- Live Fearlessly, Compassionately and Honestly
 
The only TV show I watched today was a March 16th episode of Jon Stewart. His humor and wit help me feel grounded. He takes on the issues that drive me nuts  like in the 3/16/10 show. He did a bit on the whole fraudulent financial crisis. It was so funny. He confirms everything I've been feeling about how crazy and ridiculously unjust things really are.

 I'm politically aligned with Stewart, so I'm sure I find his brand of humor funnier than the other wing in our country does. I'm still frustrated that the Wall Street crooks aren't behind bars, but it seems white collar corruption has a bipartisan stay out of jail free card in this country for the most part. I won't go into that right now though... I would rather blog about happy, simple, nature stuff!

The rest of my day has been spent working on this website with one outing to my favorite park. Below are my most recent pics. 
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Yellow Mud Turtle - by Betsy Seeton
It snowed nearly a foot the day after I saw this turtle last week. He was back at the same spot today sunning on the same rock. I look forward to getting to know him and seeing more of his buddies. I love his 'smile'!
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by Betsy Seeton
Here's my brown goose featured in many of my photos. My favorite of him is the one entitled On Being Different. He is usually alone or set apart from the group. He seems to enjoy my attention. He floated back and forth for me to photograph and then came ashore. 
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Mallard - by Betsy Seeton
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Yesterday, the first day of spring, I saw two geese pulling up roots like these (in the pic) to eat. I've never seen them do that before. Now I know what all those holes in the mud are from! I love learning new things and especially new things about birds and animals. 
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Killdeer
I saw this cute little bird yesterday, but I didn't know what kind it was until a friend emailed with an ID. Thanks Ron! I sure love spring time! 
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I think we are drawn to reflection not only in images but in our hearts. The older I get, the more I appreciate and value time spent meditating and reflecting. I find it’s a healing thing to let our thoughts “float” and flow like water.

Below are photos I took today ...
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X Marks The Spot - by Betsy Seeton
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Muskrat - by Betsy Seeton
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Hooded Merganser - by Betsy Seeton
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Camouflage - by Betsy Seeton
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Hooded Mergansers - by Betsy Seeton
Below is a Belted Kingfisher. It's another first sighting for me! My thanks goes out to Phillip, another photographer in the area today, for identifying it for me. "Firsts" make life exhilarating. I think it's one of the best parts of life.
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Hooded Merganser 03/05/2010
 
Sometimes I am left feeling a bit cynical about the human race. I spend many early mornings reading through my activist newsletters./newspapers and signing various petitions to bring the change I think is needed. But it gets heavy sometimes. I see a very dark side of humanity by not turning a blind eye. It's hard at times to digest all the chaos, killing, abuse, corruption and injustice going on around the planet. 

I simply don't understand all the hate in the world. I  especially don't understand all the hate between religions and races. Why is it so hard to live and let live? Why do so many seem incapable of allowing others to live their lives according to beliefs that are different than their own? Why do so many use their religion to sanction  intolerance? Why are women and children ( more than half the world's population) still so poorly regarded and terribly treated around the world? My questions are seemingly unending while my answers are few. 

So I turn to nature and wildlife and bathe in its beauty and soulful energy. It heals and soothes ...
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Male (L) Female (R)

Late this afternoon I got out with my camera on one of my nature walks. What a privilege to experience my first sighting of Hooded Mergansers! I had to Google 'ducks' to find out what I was looking at! 

This deliciously warm weather has brought out so many birds that I've not seen before, but spring may be going on break since snow is predicted sometime in the next couple of days. I know weather-talk is boring, but it has such an affect on our moods. It does mine anyway. Interestingly, I've noticed how it also affects wildlife. The birds have seemed happier this week. 

I brought a little food to both of my injured geese today. It's the first time I've ever fed them. Both ate right out of my hand. One was more gentle than the other. It's always so interesting to experience the different personalities of wildlife. One of the geese (not the injured ones) was being mean and I had to wave him away following a scolding. I detest bullying of any kind --  human or animal.  (BTW -- I always refer to the wild animals and birds that I interact with on a regular basis as "my" or "mine".)

I found the goose with the broken wing (from yesterday's blog) very nearly in the same spot I left him in yesterday. He seemed grateful for the bread though I thought he was going to choke on the dryness. He had difficulty getting it down his throat. He looked like someone having a terrible time swallowing and even had a panic in his eyes until he hopped in the pond and gulped down, and I mean gulped down, some water. I quickly learned to dunk the bread in water first and then give it to him! 

I'd like to to figure out what would be a better food source for him. I didn't feed the other geese since the rules forbid it, but it was hard not to. About a half dozen approached me even though I thought I was doing a good job of being discreet. Feeding an injured bird seems compassionate, but I know that feeding the others could disturb the eco-system. I sure wanted to but I had to put their best interest first...

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“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of 
strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” - Rachel Carson
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by Betsy Seeton - click to see more photos and read about mind/body/soul
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Gooseneck 01/28/2010
 
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Look for my Goose Yoga Series coming soon!
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This is the same bird I photographed the other day that was injured. It’s only my second time to see him but the strangest, yet coolest thing happened. He came out of the water to the shore near me and walked right up to me. All the other geese always move away from me when I approach. I’ve never had a goose come to me! I don’t know if it’s because he is injured or not. But he came so close (several inches away from me) that I couldn’t even take pictures of him because I only had my telephoto lens! I just gently talked to him. 

He wandered away a little and then I called him back to me twice. It was so delightful. Another goose came to the shore and was comfortable being close to me, but he didn’t walk up to me like this fellow did.

I took this pic after he walked back to the water… Notice the little black feathers amidst the white just below his beak. It’s a very distinct marking...

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Walking Toward Me
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You can see the dock behind me, and I'm beneath the sun with my camera taking this picture!
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Birding Again 01/19/2010
 
Check out FEATURED BLOGS and BLOG FOR CHANGE for new postings.
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Where Did Everyone Go?
Found a great place to get some exercise and bird watch yesterday.  I watched one goose intentionally dive under the water and flip over on his back to wash! He did it twice and floated for a moment on his back! Some of the ducks had florescent colors. I loved it. The beauty in nature is awe inspiring ... I never cease to be impressed.
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I'm still having fun capturing images of the geese at a nearby park. (High resolution images are available on my online gallery. I only upload low resolution on this website to protect the image from being freely copied.)

 I just love their dirt and grass covered beaks! I didn't know Geese are monogamous. They live in permanent pairs throughout the year. I also didn't know they are related to the swan and duck though I don't find that surprising. If a group of geese are on the ground they're called a gaggle. 
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On Their Own Path
A whole flock - probably 75 geese - flew away as I approached with my camera at a nearby park yesterday except for these two. They let me follow them around for the next ten minutes. I love how they weren’t afraid and how they didn’t follow everyone else. I also love how the different personalities of birds and wildlife emerge when you take the time to notice…
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Several times as I followed them, they felt comfortable enough to plop down and take a short break! I stopped when they stopped so they'd continue to feel a level of comfort. I know that geese leave their markings all over parks and that people tire of them because of it, but how can we not be touched by their beauty?
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The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass,
 it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself. 
~ Henry Miller ~ 
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That quote by Henry Miller strikes a chord with me. The camera has helped me to take notice of things and actually see more than I used to see. I appreciate more things more fully. I love that. 
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