Máistir Nádúraí: This Time

10.18.2014

This Time

I was listening to A Prairie Home Companion this evening on Wisconsin Public Radio and heard Joyce Sutphen recite her poem Next Time. It has some pleasant sentiments, but why wait until next time? What's the matter with this time? Perhaps I've missed the point or maybe this poem is meant for a different audience. But in a way, I believe this is one of the most perfect poems I've ever heard. After work today I went to Owen Conservation Park where I knew all the names of the birds. I wasn't really birding, though, I was admiring and photographing the dramatic fall colors. It was such a pleasant and healthy way to spend a couple of hours. So, maybe I'm giving this poem that I didn't write to you. Maybe it will give you hope or serve as a catalyst to escape the paralysis of modern life that grips so many and seldom ever lets go. Anyway, I've been to Istanbul. Hagia Sophia was incredible, but it doesn't have anything on the canopy Nature renders this time of year. Here is my church ... its only tenet is impermanence.

Bio:

Mike McDowell has been documenting southern Wisconsin’s flora and fauna since 1987 and began leading field trips in 2002. Prolific at Pheasant Branch Conservancy, other highlighted natural areas include Pope Farm Conservancy, Spring Green Preserve, and the Baraboo Hills. His nature photography has appeared in various publications, newspapers, magazines and was even featured on a Wisconsin Endangered Resources license plate, a Capital Brewery beer label, and a National Geographic publication. He began journaling nature observations on this blog in 2005. He's the recipient of the 2012 Bronze Passenger Pigeon Award from the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology, presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their local communities or state to promote the field of ornithology. He was a finalist in Swarovski’s Digiscoper of the Year photography contest several times. His other interests include insect macro-photography (especially tiger beetles, treehoppers, and robber flies), fossil collecting, amateur astronomy, botany, natural history, and marksmanship with long-range rifles. Once a gigging musician, collecting Fender Stratocasters is a recently revived interest—most prized being a 1957 Vintage Custom Shop 'Mary Kaye' White Blonde. A former IT Professional, he's spent the last 24 years employed in the sport optics industry.