Happy Easter!
The Giant Cactus of Arizona
Photo by Jeremy Alford on Unsplash
The cactus in the desert stands
Like time’s inviolate sentinel,
Watching the sun-washed waste of sands
Lest they their ancient secrets tell.
And the lost lore of mournful lands
It knows alone and guards too well.
Wiser than Sphynx or pyramid,
It points a stark hand at the sky,
And all the stars alight or hid
It counts as they go rolling by;
And mysteries the gods forbid
Darken its heavy memory.
I asked how old the world was—yea,
And why yon ruddy mountain grew
Out of hell’s fire. By night nor day
It answered not, though all it knew,
But lifted, as it stopped my way,
Its wrinkled fingers toward the blue
Inscrutable and stern and still
It waits the everlasting doom.
Races and years may do their will—
Lo, it will rise above their tomb,
Till the drugged earth has drunk her fill
Of light, and falls asleep in gloom.
Harriet Monroe (1860–1936) was an American poet, critic, and editor. She is best known as the founding publisher and editor of Poetry magazine.
To read more poems, click here.
My First Photo Contest (and the Result)
I’m thrilled to announce that my photo of this adorable Kangaroo Island kangaroo and her joey was a finalist in the 2023 Pangolin Wildlife Photography Challenge‘s “Animal Behaviour” category.
I captured this photo while on a trip to Kangaroo Island, a beautiful and unique place in South Australia. It is my absolute favorite photo of the year, and it’s an honor to have it recognized among so many beautiful entries.
Watching the mother take care of her little one was amazing; they had such a special bond! Witnessing moments like these is what makes wildlife photography so special to me.
The kangaroos in the photo are Kangaroo Island kangaroos, a subspecies of the Western Grey Kangaroo (Macropus fuliginosus). Because of their long period of isolation from mainland Australia, the KI kangaroos are pretty different from the Western Grey kangaroos. They’re shorter, darker, and much cuter if you ask me!
This was my first time entering a photo contest, and I’m thrilled to have made it among the finalists. So many talented photographers and beautiful photos were submitted, and I’m honored to be included among them. Thanks to everyone who supported me!
I hope this photo helps remind people of how important it is to protect and preserve our wildlife and helps to raise awareness and appreciation for these amazing animals. Every animal has a unique story and deserves to be appreciated and respected.
Here are all the finalists; my photo is at 5:31 minutes in the video. And on the video cover 😉.
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Sea Fever
I must go down to the seas again, to the
lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer
her by;
And the wheel’s kick and the wind’s song and
the white sail’s shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea’s face, and a grey
dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call
of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be
denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white
clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and
the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the
vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull’s way and the whale’s way, where
the wind’s like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing
fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the
long trick’s over.
John Masefield (1878–1967) was an English poet and children’s fiction writer.
To read more poems, click here.
Favorite Photos: February 2024
Two young Kangaroo Island kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus fuliginosus) practicing their boxing skills.
Wait, what? Kangaroos? Does it mean that I’ve been to Australia again?
Indeed I was, and too short a time it was! Three weeks on Kangaroo Island flew by in the blink of an eye, and now I’m back home, sorting through thousands of photos. I’ve just started, so it’ll take some time until I’m done and can begin processing the best photos.
I love this photo because it was the first time I’d seen boxing kangaroos, and managed to take a few pictures in that golden light.
We were on our way to Seal Bay for a 7am appointment with the research team when we came across these sheep grazing peacefully as the sun rose. Everything was bathed in gold; it was breathtaking.
Unfortunately, we were in a hurry and couldn’t afford to stop for too long. I literally jumped out of the car and quickly took a few photos, hoping some would be good enough 😅.
This may not be a masterpiece, but I love it. It has so many things I love: the golden light, the kangaroos, the grass tree to the left, and the flowering eucalyptus to the right.
The composition could be better, and I did move around a lot, trying to get a better angle, but the roos were skittish, and this is the best I could do.
I hope you enjoyed these photos; there are more to come next month.
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A Crocodile
Photo by Kyle Nieber on Unsplash.
Hard by the lilied Nile I saw
A duskish river-dragon stretched along,
The brown habergeon of his limbs enamelled
With sanguine almandines and rainy pearl:
And on his back there lay a young one sleeping,
No bigger than a mouse; with eyes like beads,
And a small fragment of its speckled egg
Remaining on its harmless, pulpy snout;
A thing to laugh at, as it gaped to catch
The baulking merry flies. In the iron jaws
Of the great devil-beast, like a pale soul
Fluttering in rocky hell, lightsomely flew
A snowy trochilus, with roseate beak
Tearing the hairy leeches from his throat.
Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803 – 1849) was an English poet, playwright and doctor.
Mark McGuinness reads and discusses the poem in his podcast A Mouthful of Air, a podcast of classic and contemporary poetry. Podcast transcription is available.
To read more poems, click here.
Protecting Our Planet’s Precious Wildlife: Celebrating Wildlife Day
Today, March 3rd, marks World Wildlife Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of protecting our precious wildlife. It was Steve Irwin who once said, “If we can teach people about wildlife, they will be touched. Share my wildlife with me. Because humans want to save things that they love.”
Now, this is my mission, too. Share beautiful photographs of the amazing creatures we share our planet with, share my wildlife, and touch people’s hearts. Because humans want to save things they love.
March 3rd is World Wildlife Day, but every day should be wildlife day. We share this Earth with other living beings, and the topic of animal rights isn’t just about animals; it’s also about us. Let’s build a world where both animals and humans can thrive. Animals also have a right to live free lives unharmed and unexploited.
As Emmanuel Kant famously said, “He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals.” This is a powerful message that reminds us that the way we treat animals reflects who we are as a society.
So, on this World Wildlife Day, let us celebrate the beauty of our planet’s wildlife and remember that it is our responsibility to protect it. Let us work towards building a world where both animals and humans can coexist in harmony.
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Sextain
Snowdon From Pernsarn by Charles Thomas Burt. Photo by Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash.
The Heaven doth not contain so many stars,
So many leaves not prostrate lie in woods
When autumn’s old and Boreas sounds his wars,
So many waves have not the ocean floods,
As my rent mind hath torments all the night,
And heart spends sighs when Phœbus brings the light.
Why should I have been partner of the light,
Who, crost in birth by bad aspéct of stars,
Have never since had happy day or night?
Why was not I a liver in the woods,
Or citizen of Thetis’s crystal floods,
Than made a man, for love and fortune’s wars?
I look each day when death should end the wars,
Uncivil wars, ’twixt sense and reason’s light;
My pains I count to mountains, meads, and floods,
And of my sorrow partners make the stars;
All desolate I haunt the fearful woods,
When I should give myself to rest at night.
With watchful eyes I ne’er behold the night,
Mother of peace, but ah! to me of wars,
And Cynthia, queen-like, shining through the woods,
When straight those lamps come in my thought, whose light
My judgment dazzled, passing brightest stars,
And then mine eyes en-isle themselves with floods.
Turn to their springs again first shall the floods,
Clear shall the sun the sad and gloomy night,
To dance about the pole cease shall the stars,
The elements renew their ancient wars
Shall first, and be deprived of place and light,
E’er I find rest in city, fields, or woods.
End these my days, indwellers of the woods,
Take this my life, ye deep and raging floods;
Sun, never rise to clear me with thy light,
Horror and darkness, keep a lasting night;
Consume me, care, with thy intestine wars,
And stay your influence o’er me, bright stars!
In vain the stars, indwellers of the woods,
Care, horror, wars, I call, and raging floods,
For all have sworn no night shall dim my sight.
William Drummond of Hawthornden (1585 –1649) was a Scottish poet.
Mark McGuinness reads and discusses the poem in his podcast A Mouthful of Air, a podcast of classic and contemporary poetry. Podcast transcription is available.
To read more poems, click here.
All Art Is a Point of View
You see a car wash.
I see beauty.
All art is a point of view.
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It Is What It Is
A few days ago, a friend reached out to me for help. She was having a hard time after one of those unexpected things life likes to throw at you.
What did you do, she asked me? I used the ostrich method, I wanted to tell her. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it. It is, I admit, not a suitable method of tackling life.
Instead, I told her about acceptance. Strive for that kind of calm, peaceful mind that acceptance offers, but that’s so hard to achieve. Realize that life is what it is, and no amount of wishful thinking can make it otherwise. Things change, as much as we don’t want them to; people change, too, and catastrophes happen. Change and pain are constant companions in this world; the best one can do is accept them. Not surrender, but accept it. It is what it is. We spend too much time and energy refusing to accept things as they are and trying to change what we cannot.
I told her about the Anonymous Alcoholics’ prayer; it’s a short but powerful reminder of how to handle life with everything it brings. (And before AA, the Stoics preached this, even though they didn’t really preach. Hence, my interest in Stoics).
The Serenity Prayer
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Yeah. Work in progress.
I realized that I was trying to help her as much as myself.
I try to remember Mark Twain’s words: “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.” The Stoics (Seneca) said that we suffer twice, once when we think about something that could happen and then again when it happens.
It’s enough to think about the things I was worried about only a few years ago, to say nothing about my youth. Most of them, if any, never happened, of course. Or they weren’t the catastrophes I thought they’d be. Instead, you have unexpected stuff thrown at you. (Think the last four years!)
So now I’m trying to make the best of what I have, which is not negligible; enjoy life because you never know what’ll happen in the future. I shouldn’t mar the lovely life we have right now with thoughts about what might happen. Then, I would have suffered twice.
