Jamaica Bay

Could it be that I have just repeated my last August in New York once again? I have just taken a moment to look at the last, forgotten posts and it appears that I am doing the same things this August as last. Now that is not so earth shocking for most people who live by patterns, but for non-linear me, my world tends to be built in long, wide loops that can take in several thousands of miles and a couple years before I revisit something or someone familiar. No, I did not revisit the Flatbush ave scenario, but I did a two day journey into the last salt marshes of Jamaica Bay.

I studied the lesser shore birds in searing heat, first on my own, and then with a class. I once again tried to connect with the shoreline here and tried to make sense of my place in the city. Spending two scorching days crouched in mud looking at sleepy birds was actually inspiring. It was one of those great airport mysteries that I always pondered as I flew in and out of JFK airport. "What is that? What is there?" I would think to myself as the silver airliner lifted or set beside what looked like a magical marshland. This marsh looked better than the rest of the coastline combined, and I promised myself that one day I would find out first hand what this mysterious last holdout of nature really was. So this year I did it.

You see, as I found out, it is a migration route. Anytime you visit you may likely see something a bit different. Everything has its moment here. So the scorcher of a weekend that I chose was important, for it was in the midst of a shorebird migration. Its hard to get excited about anything in 98% humidity where your clothes are plastered to you no matter how ethically produced the fibers may be. It is uncomfortably hot and even the birds where suffering a bit, but it was worth it. The experience gave me the "gold star" in the minds of many a New Yorker. This is a question that all of them have asked themselves as well, but never took it any further.

What lies beside the very busy airport? Who would guess that it is a place for Snowy Owl, Glossy Ibis, Osprey and Yellow Legged Plover. I am so happy to have shared the days with them.

Forgotten Identity

Wow, now that was a delay in my posting. Would you believe that I was just another casualty in the forgotten password/user name drama. I have wanted to post more non-linear posts here on my sub-blog, but I could not remember how to get into my own blog. How can that be? Well try never writing down any of your password/user name combos and you are on the right track. It was just dead in the water (so to speak.) This was supposed to be my visual journal filled with images that fill my mind, but instead it became a dead link. So with out further excuse making to my one time loyal viewer (s) I will try to find an image or two to get back on track.