A Creature Fair and Bright A movement in the brushAccompanies the hushAnd in the morning lightA creature fair and bright ~ Poem and White-tailed Deer capture, A Creature Fair and Bright © Jerry L. Ferrara
Hunting On High A Northern Hawk Owl scans its surroundings while hunting on high. ~ Anecdote and Northern Hawk Owl capture, Hunting On High © Jerry L. Ferrara
Votives Light The Skyline A torch is borne westward and then vanishes into the hazy horizon. When concealment of the light concludes, a portent appears on the mountain tops far off in the east. Glowing markers burn radiant where on the morrow Prometheus will return the flame to mankind … and votives light the skyline. ~ Anecdote and alpenglow image, Votives Light The Skyline © Jerry L. Ferrara. Alpenglow paints the mountain peaks east of Sandpoint, Idaho.
The Obscure It seems as though it is usually the ‘glamour’ animals [eagles, big cats, bears, the large ungulates …] that are most often admired and celebrated. Rightfully so in many respects. They are simply stunning! But there are other ‘critters’ out there, too. A point in case is the handsome, smallish [4.5-5″], mostly seed-eating, native finch species known as the Pine Siskin. ~ Anecdote and Pine Siskin capture, The Obscure , © Jerry L. Ferrara
Crossing The River of Fire The setting was ablaze with the stain of autumn and in the still of a vividly-hued morn a White-tailed Deer doe herd magically materialized on the marge of a muted, meandering waterway. Their appearance was steeped in ghostly silence as they pregnantly paused streamside. Intrepidly, the deer stepped into the richly-tinged flow. In their march through the moist medium they appeared to be Crossing The River of Fire. ~ Anecdote and White-tailed Deer capture, Crossing The River of Fire © Jerry L. Ferrara
Raindrops and Tears The air expressed a gentle essence and was shower-bestrewnThe wind was truant and so the moisture plummeted unswervinglyCreatures in the midst of the storm waited with the raindrops and tears ~ Anecdote and Chestnut-backed Chickadee capture, Raindrops and Tears © Jerry L. Ferrara
Waiting Out The Storm Sporting a suave and striking red moustache, a male Northern Flicker waits out a snow storm. The debonair-looking avian is a member of the woodpecker clan [Picidae family]. ~ Anecdote and Northern Flicker capture, Waiting Out The Storm © Jerry L. Ferrara
Hoarders, Losers and Winners For years now, we’ve been watching the bird feeders from our back porch. The energy displayed by the participants has been and is huge, especially demonstrated by the chickadees and nuthatches. They’re here at a feeder one moment grabbing an offering and gone in an instant only to return way too soon to have feasted. Perhaps they are storing for a ‘rainy day’? But where? Mystery solved. I finally caught one of the little stinkers [Red-breasted Nuthatch] in the act of pilfering and storing a peanut in the fungal folds of a lichen. Through the brambles and the brushThere always seems to be a rushWith a peanut firm in towOff to store it I will goSome will say I hoard ‘enough’But losers they when times are tough ~ Anecdote, poem and Red-breasted Nuthatch capture, Hoarders, Losers and Winners © Jerry L. Ferrara
From An Alabaster Throne [Wintertide] In the wondrous quietude of a tender wintertide storm, a magnificent spirit surveys its serene surroundings from an alabaster throne. While making this image, the thing I recall most is not the visual experience. It was the auditory state that was most compelling, or more accurately, lack thereof. The impact of total silence married to the Eagle’s presence was breathtakingly beautiful. MERRY CHRISTMAS! ~ Anecdote and Bald Eagle capture, From An Alabaster Throne [Wintertide] © Jerry L. Ferrara
Perfection’s Never Bought To make a score requires morethan aptitude and skill.A master knows, results will showfrom practice and great will.To dance the sky as eagles plyand snare a fish on wing,demonstrates what practice makes:rehearse is everything.Yet when a feat becomes completeand done without a thought,a master’s guess is not to rest,perfection’s never bought. ~ Poem and Bald Eagle capture, Perfection’s Never Bought © Jerry L. Ferrara, from the book, Wild North Idaho: Season of the Eagle