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Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture

Posted in Birds, Books, Weekly Photo Challenge, tagged , , , , , , on April 30, 2013| 2 Comments »

  “If we are to achieve a richer culture rich in contrasting value we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.” – Margaret Mead

Clearly these figures located at the Chinatown Center in Austin, Texas. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Clearly these figures located at the Chinatown Center in Austin, Texas. — Photo by Pat Bean

What Culture? Who’s Culture?

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            I found this week’s topic confusing. Culture has many meanings, and some of those I think depend on personal interpretations.

A doctor might think of cultivating a bacteria, while a farmer thinks of cultivated land. Are we talking about culture as being educated, or as how it relates to an ethnic group. Or simply an  everyday existence shared by people who live close together and share the same values?

The culture of  people who live by the sea and make their living fishing would be quite different from a group of apartment dwellers who take the train into work every morning.

Since I couldn’t decide what would best exemplify culture, I just picked a couple of photos to share that I liked and that I think represent two diverse cultures.

Bean’s Pat: A Record-Breaking Birding Day  http://tinyurl.com/bv7s7sv 294 Texas species in 24 hours. This one is for the birders among my readers. It’s from the Cornell University Ornithological blog. Anybody here ever seen or read “A Big Year?  Great book, good movie!.

 

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What Makes a Perfect Day

Posted in Birds, Books, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , , on April 26, 2013| 1 Comment »

            “If  you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.” — Jim Valvano

The Difference a Half Century Makes 

It's got to be a perfect day if I get to go out birding with old friends. -- Photo by Pat Bean

It’s got to be a perfect day if I get to go out birding with old friends. — Photo by Pat Bean

A perfect day at 24 and at 74 is like two different worlds. In one I would be rafting down the Colorado, and making mad, passionate love under the stars with a soul mate that night.

In the other, I would be happy to have just met my writing goal for the day and to have learned or seen something new.

Watching an awesome pink and purple sunrise and a fiery orange and red sunset would be included in both worlds, however, as would be a good book to read, a nice stiff Jack and Coke (well it would have been a Virgin Coke in the first world because I didn’t drink until I was 37) before a gourmet dinner that someone else cooked.

And seeing birds, like this California quail only makes the day more perfect -- is that even possible? -- Photo by Pat Bean

And seeing birds, like this California quail only makes the day more perfect — is that even possible? — Photo by Pat Bean

A perfect day would also include feeling loved, which is easy at 74 but was nigh impossible at 24.

The truth is I’ve had many days I would consider perfect – and the closer to 74 I became the more abundant they’ve become. Hmmmmm?

Sure it would  be grand to tackle the Mighty Colorado through the Grand Canyon as the lead paddler in a six-person raft once again, but that’s something I’ve had to accept my 74-year-old body isn’t up to doing.

The end of  all my days on the river were all perfect days, but for some odd reason I find today’s  mellower activities  have a way of leaving me content and satisfied with my life in a way that I never was at 24.

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Bright and Bold and Brassy

Posted in Art, Birds, Journeys, tagged , , on April 26, 2013| 7 Comments »

” Live Life as an exclamation, not an explanation!” — Unknown

Life as an exclamation is how I saw this northern cardinal.

Life as an exclamation is how I saw this northern cardinal.

Today’s Illustrated Journal Page

I came across the above quote early this morning and immediately jotted it down in my newly started art journal. Ideas for illustrating it flowed through my head all morning, and then I thought of the beautiful, cheery northern cardinal.

The two just seemed to fit.

It was a quick draw and watercolor job — 15 minutes — in which I went for boldness and not perfection. I think the fellow is a little humpbacked.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: Red Rock Hike  http://tinyurl.com/a63twt2  My broken ankle is still not up to trails, so for now I’ll just have to do them from an armchair. But then this also brought back memories because I’ve taken a few hikes in the Sedona area. Catch one if you can.

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Morning Walk With Birds and Words

Posted in Birds, Journeys, Writing, tagged , , , , , on April 3, 2013| 7 Comments »

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Mourning dove — Photo by Pat Bean

 

If I had things my way, all birds would fly free.

Gambel's quail -- Photo by Pat Bean

Gambel’s quail — Photo by Pat Bean

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

By Maya Angelou

“A free bird leaps on the back of the wind
and floats downstream till the current ends
and dips his wing in the orange suns rays and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks down his narrow cage
can seldom see through his bars of rage
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze
and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees
and the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright lawn and he names the sky his own.

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Gila woodpecker — Photo by Pat Bean

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings with a fearful trill
of things unknown but longed for still
and his tune is heard on the distant hill
for the caged bird sings of freedom.”

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Mother Nature Lives in Tucson

Posted in Birds, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, tagged , , , , on March 17, 2013| 12 Comments »

            “We are born again each morning. What matters most is this day.” Buddha

Gambel quail skitter about in this landscape. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Gambel quail skitter about in this landscape. — Photo by Pat Bean

And Makes Me Feel at Home

            My apartment has all the conveniences of a city just two blocks away, yet it’s sheltered from traffic noise by trees and a landscaped courtyard, and is bordered on two sides by a natural desert landscape filled with wildlife.

Seed pods against the desert sky.

Seed pods against the desert sky.

            I see Gambel’s quail skittering between the saguaro and ocotillo cacti and am serenaded by mourning doves, song birds and a great horned owl on a daily basis. A pair of Cooper’s hawks are nesting in a nearby near tree and yesterday morning I spied a bobcat on the edge of the apartment’s parking lot.

            Tucson, I’ve discovered, is a place where civilization and Mother Nature coexist better than any other place I’ve ever lived. And here in the city’s Catalina Foothills that I now call home, most buildings have been designed to look like they belong to the landscape.

            I truly am falling in love with Tucson.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

            Bean’s Pat: Life in the Bogs http://tinyurl.com/bwlykyh And speaking of Mother Nature, she lives in Robin’s bog, too.

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Tick Tock, Tick Tock

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , on March 13, 2013| 6 Comments »

            “Time is free, but it’s priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.” —  Harvey MacKay

I dawdled to watch squirrels at a campground. == Photo by Pat Bean

I dawdled to watch squirrels at a campground. == Photo by Pat Bean

Time Always Runs Out

            A few years back I planned a trip to Maine. I left in early May with the goal of reaching the state’s Atlantic Coastline before the puffins, the sandpipers, the plovers and other shore birds migrated south. Too much dawdling along the way made me arrive two weeks too late.

 

I dawdled to see all the sights along oute 66. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I dawdled to see all the sights along oute 66. — Photo by Pat Bean

           It was a missed opportunity that most likely will never come again. At the same time, my dawdling along the way visiting places like Queen Wilhelmina State Park in Arkansas, the Budwieser Brewery in Missouri, Wolf Park in Indiana, the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan Niagara Falls in New York and many, many other places along the way were memories made that I wouldn’t have wanted to miss either.

            I’ve reached the point in my life when I know that there is more time behind me than ahead of me. Accepting this reality has not made me sad, but it has certainly made me more aware of how fleeting time has become.

            I remember when it seemed an eternity for each Christmas to arrive, and now it seems like I’ve barely put away the Christmas decorations before it’s time to get them out again.

I dawdled to watch sunrises. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I dawdled to watch sunrises. — Photo by Pat Bean

            What got me thinking of time was Tom Brokaw’s book “The Time of our Lives: A conversation about America.” He and I are less than a year apart in age, and we both had journalism careers, although his took him on the big stage in front of a camera and mine took me to a smaller stage on the pages of newspapers.

            I once got to interview Tom Brokaw when he visited my smaller stage setting, the memories of which came to the forefront this week when I picked up his book and read the things he pointed out in his preface of having lived through –  the moon landing, Vietnam, women stepping out of the kitchen and into the working world, civil unrest as black and white cultures integrated, the riots, the prosperity, the stock market fluctuations, the technology takeover, the continuation of war, and the big bang of the internet.

            These were the same things I had lived through and wrote about.

            Looked at in this way, I guess I know where time has flown. I wonder what is still ahead for me to experience – as I continue my dawdling ways.

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Nest Sitting Dove

Posted in Birds, Journeys, tagged , on March 11, 2013| 2 Comments »

 “We must combine the toughness of the serpent with the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

 Non-Paying Tenant

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A tough little mom-to-be mourning dove. — Photo by Pat Bean

I was at my daughter’s house yesterday, where they had the front door locked so as not to bother the squatter that had taken up residency on the porch.

I forgot about the restriction and took Pepper out the front door for a walk.

The squatter gave us the evil eye but didn’t fly away. And she stayed put when I returned with my camera. It seemed apparent she was unhappy with the intrusion but she steadfastly continued sitting on her eggs.

I can’t wait to see the baby doves.

 

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A Morning Walk with Pepper

Posted in Adventures With Pepper, Birds, Nature, tagged , , , on March 8, 2013| 12 Comments »

       “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” — Henry David Thoreau

A view looking east over Tucson from my apartment. - Photo by Pat Bean

A view looking east over Tucson from my apartment. – Photo by Pat Bean

Cactus and Birds and Mountains

          I finally am out of the heavy, clunky boot I’ve been wearing for almost two months after breaking my ankle. 

A lesser goldfinch

A lesser goldfinch — Photo by Pat Bean

         The doctor said I’m healing well and lifted all restrictions, telling me just to take it easy and go to physical therapy for the next six weeks.

          The best part of all this is that I’m now back to taking Pepper on two of her four daily walks. Hopefully by the end of next week it will be all four.

          This morning’s walk, meanwhile, was fantastic. Without ever leaving my apartment complex, I got good photos of an impressive saguaro cactus, mountains to the east and west, and a lesser goldfinch.

          Of course I wanted to share.

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

Bean’s Pat: 29 ways to stay creative http://tinyurl.com/a7guy52 Good ideas, and fun, too.

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A Pair of Mourning Doves

Posted in Birds, Journeys, tagged , , on March 6, 2013| 9 Comments »

 “I think we consider too much the good luck of the early bird and not enough the bad luck of the early worm.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt

 My neighbor, knowing I’m a passionate birder, called me yesterday afternoon and simply said: “”Go out on your balcony and look to your left.”

 I did. And below is what I saw. Aren’t they cute?

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A pair of mourning doves. These birds get their name from the mourful wooing-cooing sound they make. They are this country’s most common dove.

It pays to let others know what you want in life, especially if it’s seeing birds. I would have missed this wonderful sight if not for my thoughtful neighbor.

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A Desert Landscape of Balloons and Cacti

Posted in Birds, Favorite Places, Journeys, Nature, Travel, tagged , , , , , on March 4, 2013| 11 Comments »

             “What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

I wondered if this balloon was going to get high enough to miss the wires. It did. -- Photo by Pat Bean

I wondered if this balloon was going to get high enough to miss the wires. It did. — Photo by Pat Bean

Adjusting to a New Life

            After exiting, but not abandoning, my nine-year RV home, Gypsy Lee, in an apartment complex parking lot, I wondered if I had chosen the right place to put down a few roots.

Balloons are a familiar sight over Tucson. -- Photo by Pat Bean

Balloons are a familiar sight over Tucson. — Photo by Pat Bean

            I was still remembering how claustrophobic I had felt after purchasing my last rooted home back in Ogden, Utah, in which I had spent seven years before moving into Gypsy Lee.

            Right up until the last few months, when this old body decided it needed a bit more space and a few conveniences Gypsy Lee didn’t have, I never felt more at home than I did when traveling across this beautiful country. The road truly felt like home and the place I should be.

            I had thought when I retired that I would have about five years on the road before I would need to settle down again. I almost doubled that. I also thought that I would find a place that would call out to me as being my next home. It never did.  

            I suspected I would end up in my native Texas, where most of my children and grandchildren live, and started looking, and continued doing so for almost a year. I found nothing that met my requirements – nice, dog friendly, large bath tub, light and airy, and near town conveniences but with a place to walk – that either appealed to me or was in my measly price range.  

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            When I started looking in Tucson, where my youngest daughter lives and where I was headed to spend this past Christmas, I found what I had been looking for instantly, with the bonus of it being located at the foot of the Catalina Mountains.

            But almost as soon as I had moved into my new, small, third-floor apartment, I broke my foot and also began having doubts if I had made the right decision.

            A pair of Cooper’s hawks nesting in a tree in one of the apartment’s courtyards helped convince me — I’m a passionate birder — that I had, as did the beautiful view I have of Mount Lemmon to the north and the beautiful sunrises that have brightened almost all my mornings.

            I never thought I would live in the desert and like it. But I’m slowly beginning to think of Tucson as home.

            I’m especially enjoying a landscape where giant saguaro cacti — including one here at the apartment that is home to a pair of Gila Woodpeckers – dominate the landscape, and where it is not unusual to look up and see hot air balloons gliding by.           

The Wondering Wanderer's blog pick of the day.

The Wondering Wanderer’s blog pick of the day.

   Bean’s Pat: Basil the Hippo http://tinyurl.com/cq9x969 I fell in love with this story – and Basil.

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