I was cleaning up around the house this week and found this song/CD which our daughter composed and sung for us years ago when she graduated from high school in 2003. I surprised my wife with the song. Lots of tears! See Molly’s blog post which has the lyrics, The Power of Prayer. Given how close I came to being crushed this weekend, this song was that much more special for us. (YouTube Link)(song is embedded in this post directly below this image)
My new children’s book, Snowy’s Search for Color, is published! I am both the author and photographer. You may download a free full PDF version of the book. The printed copy retails for $13.50 plus shipping (buy a copy).
Follow the adventures of a young Snowy Owl as it flies south from its home on the Arctic Ocean in search of color! The owl meets up with other owls, red foxes, and even Smokey the Bear! It is a magical journey.
Snowy’s Search for Color: Front Cover (Book is 24 pages)
Snowy’s Search for Color: Pages 1 and 2
Snowy’s Search for Color: Pages 13 and 14
During this past Spring’s migration while out looking for early arriving warblers, I met Phil Fitzpatrick. After I pointed out some Ruby-Crowned Kinglets which were ambushing the few bugs which had hatched after the late spring, Phil mentioned he was writing a book about Hawk Ridge. I was intrigued no end!
Fast forward four months and Hawk Ridge’s magic of migration is starting, and Phil’s book is ready to hit the streets (and the thermals). What I did not know at our first meeting was in just a few short years of birding the Ridge, Phil had become enraptured with that special place. Unlike me with my camera, Phil uses words to capture the essence of birds. He is a poet.
Next week, his book Hawks on High will be released by Savage Press. If you live in Duluth, the book launch will be celebrated at Zeitgeist on Monday, September 9th between 5 and 9 pm. I would be in attendance except for the fact I will be camped out and working at a remote lighthouse on Lake Superior that entire week (Crisp Point).
Don’t live near Duluth? Hawks on High will have an event on September 13th at the Lake Country Booksellers in White Bear Lake (north suburbs, Twin Cities). Learn more about the book and when the author might be in your area via his Facebook page. (contact author, learn how to purchase book)
So why should you be interested in Phil’s book? If you find yourself nodding your head in agreement with these statements, it will be obvious.
Here is just one of Penny’s drawings from the book. The drawing is copyrighted and is used with permission.
Combine Penny’s art with Phil’s poetry and Uff Dah!
Phil’s poems capture the migration in five sections:
Here is just one example: (copyrighted … used with permission)
Ghost Birds by Phil Fitzpatrick
it happens this way sometimes on a field
over a meadow or above the breathy lake
away from the daily hubbub at Hawk Ridge:
while the dog lopes leash-free, a quiet sit
knowing hawks are elsewhere but not here,
no need to bother with hope or expectation
yet long I stare skyward for empty minutes
at gray clouds scudding under the white puffs,
a classic midday sky with intermittent blue;
then, an apparition: a dozen distant specks,
a spiraling gyre of broad-wings, ghost birds;
don’t look away, they will not remain long
the wonder is how on earth, how in heaven
the winged transients could have come here,
could have taken shape, stayed long enough
for threads, for traces of older ghosts to visit;
how they found this moment stays shrouded,
but memories renew as they fade from view
Enjoy the Magic of Migration!