Butterflies and Poop on the Prairie!
I hopped on my bicycle for the first time in a few months. Optimistic and excited about being active and outside and curious about what I may find on my journey today. When I got to the La Chua trail the sun was beating down heavy on me and I knew I was not there at the magical lighting time of day.
I could see and feel nothing except for the sensation of being too hot. I am amazed by this ever changing prairie. Everything was so grown out it was hard to see any creatures beyond the sun. I decided to take the path less tread upon on my way back. I had given up on seeing anything interesting and to taking any pictures. I just wanted to escape the heat and get back on my bike and ride the shady part of the hawthorne trail before returning home. All of the suddenly I saw 1,2,3,4,5 butterflies all together just waiting to have their portrait taken I am sure. I very sneakily and patiently snuck up to them in hopes that they would not fly away. I took some pictures. Got closer took some more. Got even closer and doug my elbows down into the dirt and took some more pics. They did not leave. I have startled many a butterfly pollinating a gorgeous flower. But these Pollinators had me in shock. They were all getting down on some horsey dung. They were so into it that they did not even care that I was there. Is it possible that this dung is even more of a treat than a flower. There were beatles underneath the dung moving it all the while the butterflies continued to surf the dung and fight for the juiciest spot. Again my elbows are in the dirt….Fortunately not in the dung and I am in utter amazement. I love that nature never fails to amaze me and even when it seems like there is nothing going on on the praire there is more happening then I will ever be able to imagine. I will admit that I did start getting hungry watching them chow down on this pile of dung. The butterflies were almost at full capacity for this dung cafe.
I forgot about the heat, the dirt, the smell of shit, and was over taken by the beauty. By the contrast. I love contrast. Eventually I left after spending quite a long time with them. I am leaving. On my way out I find a smaller pile of dung with more butterflies getting down. I am amazed that they don’t seem to be bothered by me. 
I do some research when I get home and find out they are so down with this dung because they are getting salts and other nutrients. I also learned that they drink their meals so who is up for the dung diet smoothie. 
To find out more about butterflies you can go to many places online here is one I just checked out. www.gardenswithwings.com/facts-info/FAQ.html
Finally I am so hot and hungry I can’t take it anymore and as I am heading to get on my bike and ride home I look down and I see a little furry ball with bones peaking out at me. I pick up the ball of fur I look into it. It is filled with goodness. I look up in wonderment of where the owl was that spit this up. I have been learning a lot about owls from my co-worker Charlotte Loomis and I know that the owl must be just above me. I shuffle through brush. I look beyond the glare of sunlight. I try to use my camera as binoculars I take a few pics. I am sure that this is the owl but damn it is well hidden. Suddenly I have to move because my feet are covered in ants. I stay a bit longer. I don’t get a good picture of the owl but I get the thrill of knowing that I think I know where it is. I leave I hop on my bike I hit the hawthorne trail again. I feel my glutes burning, I am loving it, I feel my lungs grasp for air. I am out of shape but having a great time. I let my cat smell the treat when I get home because he is so nosey and loves smelling everything. 
woodpeckers photography, qi gong & adventures in owl land
I have recently been thinking about what a wonderful tool qi gong is for personal transformation and for my photography. Today I went outside very resistantly to do my qi gong practice. I missed 2 days in a row and was just feeling really down in the dumps. I was feeling quite angry, scared, judgemental, and sad and I did not want to do qi gong even though I new it would help me shift. I went outside into my backyard and found a wonderful place in the shade to stand and do my practice. I could hear the woodpeckers and see them much better than I have been able to in the past. There was 1 wood pecker a few hundred feet off to my left and there was one that kept inching closer to me just about 20 feet away. I remembered following a woodpecker a few weeks ago and everytime I would get close enough he would fly to the other side of the tree. While doing qi gong I realized that he was not trying to hide from me but perfectly in my vision for quite a long time. I began to really realize that doing qi gong makes me much more a part of my environment and allows me to meld into my surroundings. The woodpecker was able to have time to sense my energy and to choose whether to come into my field of energy. I watched this beautiful creature as i moved my arms and breath. It is important for me to really become a part of something before I just start clicking away on my camera. I decided to get my camera after my session of qi gong. I knew that It would be different leaving the field and then coming back. I came back and the woodpecker was gone. I stood and waited, I sat and waited I was able to get a shot or two. I am now going to bring my camera with me on my qi gong journeys so that I can remain in the space without having to re-enter. I can wait for the woodpecker or other animal to share itself with me rather than chasing it down. I will continue to share my journeys on here. Through qi and phototgraphy. Everything is so integrated. What a beautiful morning. I feel less angry, sad and judgemental. I am looking forward to what I may see as I explore photography with more patience. Here is a little bit on woodpecker medicine that I looked up online http://www.birdclan.org/woodpecker.html I just found that my birth totem animal is the snake http://wolfs_moon.tripod.com/birthtotemsnake.html
Sunrise, Sandhill Cranes, Harriers, memories of Asheville, NC
I began thinking how out of touch that I have gotten with nature. Now where exactly is the sun going to come out? I knew which side of the road just not precisely enough for a close up. I was pretty close but was I close enough that I could have the camera already set in a close up position to capture the beautiful event with out having to move the camera over a few centimeters? I set up the camera where I thought the sun would be popping up. I turn on my SLR camera to capture some still shots while the video camera is filming the horizon. I see a bunny hopping through the brush. I met a guy who was doing almost exactly the same thing that I was doing, video camera on tripod and SLR for still shots. He pointed out a bird called a Harrier that I was able to get a few pics of. The cry of an eagle was far off on the top of a light post. The sun rises behind thick clouds. I stay and take pictures of the harrier then a few sand hill cranes. Then the cranes keep coming and coming and coming. 
I am getting hungry. I reflect on a day years ago playing a show in Asheville where there was delicious food for all of the bands and people at this festival and I remember all of the people coming from different directions to get some delicious food. I pretend that the sandhill cranes are like us waking up from different parts of the prairie and excitedly flying to a shared communial location. I fantasize about how they are meeting up to greet the morning and eat together. I am getting hungry, I dont remember the food that I ate at that festival but I remember the sense of community and feeling like I was really living my lifes purpose, a little rough around the edges but going for my dreams and having a good time doing it. That was the year that I broke my toe minutes before we were supposed to go onstage and play. Yes I droped the 50 pound amp that I later named the bone crusher on my left foot. (more…)
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