A Featured Event of Ione’s 24th Annual Dream Festival Overnight for Dreaming Avatars in Second Life A Virtual Celebration of the New Year Across 9 Time Zones from Monday, Dec. 31, 2018 at 2:00pm Second Life Time to Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019 6 am SLT (SLT = Pacific Time Zone). January 1, 2019.

Deep Dreaming with Humming Pera (aka Tina M Pearson), Dreambird Timeless (aka Carol Ione), and North Zipper (aka Norman Lowrey) during Ione's 24th Annual Dream Festival Overnight for Dreaming Avatars in Second Life. January 1, 2019.

Variations on a fence post. January 3, 2019.

I do so love the fat little sparrow that frequent our feeder, even for as common as they are as well as bickering over the suet. January 6, 2019.

Misty day trees as viewed out the third floor windows of the Summit Medical Group building in Florham Park, NJ during Liza Trent Savory’s chemo session today. There are also a few barely perceptible reflections of objects and lights from inside the room. January 8, 2019.

30" Overlay #1, with Downy Woodpecker, Sparrows, Bear & Loon. January 11, 2019.

30” Overlay #2, with Sparrow Shadows and Wood Thrush. January 14, 2019.

30” Overlay #3, with more Sparrows and their Shadows, Leather Hummingbird, and a raucous Jay heard but not seen. January 17, 2019.

Yet another miniature exploration of my mundane/sacred world, a little journey across the table I observe throughout the day and into the night, visiting both new and old object friends in this new year. January 18, 2019.

And now for another 30” Overlay, this one #4, Snow Day Feeding Frenzy with Wood Thrush Singing Mask. January 18, 2019.

30” Overlay #5, Cardinal finding seed in snow accompanied by little Fox and Hummingbird hand gesture masks. January 20, 2019.

30” Overlay #6, Brrrrrr! January 21, 2019.

Winter backyard feeding frenzy abstraction. January 31, 2019.

30” Overlay #7, at the bird feeder with mini Bear hand gesture Singing Mask. February 3, 2019.

Through windows at home in Mount Tabor, NJ, Jan-Feb, 2019.

Definitely shouldn’t make this public, but having no shame, here it is, with the hope that it will bring a giggle to someone. February 6, 2019.

The amaryllis, from first bud to first blossom, Jan. 30 - Feb. 17, 2019.

Ganesha summer dreaming into winter, of sunlit eye while resting on his wall. February 10, 2019.

The Amaryllis, Chapter IV, consisting of Chapters I-III running concurrently. February 20, 2019.

The Amaryllis, Episode 5: Three Blossoms and a Mockingbird. Yes, anyone following this story may note the change from “Chapters” to “Episodes.” This is to accord with my learning that some have responded to this amaryllis with a sense of nervous suspense and even a bit of fear, given the nature of the soundtrack. Fear not! I invite you to enjoy the mystery and perhaps smile along with my silly play. February 22, 2019.

The Amaryllis Sequel, with two additional buds and yet more scary music. February 25, 2019.

The Amaryllis, continuing into full cycle February 27, 2019.

The Amaryllis, Rather, The Amaryllises, Episode 8. The journey continues. March 1, 2019.

Life/death, the perpetual round. March 11, 2019.

A Meditation in Nine Episodes following our three amaryllises from January 30 to March 11, 2019.

Two coyotes briefly/wildly celebrating interconnection/interdependence. March 17, 2019.

Thanks to Gloria Waslyn for documenting this, along with all the other performances during the opening reception for Pauline Oliveros: Still Listening In Kingston. April 6, 2019.

Just a few (thousand?) Spring Peepers singing alongside the Rockaway River in Denville, NJ. Best heard with headphones, but definitely loud enough and in good frequency range for tiny speakers. April 17, 2019.

Azalea with Wood Thrush. Mount Tabor, NJ, May 4, 2019.

Bird shadow play music box. May 18, 2019.

Sunshine Shadow Cat. May 21, 2019.

An allium singing in light rain as it goes to seed in Mount Tabor, NJ. May 28, 2019.

First in intended new series with theme “Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet,” with hidden mostly silent Singing Masks. See Gerard Manley Hopkins “Inversnaid.” May 31, 2019. Invrsnaid

Walking a portion of the newly opened Indian Rock Trail at Mount Tabor, NJ on a fine spring evening. Included are the ambient sounds of chattering at a picnic celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of Mount Tabor being held in a small park at the entrance to the trail. June 1, 2019.

Thistle, with Coyote. Long live the weeds, continued. June 3, 2019.

“What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.”
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Poems_of_Gerard_Manley_Hopkins/Inversnaid

New growth hops, with shadow. June 5, 2019.

Three brief scenes on a lazy morning, June 6, 2019.

Sunset over Mount Tabor, NJ, 8:37 pm, June 7, 2019.

Serious morning ritual ablutions, Amelia with shadows and masks. June 8, 2019.

Vine dance as viewed through screen window. June 9, 2019.

Local wilderness with quick cameo appearance of Basswood Fox, continuing in the “Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet” tradition. en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Poems_of_Gerard_Manley_Hopkins/Inversnaid. June 13, 2019.

Brief meditation on green with some interwoven wind, sunlight, and shadow. Oh, and a fine persistent robin. June 17, 2019.

Our next door neighbor welcomes us to visit some of their wilderness, which we enjoy, along with cats, even out our bedroom window and when it’s raining. June 19, 2019.

Yesterday was next door neighbor to the west welcome to wilderness. Today, next door neighbor to east, lovely rose archway. June 20, 2019.

The thistle down by the barns in Mount Tabor, NJ, Episode 2.

“What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.”
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Poems_of_Gerard_Manley_Hopkins/Inversnaid

Celebrating the solstice with a little shadow walking in the shadows of trees. Oh, and those are sheep bells in the sound track. June 22, 2019.

Dancing clover with ubiquitous NJ Transit train passing by and a lone bumblebee. June 26, 2019.

Brief entanglement in front porch sight and sound after a thunderstorm in Mount Tabor, NJ, 6:58 PM, June 29, 2019.

I began a project this spring (2019) of documenting weeds, inspired by the last stanza of Gerard Manley Hopkins poem Inversnaid,

“What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and of wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.”
-Gerard Manley Hopkins
https://en.m.wikisource.org/wiki/Poems_of_Gerard_Manley_Hopkins/Inversnaid

I’ve ended up focusing on an amazing thistle that was down by some barns near where I live in Mount Tabor, NJ. My partner, Liza, was especially fond of the thistle and wasn’t able to get out to see it due to terminal illness. She took great pleasure in seeing my videos. There are five episodes. Here are the basic descriptions as I posted them on Facebook.

1. Thistle, with Coyote. Long live the weeds. June 4.
2. The thistle down by the barns in Mount Tabor, NJ, Episode 2. June 21.
3. The thistle down by the barns in Mount Tabor, NJ, Episode 3. July 4.

4. The thistle down by the barns in Mount Tabor, NJ, Episode 4. July 12.
I have been documenting this thistle for Liza Trent Savory, who loved it along with thistles and weeds in general, but was not able to get out to see it in person. Here it is on the day of her dying, July 12, 2019, with its first beginning blossoms.

5. The thistle down by the barns in Mount Tabor, NJ, Episode 5. July 19.
Shock, sorrow, disappointment, anger even. It’s gone. The correlation with Liza’s death, for whom I had been documenting the thistle, I have no words for other then to refer, in one word, to one of her central interests: ephemera.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail at White Meadow Lake in Rockaway, NJ, which I visited yesterday, July 14, 2019, as a favorite summertime haunt of Liza Trent Savory and me. Audio is sound of the nearby feeder stream with tiny waterfall.

From where I sit of a summer evening, contemplating the mundane mysteries. July 26, 2019.

A moment of hope, as the clocks strike 9:00 AM Sunday, July 28, 2019. Buddha sculpture by Trina Paulus, author of “Hope for the Flowers.” She signs her books “. . . in hope ALWAYS.” July 28, 2019.

One loud invisible cricket, unedited. Recorded down by the barns in Mt. Tabor, NJ, Sunday, July 28, 2019, 8:30 PM.

Sunday morning video poem: Still Life / Active Life. August 11, 2019.

Lovely evening sky down by the barns last night in Mt. Tabor, NJ, with lots of insect chitterings, gravel crunchings as I turn, and a scolding jay. August 14, 2019.

3 Proximities, with Basswood Fox. First two shot sitting on screened-in porch where I’m spending most of my time these days, third sitting on bench at old water tower park, up the hill in Mt. Tabor, NJ. Had to include Fox because a red fox ran by me minutes after doing that third video. I know this is all very personal material that may not “speak” to anyone else, but hope it can bring some light and joy during these times to someone. August 25, 2019.

25” Shadow in the grass Play. September 2, 2019.

The heart outside my bedroom window this morning. September 6, 2019.

Autumn Video Poem #1, with bee in hosta and anemone. September 12, 2019.

I know it’s not officially autumn yet, nonetheless, in anticipation, here’s Autumn Video Poem #2, with Raven and a bit of White Wood Aster. September 14, 2019.

Above/Below, with Ghost Spirit as intermediary. September 16, 2019.

And now for a longish story about something entirely different from my usual miniature documentations of local plant life and cats. Coyote says farewell to the deteriorating playground, loved over the years by hundreds of children in Mount Tabor, NJ. It was strange in retrospect to have gone on my morning walk through here, thinking I should take a picture of the delightful sunlit squirrel, without knowing that the very next day it would all be torn down. I didn’t take the photo, which is why I’ve started the video with a doctored image as if it was still standing. It’s my understanding that the playground will be replaced, but given today’s design standards, who knows with what? Well, we could at least do without the police car! Probably no squirrel to mount, though. September 22, 2019.

Autumn (for real) Video Poem #3: Spirit of Voice in the River visits backyard bamboo patch. September 23, 2019.

Autumn Video Poem #4: Tree with dangling cable. September 25, 2019.

Autumn Video Poem #5: Morning light after a few raindrops the night before. September 27, 2019.

Autumn Video Poem #6: A few brown leaves fallen on rocks and grass following drainage channels down the hill in Mt. Tabor, NJ. October 2, 2019.

Autumn Video Poem #7: Inside/Outside. October 3, 2019.

Documenting the local environment around my home in Mount Tabor, NJ, as we journey into autumn, 2019.

Blue Cat out front protecting the house. October 11, 2019.

Trees across the street from my home in Mount Tabor, NJ: Slow Dance in a Gentle Breeze. October 14, 2019.

Common Reed Grass (Phragmites australis), most likely the nonnative invasive variety here, dancing in the breeze along with a willow and other trees at the pond in Mount Tabor, NJ. October 16, 2019.

Wind in the oak down at the corner of Pitman Place and Dickerson Road, Mount Tabor, NJ, October 21, 2019.

Rainy day dreaming, from where I sit with cat. October 22, 2019.

“I want to have adventures to cherish and regret.” My partner, Liza, died in July. She had filled her house with icons of all kinds, both mundane and sacred. They continue to speak their mysteries to me throughout day and night. Her spirit sails on. October 29, 2019.

Tabor Lake (also known as Powder Mill Pond), a bit southwest of my home in Mount Tabor, NJ, continuing the spring-fed Watnong Brook from the west into a spill-off on the southeast under railroad tracks with a small waterfall before it continues south to Morris Plains and then joins the Whippany River. November 3, 2019.

Leaf walking. November 5, 2019.

Micro/Macro: miniature green “forest” amongst fallen leaves / large castor bean plant by a lake. November 8, 2019.

Running fox automaton, with sound. November 30, 2019.

Fish rendered in the form of a quasi beat box, with Arduino synthesizer controlled by light sensors. December 3, 2019.