By Madison Cawein
Calling, the heron flies athwart the blue
That sleeps above it; reach on rocky reach
Of water sings by sycamore and beech,
In whose warm shade bloom lilies not a few.
It is a page whereon the sun and dew
Scrawl sparkling words in dawn’s delicious speech;
A laboratory where the wood-winds teach,
Dissect each scent and analyze each hue.
Not otherwise than beautiful, doth it
Record the happenings of each summer day;
Where we may read, as in a catalogue,
When passed a thresher; when a load of hay;
Or when a rabbit; or a bird that lit;
And now a barefoot truant and his dog.
--------
We had pouring rain for most of Monday which helped give me a migraine when I woke up, so I was slow to get going, but I ended up getting a lot done. Paul worked from home until he had a dentist appointment in the afternoon, so we all had lunch together, then I went to do my kids' favorite thing -- take them clothes shopping. Adam drove us, first to the mall, then on the highway to Kohl's during the brief period when it was not raining. He got pretty much an entire new wardrobe and did fine merging across several lanes to get back on the highway; Daniel just got new khakis and polos, but managed to survive even Nickelback on the Kohl's sound system. And I found a cute shirt for $9, plus I got Paul a new belt for Father's Day since his is falling apart, so it was all good.
There was a special on the Science channel on Cicadas and Invaders that the University of Maryland entomologist who was on The Tonight Show with Russell Crowe the other day was on, so we watched that -- lots of other swarming animals, bats and birds and fish -- then we watched this week's Warehouse 13 with Steve's hot ex. Now I am waiting for Russell on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Here are some photos of one of the coolest things at the National Zoo -- a flock of wild black-crowned night herons who have been migrating to spend the summer in the trees near the zoo's bird house since the 1970s, when there were herons in the outdoor flight cage and the wild herons heard them and decided the zoo would be a good place to nest; now the zoo feeds them to stop them from stealing food from the rare birds:
2 comments:
Marvelous shots and so fun to see this. I have been watching the new Arrested Development, and find it coming up short from the original. But I keep watching!
Thank you! We've all been liking it a lot though there are a couple of things that really went over the top for me -- they almost seem dated, like they were written expecting that the audience hasn't changed at all from when the show first aired. But the things I enjoy far outweigh the things I don't.
Post a Comment