Posts from — January 2010

explore!: photography

by Cassie

Photography is a kind of meditation. We wield the viewfinder’s four-cornered frame, cradling a piece of our world inside. This is a practice of focus and wide-eyed consideration. The camera is our tool for sight into a world we rarely otherwise see: a world of light and the absence of it.  A world where gravity can be halted absolutely— and winds can be frozen entirely.

With this capability, we set out into the world.

Cameras in hand, we begin to explore.

Does photography give you that milky glow of happiness, too?

What’s your favorite photograph that you’ve ever taken? Does it sing to you in a magical way?

Talk to me! Leave a comment. Answer a question. Answer all the questions, or ask your own.

January 20, 2010   No Comments

england bird list

by Cassie

Well, it was inevitable, really. From my trip to England to visit my love, I present to you my winter list. Birds were found in Stafford and the whole of Norfolk. Hit the jump for some listy goodness.

  1. mute swan
  2. pink footed goose
  3. snow goose
  4. greylag goose
  5. canada goose
  6. brent goose
  7. egyptian goose
  8. shelduck
  9. wigeon
  10. gadwall
  11. mallard
  12. mandarin duck
  13. pintail
  14. shoveler
  15. teal
  16. pochard
  17. goldeneye
  18. pheasant
  19. little grebe
  20. cormorant
  21. little egret
  22. grey heron
  23. buzzard
  24. marsh harrier
  25. sparrow hawk
  26. kestrel
  27. merlin
  28. water rail
  29. moorhen
  30. coot
  31. oystercatcher
  32. avocet
  33. ringed plover
  34. golden plover
  35. lapwing
  36. ruff
  37. dunlin
  38. purple sandpiper
  39. snipe
  40. bar tailed godwit
  41. black tailed godwit
  42. turnstone
  43. curlew
  44. redshank
  45. spotted redshank
  46. black headed gull
  47. herring gull
  48. lesser black-backed gull
  49. great black-backed gull
  50. common gull
  51. collared dove
  52. rock dove
  53. woodpigeon
  54. barn owl
  55. green woodpecker
  56. skylark
  57. pied wagtail
  58. meadow pipit
  59. rock pipit
  60. water pipit
  61. wren
  62. dunnock
  63. robin
  64. stonechat
  65. blackbird
  66. fieldfare
  67. redwing
  68. goldcrest
  69. firecrest
  70. bearded tit
  71. long tailed tit
  72. great tit
  73. blue tit
  74. coal tit
  75. nuthatch
  76. treecreper
  77. magpie
  78. jackdaw
  79. carrion crow
  80. rook
  81. starling
  82. house sparrow
  83. goldfinch
  84. chaffinch
  85. greenfinch
  86. siskin
  87. linnet
  88. bullfinch
  89. snow bunting
  90. reed bunting

January 10, 2010   1 Comment

on chatterfish, woodlands, and not ignoring sheep

by Cassie

basha kill, 2009

Certain places have the magic ability to clear my head of the idle chatterfish constantly swimming figure eights in my brain. The fish like a nice commotion. Rough waters and total chaos are on the menu, especially when the fish get word of my plans to study or do some work.
Walking through tall green woodlands puts them to fishy sleep.
My mind is a still pond, reflecting each piece of light back into the forest.
My mind is slowed, wide-open and entirely present.
It’s standing meditation. That’s one thing I’m sure of. Some folks like to sit cross-legged breathing deeply and intentionally. Me? I like to walk in the woods. Once you’ve got a taste of the magical mind-clearing ways of big nature, there’s little else needed to bring you back home to yourself. And let’s be honest, who couldn’t use a bit more of that in these times?
These times: the constant world of change and movement we live in. Slow down, breathe in, be right here. As they (and by they I mean our good friends, the Beatles) say, living is easy with eyes closed. Twenty four hours pass swiftly & painlessly if you’re in a constant state of motion. The blessing of keeping yourself busy is the bliss of ignorance. You get to ignore feelings. You get to pretend you haven’t felt the things-aren’t-okay sheep poking at your sides lately, when they should probably be paying you a visit and asking you to sit and have a chat with them.
But living is a beautiful, difficult, triumphant masterpiece once you’ve opened your eyes. If you’re still for a moment, things come alive. You find beauty. You find yourself, and you let the sheep check up on you, should you need some sheep time.
Taking moments in nature lets you check up on yourself. You can see how you’re doing.
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January 4, 2010   No Comments