Early Morning with the Birds
Such a Day!
Impermanence
This morning, high tide, birds were swimming all around my floating home, and the boat was bobbing up and down. I felt like I was on a trampoline, and of course, like life, that changed.
Low Tide on the Houseboat
It’s low tide. An egret flies by the window. A Great Blue Heron lands right outside the window and then slowly strolls and explores around the boat.
Jimmy Carter, at 98, enters Hospice. An inspiration, he’s lived a spiritual life. I think of him with these words of The Dalai Lama:
“Every day, think as you wake up,
Today I am fortunate to be alive.
I have a precious human life,
I am not going to waste it.
I am going to use all my energies to develop myself,
To expand my heart out to others,
To achieve enlightenment for the benefit of all beings.
I am going to have kind thoughts towards others.
I am not going to get angry or think badly about others.
I am going to benefit others as much as I can.
My religion is very simple, my religion is kindness.”
High Tide on this Houseboat
My front and back yard are water. I’m rocked with the motion of the tides, and the bobbing and diving of birds up and down. The seaplane is having a field day and offers its wake to the day. Weekends are different than during the week though I haven’t seen any neighbors today. The action is on, above, and in the movement of water, and I’m rocked like a baby.
I Hear a Chirp
And when I look up, I see a friend.
ROBIN WALL KIMMERER:
Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.
Magic
The Wordle word of the day is Magic. I got it in three. Being by the water in a houseboat is magical. I feel enchanted, as though I, too, float, bob, explore, and dive in rhythm with the tides.
Afternoon Entertainment
I’m learning the news of this houseboat community from a neighbor. She took me through their boat – 2300 square feet – exquisite, and so I see one can create what works for them if so desired. I’m content in my Little Gem.
Meanwhile I’m entranced with the birds. A Great Blue Heron strolled by just now, a leisurely look around.
Landing and Flight
I’m sitting on a houseboat by the bay reflecting on this statistic.
As of Monday, the Gun Violence Archive had counted 67 mass shootings in the United States this year. The archive, a nonprofit research organization, defines a mass shooting as one in which at least four people were killed or injured. There are only 44 days so far this year.
Yesterday afternoon I followed a Snowy Egret as he or she stepped carefully around the houseboat at low tide. Now, the water is high. I wonder why so many humans struggle to flow up and down with the tides.
Someone swims by the dock today, no wetsuit. The water temperature in Richardson Bay is 53 degrees. I’m cold in a wool sweater and jacket, and I’m in the air.
Birds fly by, together and alone. They sweep and flow, know when and where to land. There’s so much beauty around, and in us, and tragically a few are lost. Then we as a community and ecosystem struggle with their actions as we deal with pain and loss.
Reflecting
I wonder as I read about humans killing one another. Animals only defend themselves when threatened. Do we feel threatened? If so, why? We live on a planet of abundance. A rattlesnake doesn’t use its venom unnecessarily because it takes time to replenish. A skunk is careful with spray.
On a houseboat, I watch the birds and tides. I walk along the bay, seeing the niches and how they change throughout the day.
Today is cold and the wind is howling so wildly, I turn the sound up on my computer to hear inside the houseboat. The gulls play with the wind; they dance, and without my glasses the white caps of the waves look like their wings.
I’ve now learned the Great Blue Heron who welcomes entry to our pier is a she. And egrets abound.
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