June 30, 2007 by OrientSee.

Another picture from last night. This is from the overlook. There is a large salt pan in the foreground which is slowly drying up which is normal for this time of year. That’s Winthrop in the background. Sunset was drawing near. I’m still excited about last night. It was so great to be out at night in the marsh. It was like walking outside the day after the Blizzard of 78. The world was transformed.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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June 29, 2007 by OrientSee.

Looking south over the marsh at sunset. Tonight was terrific. For the first time I went out at sunset. The marsh was a different place. It was quiet but the birds were active. I saw five night herons. Best of all I got to watch a coyote cross the marsh fifty feet in front of me. He was moving so fast that you could hear him crash into the reeds in his rush to get away from me. That was so very cool. The moon was full but hidden by a low bank of clouds and so there was plenty of light. I didn’t need the flashlight that I brought along. I’ll have to do this more often. The night was so revealing.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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June 28, 2007 by OrientSee.

Wandering across the marsh, you’ll see images like this. It’s an accidental arrangement. Tide and wind and sun created this. Then I see it. Everything is caught up in a web. Life (green grass) and death (dead grass and crabs) locked together by the grass both alive and  decayed. There’s bright bleaching sunlight and dark shadows beneath. There’s curves and straight lines. The more I look, the more I get caught by the image. If only I could compose music like this, it wouldn’t matter that I can’t play anything.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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June 27, 2007 by OrientSee.

This green shore is the result of an algae bloom that the tide pushes up on the bank. Sometimes the raft gets moved far enough up so that it dries up and resembles fruit leather. The warm weather and increased dissolved nutrients encourage this sort of phenomenon. Sometimes this is just normal but often it means serious pollution from human sources. I can’t tell which but it does make me wonder. The hot weather is part of the process and for me, it means the beginning of misery season. I am a cold weather adapted organism and so anything over 80 is unpleasant.  Give me a brisk breeze and a little chill in the air and I’m in heaven. I’m eagerly awaiting October.

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June 26, 2007 by OrientSee.

A bunch of the boys were whooping up it in the Malamute Saloon. Actually these boys are Snowy Egrets and are a sociable lot. There were actually two more nearby. One was down in the ditch and popped up and down. The other just didn’t fit into the image frame. It was high tide so they were feeding up in the marsh instead of out in the harbor some place. It was a Snowy that I saw for the first time that made me realize that pigeons aren’t the only bird in the city. I’m a little jaded because now I see them so often but then there comes a moment like this that ensnares my internal awe machine and returns me back twenty years. I try not to take them for granted because they can surprise you in an instant.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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June 25, 2007 by OrientSee.

The first thing that I photographed was right next to this striking lily. Someone had dragged a mattress down through a thicket of brush and trees and dumped it right by the edge of the marsh. Strangely, they left it standing on its side. There was a path through the weeds beaten down as they dragged it to its resting place. It took a lot of effort to abandon the mattress where they left it. I can’t fathom it. In Boston the trash guys will pick up mattresses and even refrigerators. So whoever this was came from another town. All to get rid of a mattress. Of course it rests next to a small bed of lilies in full bloom. The juxtaposition only emphasizes the wasteful carelessness of people. It’s sad.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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June 24, 2007 by OrientSee.

A warm day and low tide means that most of the marsh residents are asleep or gone. The shorebirds are out on the mud flats in the harbor eating and everything else is napping. The surest sign of real civilization is the custom of napping at midday. It means that you are not tied to some arbitrary regime of time. It means regaining your breathe and adjusting your perspective. It’s time to get a second look at the day. For me that can mean looking at weeds and clouds together. That’s a combination to surprise you with.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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June 23, 2007 by OrientSee.

I’ve been to Yosemite and seen Half Dome complete with rock climbers spidering up its side. It is a sight. The Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Denali are wonders but often we are blinded by them to the beauty nearby. This magnificent towering cumulus formation happened directly above Belle Isle Marsh and I watched it from my own back porch. I don’t expect to see guides offering whitewater trips down Belle Isle Creek anytime soon but there can be no doubt that there is a natural magnificence to be found closer than California. The only cost is looking up.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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June 22, 2007 by OrientSee.

Sometimes it’s like filming for Hollywood. The star comes on the set very quiet and then turns to the camera and explodes into this dazzling creature. We the audience simply sit and stare. Right by the main entrance, this little yellow warbler flitted about and then stopped as if he knew that he was on camera. Then this. I’m still a little stunned by the sight. This was all on top of a day filled with clouds, blue sky, wind and bright light. Everything seemed more real than real. It was a day to be drunk with the delight of it all.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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June 21, 2007 by OrientSee.

Coming in on a wing and a prayer. As I watched this snowy egret landing in the marsh, I remembered this line from a song. It’s a sign of my age that I hear Ry Cooder in my head and not Frank Sinatra. Sinatra made this famous in WWII but it’s Ry Cooder that I am listening to. Some of you may wonder what’s this all about. Really it’s not about a song so much as the idea and feeling of coming home. For me, that’s one of the strongest emotions I’ve ever experienced. I’m sure the egret is only experiencing hunger pangs as he looks for more prey but for me landing a plane or returning to Boston after five years away are all mixed together in watching this beautiful hungry bird.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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