THE PEACE OF WILD THINGS

 by WENDELL BERRY

"When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be.

I go and lie down where the wood drake

             rests in his beauty on the water, 

and the great heron feeds.

     I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water

 

 

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world and am free."

This verse, by Wendell Berry, describes the feeling that many experience when spending time in nature.

On a recent morning I was parked beside a small stream when this great horned owl silently glided to a perch in a nearby tree...

It is uncommon to see an owl during the day so I began looking for the reason that it was not sleeping after a night of hunting. I soon spotted the reason in another tree close by...

Locating a nest with owlets present is a rare occurrence. I quickly relocated to a better vantage point and began taking photos...

I returned several times over the next few days. Always hoping to find an adult present and feeding the owlets. It was not to be. Feeding must have taken place at night because I never saw an adult at the nest...

One morning I arrived to find the nest empty...

Apparently, the owlets had fledged since my last visit.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is the mating season for wild turkeys. I have been lucky to spot several gobblers roaming about in search of hens...

We sometimes have hens and their poults pass through our neighborhood...

Thanks for visiting, be well, and come back soon.