Friday Photography - On the beach

It was a perfectly mild and still day yesterday, warmer than usual. I met a fisherman on the beach hoping to catch a Kahawai. His genuine, almost childlike openness and friendliness reminded me of another fisherman I know, and our conversation went from sharing fish recipes to reflecting on human nature. What a delightful chance encounter.

Poet As Fisherman

I fish for words
to say what I fish for,
half-catch sometimes.

I have caught little pan fish flashing sunlight
(yellow perch, crappies, blue-gills),
lighthearted reeled them in,
filed them on stringers on the shore.
A nice mess, we called them,
and ate with our fingers, laughing.

Once, dreaming of fish in far-off waters,
I hooked a two-foot carp in Michigan,
on nylon line so fine
a fellow-fisher shook his head:
“He’ll break it, sure; he’ll roll on it and get away.”
A quarter-hour it took to bring him in;
back-and-forth toward my net,
syllable by syllable I let him have his way
till he lay flopping on the grass—
beside no other, himself enough in size:
he fed the three of us (each differently)
new strategies of hook, leader, line, and rod.

Working well, I am a deep-water man,
a “Daredevil” silver wobbler
my lure for lake trout in midsummer.

Oh, I have tried the moon, thermometers—
the bait and time and place all by the rule—
fishing for the masterpiece,
the imperial muskellunge in Minnesota,
the peerless pike in Canada.
I have propped a well-thumbed book
against the butt of my favorite rod
and fished from my heart.

Yet, for my labors,
all I have to show
are tactics, lore—
so little I know
of that pea-sized brain I am casting for,
to think it could swim
with the phantom-words
that lure me to this shore.

– James A. Emanuel (1921-2013)

Have a good evening and weekend all.

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Socialprogressive's picture

The rather mild weather we've had here this spring has been nice but it's about to change with temps above 90° for the next week.

This immature red-shouldered hawk was sitting on my fence recently casting about for a meal.
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13 users have voted.

When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

enhydra lutris's picture

@Socialprogressive

be well and have a good one.

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That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Socialprogressive's picture

@enhydra lutris

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2 users have voted.

When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

janis b's picture

@Socialprogressive

How nice that s/he perched by your place. There must be something appetising nearby.

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Socialprogressive's picture

@janis b
The hawk was probably looking for one of the many lizards or squirrels that visit my backyard.

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6 users have voted.

When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

dystopian's picture

@Socialprogressive Awesome shots SP! Beautiful! Fantastic! Hawks are like owls, butterflies, and flowers, the subject makes it a lot easier. Wink

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3 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Pluto's Republic's picture

@Socialprogressive

...they'll bring Covid-22.

Kidding. (not really)

What a hawk! What eyesight they have. She probably sees you and your telephoto with the same level of detail. How nice to own a fence where a hawk lands. (Those feet!) Great shots.

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Socialprogressive's picture

@Pluto's Republic
Lets hope we can go awhile before the next pandemic hits.

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5 users have voted.

When I offer to wash your back in the shower, all you have to say is yes or no.
Not all this "who are you, and how did you get in here?" nonsense.

dystopian's picture

@Pluto's Republic when I was a kid they taught hawk or eagle vision was about 8 times better than human. More recently they have reduced that to 5 times more acute than human vision. I don't know if that means 'as if they were looking through 5 power magnification binocs' or what exactly, but they can see a chipmunk from a couple miles up in the sky.

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4 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Pluto's Republic's picture

wrong thread

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____________________

The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
smiley7's picture

Must follow-up on James A. Emanuel.

Thank you for the photos and poem.

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janis b's picture

@smiley7

There seems to be a strong relationship between fishing for fish and fishing for words. The combination of anticipating something and patiently waiting, surrounded by nature with time to reflect, must be what inspires the poet.

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orlbucfan's picture

@janis b Always enjoy my weekly photo diary/comments treat! Smile
Rec’d!!

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6 users have voted.

Inner and Outer Space: the Final Frontiers.

enhydra lutris's picture

Be well and have a good one.

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6 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

enhydra lutris's picture

There's actually a bird at the very top of that snag, but not enough camera to grab it.

birdsnag2

be well and have a good one

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9 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

janis b's picture

@enhydra lutris

What you see on the other side of the bar (entrance to harbour at the horizon) is a similar wild coastline on The Tasman Sea. The beach I am on is on a bay inside the harbour. To reach the hills on the right side of the heads is a 25 minute drive from home on a narrow, windy, gravel road- up and down the mountain to the wild west coast, and a vast landscape with beach that one can walk 10 miles along at low tide, if brisk and fit enough.

This set of rocks on the same beach made me think of your relatives ...

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Pricknick's picture

“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
Many consider this statement to be from religious text. It is not.
It is a proverb.
Beautiful pictures.

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7 users have voted.

Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

janis b's picture

@Pricknick

That's a wonderful proverb to live by whether you fish or not.

Seeing you makes me smile, and I'm glad you enjoyed the visit.

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dystopian's picture

Great pics Janis. Awesome beach. That is beautiful! I think those would be Kelp Gulls. They are a widespread southern oceans species with populations on several continents. Very nice! Hope you are doing well! Sorry I missed y'all last night!

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3 users have voted.

We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein