Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Quote du jour/Henry David Thoreau


The bluebird carries the sky on his back.
Henry David Thoreau



Tom took this photo through the telescope.

30 comments:

  1. Thoreau did have a way with words. I also like the way you conjur up ways to share various quotes. Cheers.

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  2. Twice this month I've seen a bluebird in our yard. I can't remember ever seeing one here before but I'm glad they found us. Disappeared this year are our bobolinks. Maybe the bluebirds are a replacement.

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    1. That's so interesting, and something I've been thinking about, too. Our first bluebirds came three years ago. We used to have killdeer, but they are gone. Way back, we had whip-poor-wills but not for almost 30 years now. Phoebes weren't here when we first came, but now have nested in the barn for many years. I wonder what changes. Our place stays mostly the same in terms of landscape.

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  3. Oh, what a gorgeous bird! And I like the quote.

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    1. They are nesting under the eaves, and frequently go out and sit on the wires. Such a treat.

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  4. Great quote and great photo, Nan. Still no bluebirds at our house, though they are back in the area. Wrens have taken up residence in the bluebird box this year, much to our delight but consternation on to the sparrows.

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  5. Kudos for Tom on the bluebird photo.

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    1. I'll tell him. (I've spent a lot of time checking into the Irish Terrier, and we are pretty much thinking we'll get one in a few years! It was love at first sight with Murphy)

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  6. Love the blue bird photograph, also the butterfly pic and garden song.

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  7. Nan-

    Murphy is my second Irish. They are a wonderful breed who love the outdoors, are as athletic as you want them to be and very faithful. They are however, Terriers; and require an owner with a stronger will than their own. Extremely smart, very intuitive and a good hiking buddy. I would love to see you get one.

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    1. You know the line in Groundhog Day, 'I can't even make a Collie stay' - well, that's me. Our terrier will be happy in the knowledge that he rules. Oh, and you know what I'm gonna name him... Liam, the Irish form of William after my Irish grandfather and you!!

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  8. I now live by Thoreau's assertion that the cost of a thing is the amount of life I have to exchange for it- Ah, if I had only taken it to heart sooner!

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  9. They used to line up on the fence in my grandmother's back yard, and then they disappeared from northeast Ohio for decades. But now they have made a real comeback and there are more every year.....My garden is full of goldfinches in the summer, doing their bouncy flight across the yard. My mother always talked about the bobolinks that used to be around our home, but I never remember seeing them. There is such joy in watching life. (Btw, my copy of Crooked House arrived today.)

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    1. It is so interesting about the comings and goings of birds. I don't think even the experts know.
      I see goldfinches only occasionally but I hear their sweet sound around.
      The late woman we bought our house from lived just down the road and had bobolinks but they've not been here.

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  10. What a beautiful photo of the bluebird! I love your header photo too!

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    1. Thanks! I got a new camera and I've very happy with it.

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  11. Terrific photo of the bluebird! Very creative photographer there. I also love your butterfly header. My 2nd graders raised Painted Lady Butterflies and released them earlier this month into our school's butterfly garden.

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    1. A few years ago Tom took some pics of an owl the same way:

      http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2008/03/todays-picturesbarred-owl.html

      Such a good thing for the kids to do. We had monarchs in a jar once and saw the transition. It was a miracle!

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  12. Lucky to have bluebirds! I just put Walden on my Kindle for travel reading. Looking forward to it.

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    1. Third year now!
      Have you ever happened to read John McPhee's Uncommon Carriers? He has a chapter where he travels as Thoreau did. Quite wonderful.

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    1. Wow! There's the real difference in our climates. :<)

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  14. Stunning photo. I love the green halo around the bird.

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  15. Marvelous photo! I love bluebirds!

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    1. They are right outside the living room window every day, sitting on the wire. We feel blessed by them that they have chosen to live here.

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