unalienable rights

Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place.
--Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850) French classical liberal theorist, political economist.

Happy Independence Day!

flash feeder

A flash of harmless lightning,
A mist of rainbow dyes,
The burnished sunbeams brightening
From flower to flower he flies.
--John Banister Tabb (1845-1909) American poet, Roman Catholic priest, and professor of English.

220mm, f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO 400.

alone

None of us will ever accomplish anything excellent or commanding except when he listens to this whisper which is heard by him alone.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American Poet, Lecturer and Essayist. 

friendship

The bird a nest, the spider a web, man friendship. 
--William Blake (1757-1827) English Poet. 

A great blue heron in its nest near Fort Patrick Henry Dam, Kingsport, TN. This nest is one of perhaps more than a dozen that I saw in this particular area. Here's your fun fact for the day: These colonies of nests are called a "rookery".

wings

Be like the bird that, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings. 
--Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French poet and novelist.  
 
Though they're fairly common in this region, I am always thrilled to spot a Great Blue Heron feeding in a stream. This one let me take a few photos before flying downstream. Their wingspan is impressive -- usually around 70 inches. [click to enlarge]

beauty and grace

Beauty without grace is the hook without the bait.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) American essayist and philosopher.

A swan at Bass Lake, Blowing Rock, NC.

confidence

Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.
--Victor Hugo (1802-1885) French author 

Above: A Great Blue Heron standing on one leg (the other one's tucked up in there somewhere!) on a frail branch, surveying the scene at Steele Creek Park in Bristol, TN.  These birds don't really sing, they have what is described as a "harsh croak" -- you can listen to it here.

name them one by one

When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.
--Willie Nelson (b.1933) American country singer-songwriter

potential

Only as high as I reach can I grow,

only as far as I seek can I go,

only as deep as I look can I see,

only as much as I dream can I be.

--Karen Ravn, author--

A blue heron feeding on the Nolichucky River outside of Erwin, TN (click photo to enlarge).

give a hoot

When I first became interested in photography, I thought it was the whole cheese. My idea was to have it recognized as one of the fine arts. Today I don't give a hoot in hell about that. The mission of photography is to explain man to man and each man to himself.
--Edward Steichen (1879-1973) American photographer

This is Shakespeare, an injured barred owl that lives at the Nature Habitat at Grandfather Mountain. Being quite loud and vocal, they are more commonly known as "hoot owls." A common sound heard at night in the eastern US is the barred owl's "hoo, hoo, too-HOO; hoo, hoo, too-HOO."  My friend Kevin would mimick their hoots at night from his Roan Mountain porch calling out "who-cooks-for-you, who-cooks-for-you" - which spurred them to answer back and move in closer.  Click here to listen to their distinctive call.

the last best hope

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.
--Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Sixteenth US President

Above: Bald Eagle, Grandfather Mountain Wildlife Habitat. Previous photos here and here.

ambition

Intelligence without ambition is a bird without wings.
--Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Spanish painter

taste and see

Like the hummingbird sipping nectar from every flower, I fly joyfully through my days, seeing beauty in everything.
--Amethyst Wyldfyre

Details: Nikon D90, 70-300mm Nikkor lens at 240mm, 1/800 sec. at f/5.6, ISO 800

hope

Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all.
--Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) American poet

Bays Mountain Park in Kingsport, TN is an amazing place. The size and scope of the park would make you think it was a national or state park, but it's actually the largest city-owned park in the State of Tennessee. It's 3,500 acres contain a nature habitat, a planetarium, miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, and a large lake for fishing and 'barge' rides in the summer. It was great to see the parking lot full of cars from throughout the region -- a very good sign the park and for the city of Kingsport.

A volunteer was working with a red tailed hawk and let me get close enough to take some photos. In addition to hawks and owls, the park has habitats for wolves, otters, deer, bobcats, raccoons, snakes and turtles. Three dollars gets you in the gate, so check it out next time you're in Kingsport. Click here for hours and directions and trail maps. By the way, red tail hawks don't exactly sing, they scream. Click here to learn more about them and to hear their screeching call.

soar

One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.
--Helen Keller (1880-1968)

Sitting on the dock of the bay

Sitting on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
I'm just sitting on the dock of the bay
Wasting time
--Otis Redding (1941-1967) American soul singer. This well known song was recorded just three days before the airplane crash that took the life of the "King of Soul" at age 26.

Above: Blue Heron sittin' on the dock on a rainy day at Warriors' Path State Park, Kingsport, TN

never too old

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.
--C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) British Scholar and Novelist

encircled

We clasp the hands of those that go before us, And the hands of those who come after us. We enter the little circle of each other's arms And the larger circle of lovers, Whose hands are joined in a dance, And the larger circle of all creatures, Passing in and out of life, Who move also in a dance, To a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it Except in fragments.
--Wendell Berry (b.1934) Author

Okay, so maybe the photo of the circling turkey vulture gives this quote a different, more ominous, less inspirational meaning. But that wasn't really my intention! :)

sing out loud

Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.
--Henry Van Dyke

I have a lot of respect for those who take amazing bird photographs. I just don't have the patience (or the equipment) for it. It's not easy -- they don't tend to come close for long. Click here to see a wonderful gallery of bird photos.

Look Alive

Look alive. Here comes a buzzard.
--Lady Stella Reading

In the last month a roost of Turkey Vultures (a.k.a. Turkey Buzzards) have appeared in the woods behind my house. I'd say there's 20 or 30 of them. They eerily sit high on the branches of dead trees, just waiting, I guess, for someone or something to keel over. They don't bother people or pets (as long as they're living), so for now I don't mind my ghoulish, new neighbors. And as disturbing as they appear in the trees, they are absolutely stunning when they glide and circle -- with wingspans reaching up to 6 feet. They get their name because their red, featherless head gives the appearance of a turkey. And in case you were wondering, a bunch of vultures is called a venue. And when they're circling, they're called a kettle. There ya go, fun facts to impress your friends at work! Of course there's a Turkey Vulture Society where you can go and learn all about these interesting birds.