanukkah, Solstice, and Christmas with friends and family, and will do the same on New Year’s Eve.
Let us all wish everyone, everyone, everywhere,
all creatures, great and small
Peace on Earth, Good Will to All
Holly
You are invited to my first photography and poetry exhibit!
I would love to see you there THIS SUNDAY! Come walk the trails in the lovely Izaak Walton League woods, snow shoe and bird watch, then come inside for wine, snacks, pictures and poems. If you can’t make it, you can reserve another time to come, but you’ll miss the snacks, wine, and fun crowd. All the information is on this poster. I’m sharing my first artist’s statement here to give you an idea where I’m coming from and going. Having an exhibit really makes one think about what and why!
Artist’s Statement
I don’t have the technical skill I’d like, but I do have special relationships with Mother Nature and her children. Whether silly or serious, my goal in life, art, and writing is simplicity rather than sophistication, and connection rather than perfection. I love when I can catch an interesting expression or pose. I really love when there is a surprise in the photo that I didn’t see in the field! At times I find that editing an imperfect photo can evoke something closer to the emotion I felt in the wild. My hope is that viewers who are drawn in by a bit of mystery (“Is this real? Is this a painting? Were you that close? What was that critter thinking?”) might also be drawn to explore nature’s wonders on their own. Looking through eyes of love at every wild thing can create magic.
I can’t resist sharing what comes to mind when an image speaks to me. Sometimes it’s a poem, sometimes a memory or a laugh. I’d love to know what my pictures say to you. What do you see? Think? Wonder? Feel? I hope you’ll leave a comment or two.
You may notice a wide variety of frames and techniques. Why? 1) Though it’s a challenge and a lot of work to dress a photo in what brings out its personality, it’s more fun than doing them all the same. 2) If you know me or my book, Enchanted, you know that reuse is a core part of my Joyfully Green and Frugally Rich Life. 3) Giving an old frame a new life rather than filling landfills and extracting more of the earth’s resources is one of many ways to respect and preserve our environment.
Hey, Mom! You’re putting 40 pictures in your exhibit and NONE OF ME??!
Sorry. Lucky, but this show focuses on the environment and wildlife of the MN River Valley. You’re wild, but not quite wild enough.
With Gratitude
I am deeply grateful to the Izaak Walton League for inviting me to present my very first photography exhibit at the Kouba Gallery. I’m even more grateful for the League’s century of conservation initiatives. Clearly our hearts and minds are in the same place – passionate about loving and preserving the natural world. Perhaps you’ll join and become an Ike with me. Special thanks to Joseph Barisonzi for encouraging me as I sometimes color outside the lines.
The Black National Anthem begins with “Lift every voice.” So while listening to so many voices that need to be heard, I began to share my photos and the short poems they inspired. It means a lot to me when people say they are lifted by them. I’m including a few here for those who missed them on my Facebook page or want to forward them to friends. Following the three picture/poems are some thoughts I hope you will take just a few minutes to consider.
Sunrise
Hard times sometimes Make day feel like night Sorrow and confusion Steal her dreams of flight
She summons the strength to grieve And courage to wear her heart on her sleeve
‘Til on her wing a sun does rise That dares to bring the truth to light And chase the shadows from our eyes So she can sing with all her might
The Movement
They called you a worm As you climbed the mountain Inch by inch Day after day But a caterpillar Is what you were With a dream in your heart And wings on the way
Diversity
To have a friend Who’s not like me Is to swim in the sky And fly in the sea
Yesterday, thousands gathered at the Lincoln Memorial to commemorate and renew MLK’s call for racial equality, made there 57 years ago. It was also the 65th anniversary of the murder of Emmet Till.
I had read about the fourteen-year old boy, but it really tore at my heart when I heard the story from B.B. King. (Those of you who’ve read my book know I had the good fortune of a friendship with Mr. King from 1978 until his death. I wrote about other stories he told, but not this one. I think he would want me to share it now.) Emmett Till was visiting from Chicago in 1955 when he was falsely accused of touching a white woman, brutally tortured, and murdered. That was in Money, Mississippi, just 19 miles from Itta Bena, where B.B. King was born. King was 29 and a traveling musician by then, but was traumatized by the murder, knowing it could have happened to him or any of his family or friends. How do I know? King was a star, King of the Blues, loved and respected around the world by the time I knew him, decades after the incident. Yet I could see fear in his eyes and hear pain in his voice when he spoke of it. No matter how successful one becomes, the wounds from that kind of trauma never completely heal. B.B. was somehow able to resist bitterness and to direct his pain into a productive life. Others are not so lucky, with fear and loss turning into anger and destructiveness, toward themselves and others.
Yes, it could easily have been young King who was lied about and lost his life – the life that went on to bless and change the world with his music, warmth, and grace. What we will never know is this – what might Emmett Till have become and given the world if he had been allowed to live?
Emmett Till
B.B. King
I’ve had the privilege of knowing, teaching, and loving many children – of many colors. I’ve seen the potential in every child, and sometimes felt the joy of seeing that potential fulfilled or the profound sadness of seeing it lost. Joy or sadness not just for the child, but for myself, for you, for our society. Perhaps that’s why this video tugs my heartstrings in so many directions.
The men who committed the heinous crime of killing Emmett Till were never brought to justice, even though it was clear who they were and what they did. It was the tremendous courage of Emmett’s mother, insisting the world see her dead son, brutalized beyond recognition, and those who dared report it, and those who did not avert their eyes from the horror, who sparked the civil rights movement that eventually brought about real change.
Sixty-five years later, we in northern states can no longer claim innocence and look down on the stories of racism in the South. The cold stare of the cop who knelt on George Floyd’s neck for nearly eight minutes was a wake-up call. We, the public, have the power to make that image and so many others catalysts for change, as Mamie Till did with her son’s.
The president is trying hard to scare you into forgetting what the ongoing protests are about. He is the arsonist who wants to race in to put out the fire and claim to be a hero.
I admire the courage of those who march, especially in this time of pandemic, knowing there are those who would inject violence into protests. I choose to speak and write. Others may choose only to vote, but that will make all the difference. It is very clear that the party in power now has not the will nor the courage to do what we all know is right – to confront the complex systemic and personal racism that is so destructive to individuals and our society.
If you are inclined to unsubscribe from my blog, wanting to avoid anything political, I hope you will hang in here with me. My next letter/blog will be about my sunfish friend Greenie, and will announce his television debut!
(To get a closer look at Emmett Till’s story, watch Gayle King’s interview of the historian who interviewed the woman whose lies led to the boy’s gruesome torture and death.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWHDXchWW54
