{"id":10300,"date":"2020-08-12T08:48:19","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T13:48:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=10300"},"modified":"2020-08-12T20:38:09","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T01:38:09","slug":"mind-in-the-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=10300","title":{"rendered":"Mind in the Waters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of us would rather spend our lives underwater. The welcome arms of nature allows us to become part of something that is greater than ourselves.
\n<\/em>
\nEditor note: Click the photo to get a full screen view.<\/p>\n

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Bluegill School
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

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Eye to Eye with a Northern Pike
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

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Poetry by Cynthia Eyden<\/p>\n

Sacred<\/strong>
\nLiminal\u00a0<\/strong>
\nLayers<\/strong>
\nI take in the surface of the stream –<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 weeds and lily pads rising above<\/em>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0 ducks and fishing bobbers skim<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 clouds, trees and sun reflect
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

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Black Crappie
Angel of the waters
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Lying on the water, masked and snorkeled<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 aquatic realms and rooms divided by the plants and rocks that were inferred at the surface<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Crappies and sunnies, muskies and carp, northern and bass find me curious or frightful
\nI grasp a branch or a rock to stay as still as the fish do without struggle<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 To watch in awe and delight, and then follow through ribbons of plants.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Mixed school of bluegill and bass.
Photo by Jane Ball<\/p><\/div>\n

To the shadowed spaces beneath a thick mat of algae.<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 The bigger fish seek this out, sitting at the edge of light and dark<\/em>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 They move into and out of this mystery with ease, appearing and receding\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It is their domain to know and for me to ponder what riches reside there.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Northern Pike
Beautifully Camouflaged
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

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The silty water of mid summer allows clear awareness of only the closest myopic view. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A few fish glide into this layer of clarity<\/em>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 More are softened and less and less defined as the distance grows<\/em>
\n\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 Reminding me of my own limited consciousness.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Carp School
Finding Beauty in an invasive Species
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rupturing the surface I return to the air and earth.\u00a0<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With its familiar breath and vision<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I drip with evidence of the liminal sacred layers beneath<\/em>
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 My heart and mind open, grateful, elated by this venture across boundaries of awareness.
\n<\/em>Poetry by Cynthia Eyden
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

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Carp
Water Color
Cynthia Eyden<\/p><\/div>\n

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The bowfin or dogfish is snake-like. It is a primitive fish that was around during the time of the dinosaurs.
Photo by Jeff Saslow<\/p><\/div>\n

Poetry by Jeff Saslow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Under surface of air, trees and grass<\/em>
\nUnderwater, creek water<\/em>
\nMy insides open up to a fluid world<\/em>
\nThat has a different pulse<\/em>
\nMy frenetic stiff awkwardness slaps the weeds, rocks and tadpoles<\/em>
\nUntil I settle, watch and wait<\/em>
\nUsing my flippers to gently move<\/em>
\nI then drift in and out of currents<\/em>
\nAs my land thoughts recede I am lulled by the undulating movement of water, plants and creatures.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Bluegill
Photo by Jeff Saslow<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is not until later that I am aware that my heart is open<\/em>
\nMy body has become electric<\/em>
\nI am two feet away from a bluegill<\/em>
\nShe is staring at me for a long while<\/em>
\nHer gills are moving water in and out<\/em>
\nMesmerized, my sides gently ache<\/em>
\nAs we breathe together<\/em><\/p>\n

Jeff Saslow
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

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Blueglll
Photo by Jane Ball<\/p><\/div>\n

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Minnow schools were everywhere.
Photo by Jane Ball<\/p><\/div>\n

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 <\/p>\n

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Have you ever had a walleye swim right up to you and look you in the eye? It changes you.
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

Restless –<\/em> Poetry by Jeff Saslow<\/strong><\/p>\n

Restless<\/em>
\nI hear the loon call out<\/em>
\nOn the humid summer evening<\/em>
\nRestless<\/em>
\nI miss crowds of people<\/em>
\nWhile the fish school under water<\/em>
\nRestless<\/em>
\nThe performance has stopped<\/em>
\nOr viewed at a distance from parked cars<\/em><\/p>\n

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The big bass swam right past me and the light danced off its back.
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

Paranoia has stepped in where<\/em>
\nCovid has left off<\/em>
\nNo one gets away free<\/em>
\nEven though we posture the charade of control<\/em>
\nIt is today, tomorrow or next week or . . ?<\/em>
\nWe don\u2019t know<\/em><\/p>\n

Restless<\/em>
\nThe news announcer\u2019s mouth<\/em>
\nBites through our security blanket<\/em><\/p>\n

Restless<\/em>
\nWhen November comes<\/em>
\nWill the blanket keep us warm?<\/em>
\nHow about in January?<\/em><\/p>\n

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The rock bass is in the sunfish family. It can be identified by its reddish eye.
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

Restless<\/em>
\nThe mother duck with her little ones<\/em>
\nMoves close to the sandy shore<\/em>
\nI kayak and swim<\/em>
\nFish gather<\/em>
\nAnd the loon cries through the night\u00a0<\/em>
\nPoetry by Jeff Saslow<\/p>\n

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Muskie
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

We saw this fish several times during the summer. It had sores on its mouth from being “caught and released”. Its left gill flap was torn off. The fish was roughly 4 feet in length. A lion in the water – A top predator.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

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The muskie slowly swam away.
Photo by Lawrence Wade<\/p><\/div>\n

Reader and contributor, Paul Gagner shared: “When we lived on Gray’s Bay (Lake Minnetonka),\u00a0 12 years ago, there was a “friendly” muskie that I could feed and pet it’s head! It also had a scar on the top of it’s back. It may have been attacked by another fish or hit by a small prop.”
\n<\/em>Paul also added, “Did you know that the grooves that emanate outward along the snout is a sight line for lining up prey?\u00a0 Amazing creatures, eh?<\/em>” (click on photo to enlarge.)<\/p>\n

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“friendly”Muskie.
Photo Paul Gagner<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of us would rather spend our lives underwater. The welcome arms of nature allows us to become part of something that is greater than ourselves. Editor note: Click the photo to get a full screen view.     Poetry … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,18,16,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-connecting-to-nature","category-nature-poetry","category-photography","category-summer"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10300"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10354,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10300\/revisions\/10354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}