Jen's Nature Lens

 "I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house." Nathaniel Hawthorne , The American Notebooks , Oct.10, 1842  The Arrow and the Song BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW   I shot an arrow into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For, so swiftly it flew, the sight Could not follow it in its flight.  I breathed a song into the air, It fell to earth, I knew not where; For who has sight so keen and strong, That it can follow the flight of song?  Long, long afterward, in an oak I found the arrow, still unbroke; And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend.  Exploring the World Day-by-Day ; Capturing Nature's Wondrous Display! ~Jen  Despite the differences that exist between political, cultural, religious, or national values , we all share the common need for a healthy, clean, sustainable global environment . All photos were taken in Maryland, USA .

 "Her pleasure in the walk must arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn-- that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness -- that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling." ~ Jane Austen , Persuasion   To Autumn   by William Blake   O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit Beneath my shady roof, there though may'st rest, And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe; And all the daughters of the year shall dance! Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.  "The narrow bud opens her beauties to The sun, and love runs in her thrilling veins; Blossoms hand round the brows of Morning,  and Flourish down the bright cheek of modest...

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree." ~ Emily Bronte   The Wild Swans at Coole by William Butler Yeats   The trees are in their autumn Beauty, The woodland paths are dry, Under the October twilight the water Mirrors a still sky; Upon the brimming water among the stones Are nine-and fifty swans .  The nineteenth autumn has come upon me Since I first made my count; I saw, before I had well finished, All suddenly mount And scatter wheeling in great broken rings Upon their clamorous wings .  I have looked upon those brilliant creatures, And now my heart is sore. All's changed since I, hearing at twilight, The first time on this shore, The bell-beat of their wings above my head, Trod with a lighter tread.  Unwearied still, lover by lover, They paddle in the cold Companionable streams or climb the air; Their hearts have not grown old; Passing or conquest, wander where they will, Attend upon them still.  But now they drift on the stil...

 "Time is the wave upon the shore. It takes some things away, but it brings other things." ~ Amy Neftzger   Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 ~Anonymous  To every thing there is a season. and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;  A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;  A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace. This poem is in the public domain.  Exploring the World Day-by-Day; Capturing Nature's Wondrous Display! ~Jen  Despite the differences that exist between political, cultural, religious, or national values, we all share the common need for a healthy, clean, sustainab...

 "We do not see nature with our eyes, but with our understanding and our hearts." ~ William Hazlitt , English Writer, 1778-1830  Nature By: Henry David Thoreau (1817-1962)  O Nature! I do not aspire To be the highest in thy quire,-- To be a meteor in the sky , Or comet that may range on high; Only a zephyr that may blow Among the reeds by the river low; Give me thy most privy place Where to run my airy race. In some withdrawn, unpublic mead Let me sigh upon a reed, Or in the woods, with leafy din, Whisper the still evening in: Some still work give me to do, -- Only -- be it near to you! For I'd rather be thy child And pupil, in the forest wild , Than be the kind of men elsewhere, And most sovereign slave of care: To have one moment of thy dawn, Than share the city's year forlorn. This poem is in the public domain.  Exploring the World Day-by-Day ; Capturing Nature's Wondrous Display ! ~Jen Despite the differences that exist between political, cultural, religious...

  "Hello, October! Let the leaves fall, and the adventures begin."- Unknown  An October adventure, connecting with my daughter and nature, was just what I needed to lift my spirits. A sense of peace mixed with joy filled me as we embarked on a hike at Calvert Cliffs State Park in Lusby, MD. The parking area welcomed us with majestic evergreen pines basking in the late morning sunshine. It's early October, and the season of Autumn is upon us. Signs of its presence are evident in the changing and falling foliage, the absence of summer's active bird activity, and the pine needle, acorn-lined trails. This hike felt different; first, I had a cherished companion, and second, the trail we found ourselves on was far more challenging than I remembered from previous visits.  We walked and talked, laughed and sighed, as I repeatedly noted the ruggedness of the path, with steep ascents followed by equally steep descents. Perhaps the reason it took me awhile to realize that this w...