Can a grey day fill the senses, ladies and gentlemen?  I used to think not.  However, on this particular grey day, after completing some chores, I stopped off at my new favourite bird watching spot.  I encountered another photographer there — a very nice man.  He had all the gear, but was lamenting the light.  The birds though, were making the most of it.

As the wind picked up, a pair of black-shouldered kites began hunting.  It was truly transcendental, ladies and gentlemen.  By the end of that short half hour, the other photographer (a big hello to Richard if he reads this) conceded that it doesn’t get any better than this.

sentry

A friend drew my attention to a poem, The Windhover, by Gerard Manley Hopkins — a poem about the wonder of creation, the natural world, and the hovering bird.

The Windhover
Gerard Manley Hopkins

To Christ Our Lord
I caught this morning morning's minion, king-  
  dom of daylight's dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding  
  Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding  
High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing  
In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
  As a skate's heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding  
  Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding  
Stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!  
  
Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here  
  Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!  
  
  No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion  
Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,  
  Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

Here are a few more photos.

b&wbskbskii

And, a song.  A feast for the senses.  Because it is Friday.  Enjoy.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

 

 

32 thoughts on “You”

  9. Fantastic photos, I quite like grey days, everything somehow feels more intense, my imagination and thoughts seem more intense to make up for the grey, does that make sense. And Nina Simone awesome.

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  10. Your photos of birds on the wing against a gray sky are transcendent–and how wonderful to renew my acquaintance with an old friend, “The Windhover.” And thank you for the introduction to Nina Simone. What a voice . . .

    My final comment is that the first sentence of your post was the exact same question I had asked myself two weeks ago, when my husband and I set off for Portland Head Light on a gray and windy day. The answer to my question was also yes.

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  11. Love the new look blog! And, I love the pics. Reading your post made me smile. I know you’ve mentioned before that winters make you feel blah! To read you are going out with camera on grey days … I know the joy this brings. So glad you are doing this … and we get to enjoy your pics too!

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  13. Beautiful photos, poem and song! It’s a grey day here too so this was indeed a very welcome treat for the senses – thank you, Tracy! ☺

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