Bald Eagle -- Haliaeetus leucocephalus, near full adult plumage, approx. 5 y.o. By the early 1960s, Eagle populations in the lower 48 were dangerously low. Far more robust numbers today allow our national symbol to hold more meaning in terms of stewardship, recovery, and awareness.
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” ~ Aristotlebuck, White-tailed Deer -- Odocoileus virginianus. Antler size is largely driven by nutritional intake, and they are often dropped in winter. Odocoileus = 'hollow tooth'.
'You speak as though
No sunlight ever surprised the mind
Groping on its cloudy path.' ~ from "Poetry for Supper" by Ronald Stuart ThomasAmerican Pipit -- Anthus rubescens, far northern breeder foraging on a lakefront algal mat during migratory stopover.
'When the young farm laborer
steals the roses for his wife
we know for certain he'll find
her beyond their aroma
or softness. We can almost
feel with how soft a step
he approaches the cottage ...' ~ from "Winter Words, Manhattan" by Philip LevineThis buck didn't stop here (white-tailed speeds top out around 47 mph). By the late 1800s White-tailed Deer were nearly extinct in IL. Today, with few natural predators, their numbers are higher than when European settlers first arrived, and hunting and other forms of culling are essential.
"The truth, of course, is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time." ~ David BowieShort-eared Owl -- Asio flammeus, endangered in IL.
'Is this the vision of a higher mind
that shall reveal the kind
of paradigm that frees, sublime,
the spirit of a seer; a poet, whose strains,
in sight of soaring eagle, dancing cranes,
will elevate the spirit beyond rightdoing;
redeem the soul’s wrongdoing.' ~ from "Grasslands" by John AnstieAmerican Tree Sparrows -- Spizella arborea, winter well south of their breeding range. For them, eating like a bird means consuming around a third of their weight in food and a similar amount of water daily.
‘Who sees with equal eye, as God of all,
A hero perish or a sparrow fall,
Atoms or systems into ruin hurl’d,
And now a bubble burst, and now a world.’ ~ Alexander Pope, "Essay on Man", Epistle I.North America's only marsupial, the Opossum -- Didelphis virginiana, welcoming the snow melt
'He's hauled himself out from a stranger place,
Unnoticed and in turn unnoticing
Of high-beams drifting down the cul-de-sac
Or shafts of street light angling through the limbs...' ~ Daniel Anderson, "A Possum's Tale", 1998.Long-tailed Ducks -- Clangula hyemalis, i think adult female on left and juvenile right
“You must not know too much, or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and water-craft; a certain free margin, and even vague-ness – perhaps even ignorance, credulity – helps your enjoyment of these things.” ~ Walt Whitman, 5/14/1881.Redhead (m) -- Aythya americana
"The study of the earth and its shaping opened up new vistas to me, and when finally I was aware of the intricate relationships of all forms of life in the area, my understanding grew to the point where I felt more at home in the wilderness than ever before." ~ Sigurd Olson, "Songs of the North", 1987.Red-breasted Merganser (m) -- Mergus serrator, catches a Yellow Perch -- Perca flavescens.
‘Time is but the stream I go a-fishin’ in. I drink at it, but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains. I would drink deeper; fish in the sky, whose bottom is pebbly with stars.’ ~ Henry David Thoreau. WaldenCommon Snapping Turtle -- Chelydra serpentina, apex predator
"By dredging, damming, channeling, tampering with (and in some cases eliminating) the ecological niches where water cleans itself, we have simplified the pathways that water takes through the American landscape, and we have ended up with dirty water." ~ Alice Outwater, 1996Jack O'lantern Mushroom -- Omphalotus illudens, poisonous but not deadly. gills are said to be bioluminescent, emitting a pale green glow in darkness.
'And truly I was afraid, I was most afraid,
But even so, honoured still more
That he should seek my hospitality
From out the dark door of the secret earth.' ~ David Herbert LawrenceLoggerhead Shrike -- Lanius ludovicianus, endangered in IL.
“I think there’s a kind of desperate hope built into poetry now that one really wants, hopelessly, to save the world. One is trying to say everything that can be said for the things that one loves while there’s still time. I think that’s a social role, don’t you?” ~ William Stanley Merwin