Exploration – The Itinerant's Plan b

Shearing grief off a Ficus

There is this beautiful Fiddle Leaf Ficus in my home that wasn’t naturally meant to be a stand alone tree like how it’s ornamental use dictates. It is from the plant genus Ficus, of about 900 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines and epiphytes, many of which produce aerial support roots that hang from their…

A haiku-esque photo amble on a long beach …

Stratified clouds jostling for attention, a self effacing Sun, quietly forming dunes, all conspired to create the perfect sand and spray in Ocean County, New Jersey; a day that began with oysters, after a long leisurely drive that ended finally on a long stretch of beach that provoked spurts of inspired Haiku. I call it…

What a tidal salt marsh can teach about interdependence, resilience and healing

The marshes have their own unique way of commiserating with the human condition. Along half a mile of floating boardwalk through a marsh in Saw Mill Creek, a tributary of the Hackensack river, I encounter parallels to my own life. The Kingsland marsh discovery trail on an impoundment in the Richard DeKorte Park, southern part…

A road less travelled ~ The Old Mine Road

On a cool weekday earlier in May this year, having driven for miles to synchronise existential thoughts to musical rhythm, alongside a fine tapestry of sounds created by Erik Satie, Herbert Pixner, Evgeny Grinko, Estas Tonne and others, I found myself meandering along chords that lend themselves to such peripatetic philosophical pursuits. I finally arrived…

Revisiting Sidney Lanier’s ‘Hymns of the Marshes’ in Mill Creek Marsh

Before Spring at Mill Creek Marsh, Atlantic Cedar Stumps Graveyard It was a sunny Sunday and a walk through an emerald green oasis in the middle of suburban concrete made for poetic respite. Parking was so very easy, for not many people visit this area on any given day, but it…