Good morning. 🕊️🕊️🕊️

24 May 2026

Hmm… I still have a hoodie draped over the back of my side chair. I should probably hang it in the closet, because I definitely won’t have the urge to grab it on the way out the door for a few months. It is still spring, though, and there could always be an odd temperature drop. We’ve lived in Louisiana for well over twenty years now, and I don’t recall any freezing temperatures in May — but it did get close in 2019, on May 4th, when the temperature dropped to a frigid 34°F. This late in May, though, I think it’s safe to put my hoodie away.

Uh‑oh, it’s time to feed Charlie. I’ll be back.

Charlie and I are baching it for a while. My wife is away. We’d only been home from our trips to Arkansas and Oklahoma for six days when an early‑morning call had her packing again. She headed out yesterday morning for Mobile, Alabama. We tried to board Charlie so I could go with her, but being Memorial Day weekend — and on such short notice — that plan fell flat.

It was tragedy that sent my wife rushing off. A young niece lost her husband just after giving birth to their daughter. I won’t share the details, but it was sudden and completely unexpected — the kind of loss that hits with a “this can’t be real” shock that knocks a person’s world apart. My wife went to be by her side, to help her navigate the aftermath of this terrible, terrible event, and to try to assuage the anguish in our niece’s heart.

Life is thinner than we like to admit. One moment you’re moving through the small routines of an ordinary day, and the next, everything tilts. It doesn’t take much — a phone call, a breath, a heartbeat — for the whole world to change. That’s the fragile truth of it, and all we can do is hold on to each other while we have the chance.

“We live in the shelter of each other.” — Irish proverb

#photo #photography #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdphotography #morning #pigeon #rockpigeon #dove #rockdove #tragedy #spring #life

Urban Pause

While walking through Savannah, Georgia a few months ago, I spotted this lone rock pigeon perched on a weathered pipe running along a stone wall.

If you're a fan of stunning dove imagery, be sure to explore my photo gallery for a collection of beautiful snapshots that capture their elegance and charm.

https://swede1952-photographs.pixels.com

#photo #photography #photographer #photographylovers #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdphotography #dove #pigeon #rockpigeon #rockdove

WORDS MATTER.

We call doves symbols of PEACE — but we call pigeons DIRTY.

The truth? The bird we commonly referred to as a pigeon is actual a Rock Dove.

At CWR, we see their beauty, their intelligence, and their right to safety — no matter the label.

When you Gift Them Hope, you help rewrite the story for every misunderstood bird. 💚

#GiftThemHope #RockDove #PigeonLove #HopeTakesFlight #CarolinaWaterfowlRescue #WordsMatter

Good morning. 🕊️🕊️🕊️

20 October 2025

Cold Thresholds and Army Paperwork

Wow. I just glanced at the temperature on my taskbar—47º outside. That’s the coldest morning of the fall so far this year. I know, I know… folks up in Minnesota are probably thinking, “Big whoop. That’s shirt-sleeve weather.”

I lived in Minnesota for a while during my Army days. I’d just been reassigned from Germany and thought I understood cold. Minnesota politely—and thoroughly—redefined that understanding. I drove up from Tennessee after flying in from Wyoming. That month was a blur of relocations, a sovereign zigzag across the country. But that’s a story for another scroll.

A few days after arriving in Minnesota, I had to fly to Fort Sheridan in Chicago to sign in. I was Regular Army, assigned to a Reserve battalion. On arrival, I rented a car, drove to a certain building on post, walked in, probably handed over my orders, signed a book, turned around, got back in the rental, and drove straight back to Minnesota. Crazy, right?

When I returned to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport, the temperature had dropped. On advice, I’d parked my car over at neighboring Fort Snelling and taken a taxi to the airport. It was late at night. The moment I stepped outside, the cold hit me like a wall—literally took my breath away. I don’t recall the exact temperature, only that it was very cold. 🥶

I jumped into the first taxi I saw and headed for Fort Snelling. The parking lot was vast and empty, save for my car sitting alone in the middle, blanketed in snow. I asked the driver to wait until I got it started. He did. And just like that—I had arrived.

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” — Mark Twain

“One thing about cold weather: it brings out the statistician in everyone.” — Paul Theroux'

#photo #photography #photographer #wildlife #nature #bird #birds #birding #birdwatching #birdphotography #morning #cold #pigeons #doves #RockPigeon #RockDove #blackandwhite #army #Minnesota