Rainy May
Hi all,
In 1923, the poet William Carlos Williams wrote the following...
The Red Wheelbarrowso much depends upon
a red wheel barrow
glazed with rain water
beside the white chickens.
If distant memory (college back in the '70s) serves me, Mr. Williams was writing to illustrate the power of the image as a tool for communication - that words can simply paint a picture, and the picture would tell the story. (If I remember correctly (again from decades ago) the Native Americans had a similar oral tradition that spoke volumes with few words... I remember one story in particular - that of a lone brave who paddles off into the winter night on a swollen river. To the Europeans, that story was of a man who couldn't sleep. To the Native Americans, it was a profound love story... They reasoned quite correctly that no one in his right mind would dare venture out onto a cold, running river alone. To make matters worse, it was at night, and that could mean only one thing - forbidden love. Obviously, the brave had fallen in love with the squaw of a warring tribe, and the two would risk death just to be together... Do the families "Capulet" and "Montague" come to mind?)
Anyway, I'm no Williams, Native American storyteller, or Shakespeare for that matter... but imagery can indeed tell a story. The shot above is a good example. It's of a wonderfully drippy, raw day in May perfect for quahogging. (The secret to catching quahogs is to listen - one cough gives them all away.) Unfortunately, clamming was not to be, and for that matter, birding wasn't so hot either. Aside from the usual suspects of chickadees, sparrows, crows, and orioles, there really wasn't much activity... Maybe a few doves and a hummingbird, but that's about it. Thus explains the lonely pic... It still speaks volumes.
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
P.S... The weather is supposed to be nasty tomorrow too... Maybe I can get out and whir up some chowder for the posse.
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding
