The Nature of Things

Yes, I know I have featured this poem here before, but it is a particular favorite of mine, so you'll have to forgive me for featuring it again. It is, of course, one of Robert Frost's most famous and beloved poems. The message it imparts is familiar to anyone who has ever had to make a hard choice. In other words, everyone. Don't we all wonder what would have happened if we had chosen differently - if we had taken that other road? The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I d...

( Note to readers: If you are unable to access any of the links below, I encourage you search Google on the subject and find a link that is available to you .) A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment :  This is a Plain Chachalaca that I photographed on a visit to the Rio Grande Valley a few years ago. The Chachalaca is primarily a resident of Eastern Mexico and Central America but it does stray north into southernmost Texas where I saw it. It is the American Bird Conservancy's Bird of the Week . *~*~*~* Bird flu is abroad in the land once again, with several cases having been reported in California. *~*~*~* If countries do not curb production of plastic, the world may not be able to handle the volume of plastic waste within ten years. *~*~*~* Scientists are studying the flight of hummingbirds in order to help them design robots for drone warfare. That just seems wrong.  *~*~*~* Ancient footprints discovered in Kenya indicate that two of our related specie...

To all my faithful readers, one of the things I am most thankful for is you! 

Langston Hughes was an American poet and social activist of the twentieth century. He was a leader of the Harlem Renaissance and an innovator of a literary art form called "jazz poetry." Here is a very short poem of his that looks unflinchingly at the state of his world and, in its own way, is a succinct call to action to change things. Somehow it seems quite fitting for our time as well. (And, yes, I think I know those worms that are "eating at the rind.")  Tired by Langston Hughes I am so tired of waiting, Aren't you, For the world to become good And beautiful and kind? Let us take a knife And cut the world in two- And see what worms are eating At the rind.

A roundup of the week's news of birds and the environment :  The ever-present and ever-curious Carolina Wren , one of my favorite backyard birds. *~*~*~* President Biden visited the Brazilian rainforest on Sunday to emphasize the importance of taking action on climate change. *~*~*~* A "harbinger of doom"? A third oarfish has washed up on a beach in California. *~*~*~* Climate talks continue among the world's nations but the rich and poor are finding it hard to agree. Azerbaijan, the host of the talks, is getting a backlash over its support of fossil fuels.  *~*~*~* Sadly, the effort to save the endangered Northern Spotted Owl in the Pacific Northwest involves the killing of their more successful competitors , the Barred Owl . *~*~*~* Around Los Angeles, mountain lions are learning to coexist with their human neighbors - mostly by avoiding them. *~*~*~* Atmospheric river storms are getting bigger because of climate change and are wreaking havoc along the West C...

I looked out my office window on this bright cloudless autumn day and what did I see at my front yard bird feeder? Chipping Sparrows ! Several were on the feeder and on the ground under the feeder. Chipping Sparrows are among my favorite winter visitors and are a clear indication that winter is indeed coming. One of the first species of birds that I learned to identify was back to help usher in the change of seasons, having fled the cold and snow of the north that make survival tougher for small birds like sparrows.  Winter may not be very wintry here close to the Gulf Coast but as long as the Chippies keep coming back each year I'll know that such a season - the Chipping Sparrow season - does indeed exist!