Month: May 2007

Final Comments on Anselm Hollo

I finally finished Anselm Hollo’s Notes on the Possibilities and Attractions of Existence , and I’ll have to admit that I was a little disappointed as his style of poetry really isn’t quite my cup of tea, though as I’ve also pointed out there are a number of poems I quite liked.

My favorite poems are the simplest ones, ones like

Sunset Caboose

“freight train, freight train
going so fast”
old lights depart

brain’s, heart’s
gregarious troubles
take them out

one by one
to the great compost

but look at the bee
on its way
to what is brought out of light

that rely on clear, relatively simple lines to convey their message. Of course, as usual, personal preferences often dictate whether a poem does or does not resonate with a reader. The fact that I’ve been focusing on “light” in my photographs might actually prejudice me towards this poem, and the “compost” metaphor, as used in Whitman’s “This Compost,” is a metaphor that particularly appeals to me.

Certainly the baggage we carry has becomes more and more obvious as I’ve aged and found much of it meaningless. Emerson’s “Things are in the saddle and ride mankind” comes to mind.

As I’ve said previously, I generally admire Hollo’s sense of humor, a trait in short supply in most of my favorite poets. I think I loved this poem

Big Furry Buddha in Back Yard

it’s a made-up name
his real name is Bailey
all names are made-up

full moon &
our bats are back
bat is flutterer fluttermouse

verbal tea leaves interim moments

loony toon galaxy at bottom of page cup

world symphony much the same
they’ve just added more instruments
place used to be run by two big bunches of liars
now there is only one big bunch

who cares full moon &
our bats are back
bat is flutterer fluttermouse

from the moment I read the title. The first line of the poem merely added to the humor. The non-sensical link to that and the image of the bats, merely added to the overall tone of the poem. Why let the fact that our world is run by “only one big bunch” of liars ruin your day. Revel in the full moon and the bats who celebrate the night.

Didn’t the buddha already tell you that the world is full of sorrow?

When There’s Yard Work to Do, Duck

Unlike many birders, I don’t have a “lifetime list” of birds, though it’s hard not to maintain one inside your head when local guides list a bird as “common” and you haven’t seen one in two years of taking photographs and walking birding areas. So perhaps it’s not to be unexpected that my heart skipped a little beat when I looked out across a wide field to try to identify this duck who insisted, for the most part, in submerging his head as he foraged. It turned out to be a pair of Cinnamon Teal, and I’m pretty sure I would have recognized the male if I’d ever seen one before as it has a very distinctive body color.

It’s nice to be able to experience that little rush of feeling at something new, particularly when it doesn’t come in a UPS truck.

Still, I’m even happier knowing I still get a rush when I see something as as beautiful as Shelley’s favorite duck even if I already have a dozen good pictures of it.

Heck, I’m equally happy that Mallards still strike me as quite beautiful when found in their natural setting rather than in local parks where bread-throwing visitors have managed to turn them into beggars rather than wild birds.

Things to See on a Sunny Day

It was probably the best day of the year here in the Pacific Northwest, and I spent it wisely — walking Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.

I spent the first thirty minutes trying to get a good shot of this Rufous Hummingbird who, despite the brilliant sunshine, insisted on sitting in the shade atop an elderberry. While it is possible to push the ISO to 1600 on my Canon D20, it certainly degrades the quality of the picture. So, only the two pictures I took at the end of the session, when the sun finally reached the branch where he was sitting turned out well.

I spent nearly as long tracking this Common Yellowthroat, not much larger than a hummingbird, who kept flitting from one cattail to another whenever I’d almost managed to focus my camera.

I spent another twenty minutes trying to get a picture of this (I think) Anise Swallowtail, a variety I’ve never seen before.

It may be clouding up tonight, but I’m pretty sure summer is finally here, with more sunshine forecast for much of the week.

Pt. Defiance Rhododendron Garden

Despite a dismal forecast and some early morning drizzle, today turned into one of those beautiful sunny days that make all the previous rainy days bearable.

I grabbed my Canon and headed to Pt. Defiance Rose Garden. I was disappointed to discover that all the spring flowers had been removed to make way for the summer flowers, and all there was to see were recently spaded beds.

Luckily, the Pt. Defiance Rhododendron Gardens more than made up for the lack of flowers in the Rose Garden. As it turned out, the biggest problem was trying to avoid overexposure because of the strong contrasts between the rays of sunlight and the deep shade of the firs:

It was the kind of problem that a photographer loves, and the best shots seem to radiate light:

Though humans seemed to gravitate toward the brighter colors, bumblebees seemed drawn to the white rhodies, and this plant was abuzz:

If tomorrow’s forecast is as wrong as today’s was, I’ll be spending the day at Nisquallly rather than going to the club and spending the rest of the day reading or working at my computer.