Cruelty, Kindness, Compassion, Love, Gentleness: I’ve been thinking a lot about cruelty and kindness, about gentleness, and about different ways of loving. Part 1: The Herons; How do We Love? :The other day, I was walking along the river and ran into a fellow camera carrying seeker of birds. He was looking for particular species of birds, and I told him where and when I’d seen them. One of the birds he was looking for, was the Great Blue Heron. I told him I would show him where they were if he would give them space. When we got to the spot, we were both happy to see them, and began taking photos, me with my little point and shoot with a zoom x10, he with an impressive camera and massive zoom. He kept getting closer despite my multiple requests to stay back. The birds looked agitated, and one flew off. He continued getting closer. I said something about not loving the birds in a way that was harmful to them. He continued getting closer and I left, no longer willing to watch the birds I loved being scared away from their tiny frozen hiding space. I was concerned that they may need to conserve energy in these frozen times of scarcity. I felt powerless and I was upset… (to be continued in upcoming post)

How do ducks stay warm? Part 2: They do have amazing feather insulation, and they can tuck their featherless bills and feet into their feathers (why we often see birds standing on one leg- check out the Great Blue Heron )…and, there are a few more adaptations for cold. How can they stand on snow and ice? They don’t have a lot of soft tissue in their feet and legs, and they have what is called “counter-current heat exchange” in their feet. Veins and arteries flow side by side; warm blood warms colder blood going up to the body and the blood flowing to the feet is cooled, so there’s less heat loss. Meanwhile, I’ve been trudging around to watch them, wearing very insulated boots for months now, and my feet struggle -not to stay warm, but to move freely. Can we feel our connection to the earth, and feel the freedom to wiggle our toes, even in thick heavy boots? Even on concrete and ice? Maybe the earth’s warm soft support flows through all obstacles.

How do ducks stay warm? I walk along the Muddy River, bundled up in many layers, and watch the ducks swim. Today I saw a Northern Pintail among a group of Mallards. I saw the same duck two days ago, huddled with Mallards by the shore. Both times, the duck tucked its bill in its feathers, looking asleep. Today it did this while paddling. Feathers are the best insulating material around. Featherless bills and feet can get cold, so why not tuck them in? Huddling among other ducks, even of different species, doesn’t hurt. How about us? Many of us are also using feathers, in our coats and in our comforters, to stay warm. And many of us also huddle with others. Whether with feathers, fire, fuel, fitness, family or friends, may we all find warmth in the Winter.

I saw a Red Tailed hawk perched in a tree above the ducks I’d been watching. My photographic attention was not welcome and it flew away. I continued my duck study and suddenly they all got noisy and began plunging into the water. Then I saw the hawk, lift from low to high just above us. Apparently It had swooped in attempting to grab a duck. Later on, at the museum across the street, while looking for duck images I found an image of a falcon on the wall of a mortuary temple dated 1971-1926 BCE. The falcon represents “Behdel”, a form of the sky god Horus. It holds the hieroglyph of life and swoops above a duck. What is happening along the fens by the museum echoes what is portrayed by Egyptian artists four thousand years earlier.The duck is life that keeps our sky-life gods going.

I was once again taking photos of ducks yesterday, and I thought about my relationship with ducks. I’ve been asked, or told, a few times that I must really like ducks because I photograph and paint them so much. I do like them, but not more than I like most living creatures. If I could, I might be photographing lizards, salamanders and dragonflies. This time of year, in Boston, Ducks is where it’s at. And…. It may go deeper. My great grandfather carved duck decoys, and I grew up with a beautiful one to look at at home. I also use to go to the Public Gardens as a kid and drew the ducks. In art school, I was working on a huge drawing with geese in it, and during a critique, the professor kept asking, “Why geese?” and I would give different parts of the answer each time, until finally I broke down and gave maybe the simplest truth, “I like the shape of them.” Yesterday after I watched, drew, and photographed ducks I went to the Museum of Fine Arts and looked for duck images. It’s good to know that through this artistic exploration I am connected with thousands of years of artists from around the world. Here are some ducks from Boston, Greece, China and Egypt from a span of millennia. More to come from the duck adventure/exploration in the next post… In the meantime, feel free to add any duck stories in your comments!

art

Resilience: How do we weather the cold and the storms? Walking along the Muddy River today, I saw a Great Blue Heron, Mallards, Black Ducks,Ring-necked Ducks, Canada Geese and a hawk. Most were hunkered down with their head pulled into their feathers. Some had companions close by. My own coat, hat and boots were all made with a combination of human created synthetics and protective layering of other animals (down feathers, wool, and leather). Without these, I probably couldn’t share this climate with the ducks and geese, and I wouldn’t have been out in the storm. What is the protective gear- physical, emotional and spiritual, and the behaviors that allow us to weather and even thrive in the storms that we pass through ?

What do we see? What don’t we see? I was so focused on the diversity of ducks (check out the Wood Ducks!), the light and the spatial relations that It was not until I looked at my photograph that I saw the Great Blue Heron in the island of reeds in back . We can never see everything, so what do we miss? Is there a way of being like a hawk, focusing on one, or even two points of interest, and yet being open to the whole? Can we be focused and purposeful, but open to everything, all beings, all points of view, all possibilities? It reminds me of a song I love, Life is not a Race, “I aim to be like a tree, deep rooted where it matters to me, but all my branches and all my leaves, free to move with tiny breezes.” (song by Jerusha, “Muses Use Us”) A question to viewers, how do YOU maintain focus/grounding & stay open?

Today was warmer, and maybe for that reason the duck party on the Muddy River seemed less festive. But the Hooded Mergansers and Wood Ducks have no way of dressing drab. What if we humans were always decked out in our brightest fanciest garb? Maybe like the Hooded Merganser, we would wear it unselfconsciously, no matter who our audience. Maybe like the Wood Duck we would try to hide when confronted with potentially threatening beings unlike ourselves. Whenever the Wood Ducks see me looking at them, they hide in the wooded banks of the river. On open water, it seems they almost cringe. It makes me think of high school. I was pretty shy in highschool. One high school friend, who had a pink mohawk, once explained to me that the best thing you could do with whatever made you different from the crowd was to flaunt it proudly and confidently, show off your specialness. Seems to be good advice, but I still love the Wood Ducks.

 

Gratitude for birds of all feathers!

Meleagris gallopavo- Wild Turkey