Bird Life in the Desert

 

Gambel's Quail ©2016 Bo Mackison

Gambel’s Quail ©2016 Bo Mackison

I wonder at my daily sightings of the mama
and papa quail, their brood of chicks dart
like scattered billiards balls, each pecks
for seeds in the rocky soil.

On hot afternoons the adults settle into
the desert earth like ancient ocean puffer balls,
keeping watch, the chicks tucked under
a prickly pear cactus hideout.

 

Road Runner © 2016 Bo Mackison

Road Runner © 2016 Bo Mackison

He has the habits of a slap stick comedian,
a relative of acclaimed characters in
Western tall tales & Saturday morning cartoons.

I’ve seen him do a helicopter dance,
land with a bird in his beak.
He’ll do combat with a rattler…and win.

And yet in courting, he presents his intended
with a twig or blade of grass,
then the chase is on — ’til she decides yea or nay.

On cool desert mornings he spreads
his tail feathers, exposes dark flesh,
& warms himself with the heat of the sun.
An energy conservationist.

Great Horned Owlets

Great Horned Owls

Great Horned Owls © 2013 Bo Mackison

It’s note-worthy when golfers stop their game long enough to stare into the high boughs of a nearby cottonwood. Not that they watched for long, but I watched foursome after foursome check out the tree top as they queued for their tee-time. (I had been given a hint as to the owls’ whereabouts by a dear neighbor who knows my penchant for photography.) Lucky for me, I knew where to look!

What a thrill! Two Great Horned Owlets, not quite ready to fledge their nest. They kept their backs towards me and their feathers over their heads as I aimed my long lens towards their nest, but when Sherpa made a sort of screeching sound, they popped up and kept a steady eye on that screeching human on the ground. Plenty of time for me to take a few baby portraits.

~~~~~~~~~~

Bo Mackison is a photographer and owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC.  She explores Arizona with her camera, aided by neighbors’ helpful hints and Sherpa’s noise-making abilities.

Wisconsin River Sand Bars

Lake Wisconsin Sand Bars, Driftless Area, Southwest Wisconsin

Wisconsin River Sand Bars © 2012 Bo Mackison

When you put your hand in a flowing stream, you touch the last that has gone before and
the first of what is still to come.”  Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo has a way with words. And I love the visual that comes to me when I read his words. “Put your hand in a flowing stream.” It needs to be a river or a stream, even a creek if there’s been rain. An ocean won’t do. Nor a sea. It needs to be a fast-moving stream, flowing past, the current pushing your hand in the direction of the flow.

Have you ever hung out with a river, maybe sprawled on a boat dock that sticks its edge into the river’s middle, sprawled on your belly, head cradled in one arm, your other arm stretching out, stretching down into the flowing river. Even in a the hot summer, even in the middle of a record-breaking heat scorcher, the river water still runs cool.

Just the thought of submerging my arm into the river makes me feel cooler.

As for the quote, I love this way of saying “stay in the present.” Once the moment has passed, it has passed. And you can’t rush the future – the flowing water will reach you at the very moment of the present, whether you want it to hurry up or slow down.

Hmm, two thoughts to consider from a single quote. Leonardo was one versatile guy!

———–

The river scene was photographed a few miles before we crossed the Wisconsin River on the bridge at Blue River, Wisconsin when we were on our way to the Mississippi River. I never knew there was a Blue River, Wisconsin. Even sounds like the place to test “your hand in the flowing stream!”

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is rambling on a bit, just like the rambling river waters…oh, she wants to know if you spotted all the teeny birds on the telephone wires in the photo. They are hard to see in this tiny size, but their antics are amusing and clear in the bigger photographs.


Glass Ceiling

Glass Ceiling © 2010 Bo Mackison

Glass ceiling. Swirls of sculptured snow.
Blue skies. Bare branches.
Diving, twirling origami birds.

Photographed at Olbrich Botanical Garden, Madison Wisconsin.