Full Murmuration Moon

 

Full Moon rises tonight at 620 as the sun sets at 623, pretty close to synchronous. It has been humid and very dry and dusty so I'm expecting good color. We will see. 

Life has been interesting of late. Our family has lost 5 significant friends and members in the last week or 10 days. whew, that is a lot of tears. P and I were in Grand Coteau for the wake of a life long friend and P's distant cousin, Karleen Barry, wife and mother of 8 and such a funny lady. It was a warm and fuzzy affair. I guess this is a big part of life.

A good bud, Judith, who knows that I like to dabble in poetry sent me this fun Barbara Crooker poem last summer. Quite the FMA appropriate poem:

How the Trees on Summer Nights Turn into a Dark River

how you can never reach it, no matter how hard you try,
walking as fast as you can, but getting nowhere,
arms and legs pumping, sweat drizzling in rivulets;
each year, a little slower, more creaks and aches, less breath.
Ah, but these soft nights, air like a warm bath, the dusky wings
of bats careening crazily overhead, and you’d think the road
goes on forever. Apollinaire wrote, “What isn’t given to love
is so much wasted,” and I wonder what I haven’t given yet.
A thin comma moon rises orange, a skinny slice of melon,
so delicious I could drown in its sweetness. Or eat the whole
thing, down to the rind. Always, this hunger for more.

Hmmmm, that was sweet Judith, thanks. 

Now this late summer she sent this on to Ol Jim, said it reminded her of me. Now I'll tell you this girl, this one is right up my ally:

 

Murmuration

Cold morning. November, taking a walk,
when up ahead, suddenly, the trees unleave,
and thousands of starlings lift off, an immense
river of noise; they braid and unbraid themselves
over my head, the gray silk sky embroidered
with black kisses, the whoosh of their wings,
their chattering clatter, patterns broken/formed/
reformed, a scarf of ragged ribbons. Dumb-
struck, mouth open, I say holy and I say moley,
And then, they’re gone.

Yes! Only here in S. Louisiana it would be Redwing Blackbirds on the Marsh or unharvested edges of sugar cane fields. This one, Murmuration, I can easily see with my minds eye.

Thank you Judith, you are indeed a good bud.

9-30-23 Kenny G, a favorite and superior student of mine reporting may Gulf Fritillary larvae, read caterpillars, on his abundant, now leafless Passiflora vines.

10-4-23 Egg drop at my sister Big Marcy, her grandkids not I came up with that handle, egg delivery. Marcy always has flowers along her front entrance, I walked into a "cloud" of Monarch Butterflies on her patch of Zinnias...if 3 qualifies as a cloud. Very cool y'all for a year almost void of Monarchs for me. i witnessed just a few scattered in the spring migration time.

10-12-23 Yeowser y'all, lone Monarch East of Jonesville! Jonesville lies along the Big Muddy in East Central Louisiana. I was there witnessing the effect of careless applications of Herbicide by aerial applicators that caused the death of hundreds of mature Baldcypress along a soybean field edge. It was a sad day, that lone butterfly lifted my heart out of the dumps a bit.

10-17-23 Larger than RTHB, a bit larger and different shaped. I suspect Broadtail Hummer, not sure but I feel the RTHB are for the most part gone and Winter Hummers are in. I have seen small birds with that reddish blush, that tell me Rufus Hummer. Keep at least one feeder up and clean for the winter y'all.

10-21-23 Finally, the Cast and Blast and Cast weekend has arrived! Baby, Big and I, Elder gathered up at Baby's home near Indian Bayou at High Noon. Baby ran his bread route in the predawn and was back home at noon. We loaded up and off we went. John's Lab, Honey was nervous in the new surroundings but we managed. After an unusual long wait in line at Billy's Boudin we hit the big slab, I-10 headed West then South at Sulphur through Hackberry to Mud Lake just North of Holly Beach. Where we fished for Redfish along a gated oilfield road. Caught nice fish plus some to large to keep and some too small to keep and a few Drum. great start on our weekend. 

Camp we shared on Johnson Bayou. Fish Iced down, grilled steak to whine of mosquitoes. No butterflies to speak of. Marsh showing signs of severe stress especially in back corners where circulation was lacking. Low rainfall amounts killing off some marsh and trees dying off everywhere.

10-22-23 Another great fish day, returned to camp for brunch at noon. Egg McMuffins, homemade biscuits, boudin and hard fried eggs, yum! Pruned 4 live oaks on site while brunch being prepped by Big. Then we all finished up after lunch, note, no one likes to drag branches. Then third fishing trip after we hit road on way home. what a fine healing weekend with my brothers!

 Y'all enjoy the Full Murmuration rising this evening and do not forget to pack the elders and children, oh and a bottle of tart red.

peace and love

BT