Goal: Clean air, clean clear-running rivers, the presence of Pelican and Osprey and Gray Whale in our lives; salmon and trout in our streams; unmuddied language and good dreams.
She sang beyond the genius of the sea.
The water never formed to mind or voice,
Like a body wholly body, fluttering
Its empty sleeves; and yet its mimic motion
Made constant cry, caused constantly a cry,
That was not ours although we understood,
Inhuman, of the veritable ocean.
The sea was not a mask. No more was she.
The song and water were not medleyed sound
Even if what she sang was what she heard,
Since what she sang was uttered word by word.
It may be that in all her phrases stirred
The grinding water and the gasping wind;
But it was she and not the sea we heard.
— from The Idea of Order at Key West by Wallace Stevens (Click Here To Read The Complete Poem)
Everything except language knows the meaning of existence. Trees, planets, rivers, time know nothing else. They express it moment by moment as the universe.
Even this fool of a body lives it in part, and would have full dignity within it but for the ignorant freedom of my talking mind.
We arrived in Puerto Peñasco Sunday afternoon, February 11th, planning on going fishing in the Sea of Cortez on Tuesday. However, because of a forecast of strong winds, the fishing trip was rescheduled for calm seas on Thursday afternoon.
Patty, Tom, Joy and I chartered the Grandy-White (the smaller boat on the left) under cloudy, but calm skies.
Captain Chris gives Joy a hand on the boat.
Tom has his own rod, but after checking out the equipment on the boat quickly realized he didn’t need it.
Leaving the port, this is a view of the old downtown Puerto Peñasco.
Once out from Puerto Peñasco, Captain Chris let us know he was taking a slight detour to where we might see some whales, which I posted on the 23rd.
Captain Chris, who was very informative and helpful.
The sun comes out briefly on Patty and Tom as they try staying warm — at least they had wind-breakers. Joy and I left ours back in Tucson.
Tom getting ready to toss in the line.
I was able to catch some small sea bass after the second and third tries. Tom caught a couple, so we had plenty for dinner. Captain Chris also added to the total catch. Joy and Patty watched. Joy also took some of these photos.
Headed into port where many of the shrimp boats are docked.
Captain Chris cleans the fish before leaving the Grandy-White.
Sunset Over The Sea of Cortez (Puerto Peñasco, February 12, 2018) — Computer Art by kenne
The poem,
the song,
the picture,
is only water
drawn
from the well
of the people,
and it should
be given back
to them
in a cup
of beauty
so that they
may drink –
and in drinking
understand themselves.
Tom, Patty, Joy and I chartered a boat to go fishing in the Sea of Cortez off the coast of Puerto Peñasco and were able to get in some whale watching on the way out — two for one! Others were out just for the whale watching. — kenne
Near where we were staying in Puerto Peñasco, I spotted what looked like an active Osprey nest.
After a closer investigation, I was able to see an osprey sitting this carefully created work of art. There are no trees on the desert coast of the Sea of Cortez, so the Osprey makes good use of any structure high off the ground.
Once confirming that the nest was active, I started looking around for the mate. That’s when a spotted the other osprey on a nearby power pole, already expressing some displeasure with my being too close to the nest.
The two Ospreys began calling to one another. As I moved closer to the sentry Osprey, he turned and flow to a distant pole.
The feathers of this hawk always seem ruffled due to when diving after fish, Ospreys completely submerge themselves underwater and still are able to fly away with their prey. Most other fish-eating birds of prey can only pluck fish from the surface of the water as they fly by. Like all birds of prey, Ospreys are amazing animals.
The beach along the northern edge of the Sea of Cortez (February 12, 2018) — Panorama by kenne
The sun has dissolved behind the clouds as the wind stirs up the sand
and chills the spirit. We have just arrived yet it seems like time to go. There will be time tomorrow to watch morning come,
listening to the
song of sunrise.