Hello, Peace Seekers!
Sometimes I receive coded messages from the Universe.
cool summer morning
lone green heron examines
the shimmering pond
Here is one of the reference photos I took for this comic. I don’t always take reference photos, and I’ve never shared them before. But this green heron was far too charismatic not to share.
The Messenger
Considering my background, I have an astonishingly high level of ignorance about the part of the natural world I live in, the Willamette Valley.
I take daily nature walks, and much of the poetry I write is about what I notice. Growing up, I was a boy scout—and not just a boy scout, but an Eagle Scout.
However, there are still so many plants and animals I cannot identify. There is so much to learn! I love it.
Last week, I was sitting by a pond waiting for the library to open. Before reading some of my voluminous email correspondence, I noticed the absence of the usually raucous ducks.
After an unknowable amount of time, I glanced up from my phone, and a messenger, the bird from the photograph, was staring at me. I had never seen this kind of bird before.
From its legs and beak, it resembled a heron. But I had never seen such a small heron. On the other side of the pond, there is a life-size metal sculpture of a blue heron, and it was a veritable Goliath compared to my visitor.
I watched the bird strut around, and I took a few pictures while having one of those weird experiences where I know that this moment I’m in the middle of will become something. I felt haiku beginning to form, I sensed how I would draw the moment.
The bird was there to deliver a message from the Universe, “Notice.” And so I did.
After the bird left, I used the most useful AI feature that has been created thus far, and discovered from my picture that the bird was a green heron. Apparently, herons come in small sizes too.
All this time, in my home of the past 25 years, there have been these magnificent birds, and I had never encountered one before. Or more likely, I had never noticed one before.
And now I relay the message the green heron had to you. Notice!
Be the poetry you want to see in the world!
Cheers,
Jason
P.S. September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day. If you’re looking for a way to celebrate this occasion, I recommend my collection, Pirate Haiku. This book has over 400 haiku in categories such as pirate job ads, pirate love letters, and pirate obituaries. While it’s not illustrated, it has all of the wit and ridiculousness of the work you regularly see here.
P.P.S. A small scheduling note. Tomorrow instead of the usual paid member post, you will be getting my collaboration with the talented
of . This week’s paid post will go out on Wednesday instead.
Wonderful. We have a blue heron living on our lake for years. His name is Kevin. No idea why.
Such a lovely reminder to notice!