James, I am glad to hear you are going to go fishing. I can relate to not doing something because it isn't the same after a health issue changes how it feels. I wrote recently that I had been walking a lot more and I had to push myself out to do it. It's taken me a few years to get myself back out walking alone and enjoying it. I walked with friends and it was great but walking alone was not. I kept trying it and finally I found a level of happiness again, walking alone. It's not the same as it was, I can not walk as far as I used to, and I am not sure if I will ever be able to, but I am trying. Now my next hurdle is going back out birding alone. You've got this my friend!
Thank you, Pamela. As I wrote about how fishing doesn't feel the same, I had a feeling you'd understand. My aim is to get out there for stripers tonight (typing it here feels as if it will force me to go). You've set a good example for getting back to enjoying something. "It's not the same as it was...but I am trying." Words to heed, thank you Pamela. As for birding, getting back to birding alone at the refuge offers a pretty exceptional backdrop!
Really interesting explanation for the "hell is other people quote," which, in my experience, has always been misattributed; this clears that up in a wonderful context👍🏻
Thank you, Jesse. That quote is too easy to misuse and misunderstand, two things I was absolutely guilty of until looking a little closer. Thank you for reading and for your comment.
An excellent photo essay James. Re: Hell , I remember reading a definition of Hell is the soul not being able to express itself. I suppose from one point of view, being with and around other (The Other) makes expressing our soul an impossibility.
Hell to me is not having access to Nature, if only for the briefest glimpses each day. Not seeing birds flying overhead or not hearing the wind blow through leaves on a tree...not having the experience of either of those is pure Hell. I find myself slipping into a hellish time during the weekdays as I commute to my office and my weekend hikes fade away.
Hopefully Heaven waits though just around the corner on the weekends. I really wish we could flip the societal script and work 2 day per week and relax and recharge for the other 5!
Thank you Neil. Inability to express oneself is indeed hell, as is being denied access to nature. We should flip 5/2 to 2/5--more freedom to pay seed tax to chickadees and peanut tax to the squirrels. If an aim of taxation is to benefit a populace, your tax metaphor certainly works. If we all took it upon ourselves to feed and watch birds or squirrels, we'd benefit.
Thank you, James, for this wonderful photo essay. I’ve learned so much from you again about birds. Your message of happiness is especially uplifting. Happy fishing, my friend.
Love the photography James. I was fishing for tautog among the ospreys and terns this morning. The terns were hitting silversides and the ospreys were on the peanut bunker that are running through South Jersey right now. A lot of fun watching them work. Also, love the blackpoll warbler photo. Brings me back to my days as a biologist surveying for golden-winged and blue-winged warblers. I never heard any blackpolls, but always wanted to. Funny how many memories a series of photos can bring you back to. Great work!
Thank you Mike! Hope you ended up with some nice tog from your morning. Osprey get all the credit for diving and fishing, and they are surely theatrical to watch, but terns aren't slouches either. There's a spot I go to see terns hunt--smaller splashes than Osprey, but still a show. Glad to hear you liked the Blackpoll Warbler image and that it roused some memories for you. It sounds like you've had a thrilling catalog or warbler experiences. Blue-winged are exciting, I saw my first last year.
Ahh, James. Yes, you’ve shared happiness with me, and I’m grateful. So many excellent photos, it’s difficult to choose one to love the most. I have No idea how you select the ones to share with us. I still have 14,000 photos on my iPad because it’s difficult to edit the five second bursts I took on the one cruise I went on (to Alaska to see whales).
Loneliness isn’t a feeling that hits me very often. I’m a solitary creature myself. Sadness seems easier for me to handle when alone (unless the other is sharing in it) but happiness? Things to celebrate? That is when I will feel too alone. I hope that makes sense.
I am glad I've shared happiness with you through my writing and photos, Teyani. I'm not picky about what photos I share--here, Notes, texting them to friends, etc. If I like a photo, I try to fit it in a post (I include many, my rule of thumb is photo/2 paragraphs/photo/2 paragraphs). Please share as many Alaska photos as you see fit--either in posts or on Notes!
As for loneliness, I am also rarely "lonely" per se, and the tough emotions are better confronted in solitude oftentimes, but when I experience really nice moments by myself I find myself wishing I'd shared them. Sorry if I misread, but is that in line with what you said? Sad, you don't wish for company unless someone is feeling the same sadness; happy, you want somebody there to share in it.
Hi James… gosh, no. What I meant was if I’m sad, I can handle it alone, and being alone doesn’t make it worse. And? If I have something to celebrate (like when I got my Masters degree, or really being happy about an accomplishment I experience a much deeper sense of being alone / lonely if there isn’t anyone to share it with.
I pretty much always wish that I had someone I loved to share life with. Life is better with 2
Ferns *are* great! Also the way you’ve stubbornly refused to let your body have the final say in the story of your life. That’s great, too. That’s badass. 😎
Thank you so much, Ann. When I read your recent essay about your experience working in the ICU, it was clear you've seen some things! I am fortunate to be able to work past my body and brain. Why let them have the final say when there are ferns and terns--happiness to share. Thank you for reading and commenting.
You are so right my friend. I’ve had my own share of body challenges and I relate to your story, 100%. It takes a lot of stubbornness to have a good life.
Stubbornness gets a bad rap, but when you get dealt body challenges or other hurdles it's invaluable. It's refreshing to see somebody else think positively of being stubborn.
Yes. To refuse to accept the status quo—to do the work—yet to balance it all with gentleness and self-compassion. I love the way the natural world has a calming effect when one is in the middle of this process. I developed my hiking practice to recover from spine surgery, and in the process of that recovery is where I found my deep love nature.
When things get hard, Nature is always there. Sometimes it takes periods of great difficulty and hardship for it to get brought into focus—no matter how life changes, the beauty of the natural world is indifferent and constant.
James, I am glad to hear you are going to go fishing. I can relate to not doing something because it isn't the same after a health issue changes how it feels. I wrote recently that I had been walking a lot more and I had to push myself out to do it. It's taken me a few years to get myself back out walking alone and enjoying it. I walked with friends and it was great but walking alone was not. I kept trying it and finally I found a level of happiness again, walking alone. It's not the same as it was, I can not walk as far as I used to, and I am not sure if I will ever be able to, but I am trying. Now my next hurdle is going back out birding alone. You've got this my friend!
Thank you, Pamela. As I wrote about how fishing doesn't feel the same, I had a feeling you'd understand. My aim is to get out there for stripers tonight (typing it here feels as if it will force me to go). You've set a good example for getting back to enjoying something. "It's not the same as it was...but I am trying." Words to heed, thank you Pamela. As for birding, getting back to birding alone at the refuge offers a pretty exceptional backdrop!
Really interesting explanation for the "hell is other people quote," which, in my experience, has always been misattributed; this clears that up in a wonderful context👍🏻
Thank you, Jesse. That quote is too easy to misuse and misunderstand, two things I was absolutely guilty of until looking a little closer. Thank you for reading and for your comment.
An excellent photo essay James. Re: Hell , I remember reading a definition of Hell is the soul not being able to express itself. I suppose from one point of view, being with and around other (The Other) makes expressing our soul an impossibility.
Hell to me is not having access to Nature, if only for the briefest glimpses each day. Not seeing birds flying overhead or not hearing the wind blow through leaves on a tree...not having the experience of either of those is pure Hell. I find myself slipping into a hellish time during the weekdays as I commute to my office and my weekend hikes fade away.
Hopefully Heaven waits though just around the corner on the weekends. I really wish we could flip the societal script and work 2 day per week and relax and recharge for the other 5!
Thank you Neil. Inability to express oneself is indeed hell, as is being denied access to nature. We should flip 5/2 to 2/5--more freedom to pay seed tax to chickadees and peanut tax to the squirrels. If an aim of taxation is to benefit a populace, your tax metaphor certainly works. If we all took it upon ourselves to feed and watch birds or squirrels, we'd benefit.
Thank you, James, for this wonderful photo essay. I’ve learned so much from you again about birds. Your message of happiness is especially uplifting. Happy fishing, my friend.
Thank you Heidi. Let’s hope I catch something to write about
I’m staying tuned, James! Good luck out there!
Love the photography James. I was fishing for tautog among the ospreys and terns this morning. The terns were hitting silversides and the ospreys were on the peanut bunker that are running through South Jersey right now. A lot of fun watching them work. Also, love the blackpoll warbler photo. Brings me back to my days as a biologist surveying for golden-winged and blue-winged warblers. I never heard any blackpolls, but always wanted to. Funny how many memories a series of photos can bring you back to. Great work!
Thank you Mike! Hope you ended up with some nice tog from your morning. Osprey get all the credit for diving and fishing, and they are surely theatrical to watch, but terns aren't slouches either. There's a spot I go to see terns hunt--smaller splashes than Osprey, but still a show. Glad to hear you liked the Blackpoll Warbler image and that it roused some memories for you. It sounds like you've had a thrilling catalog or warbler experiences. Blue-winged are exciting, I saw my first last year.
Ahh, James. Yes, you’ve shared happiness with me, and I’m grateful. So many excellent photos, it’s difficult to choose one to love the most. I have No idea how you select the ones to share with us. I still have 14,000 photos on my iPad because it’s difficult to edit the five second bursts I took on the one cruise I went on (to Alaska to see whales).
Loneliness isn’t a feeling that hits me very often. I’m a solitary creature myself. Sadness seems easier for me to handle when alone (unless the other is sharing in it) but happiness? Things to celebrate? That is when I will feel too alone. I hope that makes sense.
I am glad I've shared happiness with you through my writing and photos, Teyani. I'm not picky about what photos I share--here, Notes, texting them to friends, etc. If I like a photo, I try to fit it in a post (I include many, my rule of thumb is photo/2 paragraphs/photo/2 paragraphs). Please share as many Alaska photos as you see fit--either in posts or on Notes!
As for loneliness, I am also rarely "lonely" per se, and the tough emotions are better confronted in solitude oftentimes, but when I experience really nice moments by myself I find myself wishing I'd shared them. Sorry if I misread, but is that in line with what you said? Sad, you don't wish for company unless someone is feeling the same sadness; happy, you want somebody there to share in it.
Hi James… gosh, no. What I meant was if I’m sad, I can handle it alone, and being alone doesn’t make it worse. And? If I have something to celebrate (like when I got my Masters degree, or really being happy about an accomplishment I experience a much deeper sense of being alone / lonely if there isn’t anyone to share it with.
I pretty much always wish that I had someone I loved to share life with. Life is better with 2
Ferns *are* great! Also the way you’ve stubbornly refused to let your body have the final say in the story of your life. That’s great, too. That’s badass. 😎
Thank you so much, Ann. When I read your recent essay about your experience working in the ICU, it was clear you've seen some things! I am fortunate to be able to work past my body and brain. Why let them have the final say when there are ferns and terns--happiness to share. Thank you for reading and commenting.
You are so right my friend. I’ve had my own share of body challenges and I relate to your story, 100%. It takes a lot of stubbornness to have a good life.
Stubbornness gets a bad rap, but when you get dealt body challenges or other hurdles it's invaluable. It's refreshing to see somebody else think positively of being stubborn.
Yes. To refuse to accept the status quo—to do the work—yet to balance it all with gentleness and self-compassion. I love the way the natural world has a calming effect when one is in the middle of this process. I developed my hiking practice to recover from spine surgery, and in the process of that recovery is where I found my deep love nature.
When things get hard, Nature is always there. Sometimes it takes periods of great difficulty and hardship for it to get brought into focus—no matter how life changes, the beauty of the natural world is indifferent and constant.
An anchor.