Breaking Through

Sea Turtle Breaking Through

Swimming and pushing hard 

through the daily tightness, 

teasing oxygen from the ocean

my loggerhead turtle is determined 

to gain mileage and not take forever 

to get safely ashore.

She must be vigilant 

watch out for predators 

and escape from a sea lion 

to find a home

on a sandy beach and look

for a safe place to lay her eggs.

She did not burrow like a clam 

on the bottom of the ocean.

Instead, she smashes

through the roaring blue-green waves. 

With her bright determined body,

she is strong of heart, 

breaking through all setbacks, 

knowing time is running out.

If she arrives on the sand 

she will haul

herself up the beach at night 

and lay her fragile eggs.

Contents

Part One

Our Community of Dairy Cows//1 

Oak Tree Monarch//4 

Black-Capped Chickadees in Madison//6

Hunger Drives Evolution//8 

Japanese Cherry Tree-Sakura//10 

Lucca Biodynamic//11

Wounds of War//13

It's Complicated//15

Landscape of Change//16 

Beloved Adino//18 

Milford Track//21

Butterflies Rock the Block//23

A Galaxy of Worlds, Boreal Conifer Forest//24 

Columbia Quindio Wax Palm Trees//26 

Watching Three Blue Leviathans//28

A Geyser Erupting//30

Deacon Grave's Native Wildflower Walk//32

Part Two

The Fightback of the Kirkland Warbler//37 

Black Birds Fly//38

Hiking Along to Acadia//40

Imperiled Rhythms of the Great Barrier Reef//42 

The End of the Line//44

Snowball the Cockatoo Grooves//47 

Family//49

Celestial Divination//51 

Star Viewpoint//54

Starry Sky Connections//56 

Moon Gazing//58

Hannah//59 

Alyssa//61

Visit from my Grandson//63

Integrity and Dignity from Deep Within//64

Good Luck and Safe Crossing//66

White-Breasted Nuthatches//68 

Our Orchard//69

Breaking Through//70

Lakewood Ranch-Another World