Comments for

Comment on Slip-sliding Away by Barry

Barry — Mon, 31 May 2010 16:46:57 +0000

Mark:
Enjoyed your piece on the river otter and, especially, the way you linked it to the human experience of self- (and other human-) consciousness during the observation. Barry Nann

Comment on Slip-sliding Away by wildmagnolia

wildmagnolia — Sat, 29 May 2010 17:55:18 +0000

The once in a lifetime experience is not lost on me. The wonder of being able to have this experience via your word art is “almost” as good as being there. The river otters are dark, sleek, silky, furry happiness…who give us at least one brief snapshot of their beauty.

“Life is not for the weak. Be brave.” Well said.

Thanks for this.

Comment on Slip-sliding Away by LaureenE

LaureenE — Sat, 29 May 2010 17:53:24 +0000

Sitting at Alissa’s kitchen table, cluttered with books of gardening and aquarium upkeep and unopened mail and assorted paper-pieces, thousands of miles away from Shoreline Salt Marsh, near Fairbanks Alaska city-center and the gray-silted Chena River; Alissa drilling new holes with her power tool for another project while her husband is far away on the East Coast; Mr. Silver the black cat resting close to the keyboard to remind me that he is still hungry three hours after I fed him his breakfast; Roscoe the Ridgeline, quietly resting at my feet; Bodie the Bassett whimpering and moaning, wanting to be reassured that his absent owner is returning to his reality; Pixie the Black Beauty licking and gnawing at her bandage that protects the paw wound that reminds me that trips to the wild Tanena can be dangerous encounters with broken glass left behind by negligent humans…(Phone visit with Gary visiting mother Pauline at Peregrine’s Landing: 26 minutes later: everything is changed and the same….
Visiting the river otter’s world is the escape to Nature that brings tranquility and focus to the distractions of Life that I long for and need to endure….. Thanks, Mark!

Comment on Wire to Wire by wildmagnolia

wildmagnolia — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 18:27:45 +0000

Your writing and passionate observation and splendid photograpy are a compelling combination.

I await publication of your book.

Between now and then…I follow on radio and here.

Discovered you on the blog, The Quiet Country House, another fun and educational place to visit.

Best wishes……

Comment on Upon Reflection… by asricker

asricker — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 18:37:22 +0000

I read Upon reflection I faster, enjoying the tempo, but not considering as deeply the interplay of predator and prey as I did while reading Upon reflection II. The second reflection was more meaningful to me, giving a fuller understanding of the method of finding food and making me recall very similar movements I have observed in Great Blue Herons that frequent reservoirs near our house. The description of the Tautog’s coloring in its environment was especially evocative of evolution; its complexities are far more fascinating than “blind genetic code.”

Comment on Upon Reflection… by Will

Will — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:20:17 +0000

Upon reflection I - found myself more absorbed in following the alliteration and tempo than the message

Upon reflection II - easier to understand the message, but a less rewarding one

Would have liked to read more of the capture and swallowing of the tautog

Comment on The Sum of the Parts by MvGuy

MvGuy — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 04:08:45 +0000

It was dumb luck, to find here, amongst the din and
whir..and..so too all the parts of this place…

“The fog is a soporific. Mesmer in his cups might dream of a fog like this. That sponges light. That muffles Time. That drowns all the remaining senses into deafness. So thick, no curl of turbulence follows them. So dense, it swallows them. An obliterating fog in which that brief exegesis which makes them visible is almost illusion. The mind is slow to grasp and for that the amazement of spirit is large, and lingering. The day will cling to this and I know it. The days that follow in a subtle way will be moistened by what is seen right now and therefore will not be the same.”

So serene and yet poignant, hovering in the margins
unobtrusive though alluring……. What a paragraph..

It’s odd to have found it at counterpunch where the usual discourse is more concerned…

There was a Mark Lender who for a time lived here.
He had a jewelry shop in an old building , what we would have called a storefront in New York…and he lived on the second floor over the shop……

I don’t know where he came from, but after several years, he sold the building and moved to the artists life in Tribecka. I have never heard of him since.

Those of us that knew him wondered at his departure
from our island fastness, from the main street of the dry town where the ferries brought the seekers of solitude along with those who are driven to spot the celebrities. From the beaches of lazy seals and naked ladies oyster flats and vigilant osprey. Back, back to the clanging churning metropolis of the material quest. Gone from the winding roads, the little houses
and the nature people… never to return… I wonder if he still dwells just a little north of ground zero….

Comment on Sultans of Serene by Vanessa

Vanessa — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 00:12:44 +0000

So nice to see such a beautiful photo of such an underestimated bird, Mark!