Chasing Sunsets on a Sunday Afternoon

I made a promise to myself last weekend to get some needed rest. I decided I wouldn't make too many plans and I'd stay close to home to watch a movie or take a nap. I've been adjusting to the start of a new teaching semester and I have not been feeling especially well. 

Yesterday I laced up my walking shoes and walked down to the marsh because I knew it would tend to me in exactly the way I needed it to. The marsh, no matter the time of year, month or day soothes the soul in the way it needs soothing. What a gift of a sunset it was too.. The three mile walk felt as if I was chasing the sun as I followed it along the path and watched it sink below the horizon just beyond the water.  My sense of peace and balance returned.

 I urge you, even if you don't live near the beach or a marsh to get outdoors, leave your worries at home and get yourself out into nature!. Look around. Take notice. Pay attention to what you see. There is an endlessly magical world out there waiting to be discovered. 

Still Tending and Titcomb's Bookshop

I am deeply grateful for continued daily walks on the marsh. The red wing black birds and osprey have returned. I saw two egrets on my walk today. I took this photo of an egret last season but wanted to share with you here. Marsh walks have been a deeply valuable gift in my life. The world can feel hurtful and harsh at times. Nature in contrast can be so healing and rewarding. Now that spring has arrived be sure to get outside and enjoy it today.

I have been invited to read from my new work "Tending the Marsh" at Titcomb's bookshop on Route 6A in Sandwich tomorrow.  I know a couple of friends have said they are coming and my daughter is driving down from Boston for the event as well. Hope to see you there. It is also an Open Mic event so I will read briefly and then open up the event for others to read.

Tending the Marsh is now available

My new book "Tending the Marsh" is now available for purchase. I am so grateful to so many for the love and support in its completion.  Please visit Amazon to order a copy or visit me at local and upcoming events where I will have copies of the book. 

Advance Praise for Tending the Marsh by Linda Maria Steele

 "In Linda Steele's new book of verse she observes nature to get outside of herself through a lens of marshes, hawks, and even a pedestrian mouse. She is a walker, and like in Alfred Kazin's memoir "A Walker in the City," her travels give vivid insights to the reader, as she takes a slow gait along her well- trodden path." 

Doug Holder/ Lecturer in Creative Writing Endicott College/Publisher of Ibbetson Street Press

“Reading Tending the Marsh felt as if an angel had silently brushed past me, whispering words of hope and love and joy.  The poems are an invitation to open one's eyes and take in all the extraordinary beauty in the natural world.”

Jamie Cat Callan/author of “Parisian Charm School”

“Eloquent, moving and soul-stirring, each poem from Tending the Marsh is like a beautiful, unique seashell. This collection is a gem; delight in its treasures.”

 Renee Peterson Trudeau, speaker/author, “Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Find Peace & Harmony in Everyday Life.”

“In Tending the Marsh, Steele’s eloquent words beckon us to journey through the marsh with her as she shares the pain and the joys of her passage towards a new and meaningful normal. Her introspective poems give us a peek into her life while giving us space to reflect on our own transitions, challenges, and triumphs.”

Trisha Faye, publisher of the anthologies In Celebration of Mothers, In Celebration of Sisters, and Mothers of Angels

baby birds & a poem

 Look at this precious mourning dove who decided to lay two eggs in a pot on my deck. She seems very comfortable here as she is in a spot we pass regularly.

It makes me so happy that signs of Spring are everywhere in my yard and out in the marsh. It was a long winter!

 I've been working on writing, revising and gathering my poems for the upcoming poetry workshop I was invited to in June with Marge Piercy in Wellfleet and I am reminded of a poem I wrote a few years ago called "baby birds" that was published in "In Celebration of Mothers" an Anthology.

 I felt inspired to write the poem when my own 'baby birds'-- my son Nathan and my daughter Bella first went away to College.

                                                  baby birds

 by Linda Maria Steele

Today I watch over the birds in the marsh as if

they’re my own.

Give them wings,

so they can fly,

they say.

What they won’t say

is how much

You won’t want to let them go.

How much your soul will ache

for them to

return home.

What remains is the coming and going of the geese, spotted hawk

and egrets on the path.

Instead of worrying about my own

flying away safely,

I wonder if I’ll see the heron today instead.

Has the swan egg hatched?

Is that the song of a baby black bird?

I see the Osprey flying

over its nest.

When my children were young

I told them

Watch for cars.

Wash behind your ears.

Be home on time.

Eat right.

In their absence an emptiness fills my heart.

My love for them needs a place to land,

with an eagle eye I pay close attention

to the birds that welcome me to the marsh.

There’s relief in seeing

the heron return after

the long harsh winter.

Barely visible out on the edge of the water

I spot a newly born heron.

And I know all is well.

Feeling Inspired

A sneak peek at my recent photo adventures around town.

The sun this morning has me feeling inspired for the Spring and Summer season.
I will have my  photographs on view thanks to the Sandwich Arts Alliance at the Pilot House Restaurant in May and at Fisherman's View Restaurant in September. They are both fabulous and fun places to grab a bite to eat and enjoy the water too. Be sure to stop in soon!

What are you feeling inspired by lately?

Starry Night Revisited

  

A sneak peek at two works I am in the process of creating for an upcoming exhibit called Fakes and Facsimiles at Falmouth Art Center. The exhibit is an invitation to create and revision existing works in a newly inspired or reimagined way.

When I originally saw the call to enter I wasn't sure I had anything in mind or ready to show.

Then recently when I was doing a bit of Pre-spring cleaning I came across a text-book I used when I taught Introduction to the Humanities years ago at Richland College and Collin County Community College and when I flipped through the pages and came across these works I had an idea! 

I drove to Staples in town to make a color copy of each and then came home to Collage and frame them into a revised interpretation. I chose a very cool blue paint for the back ground of "Starry Night" and a shiny metallic silver paint for the background of the second one.

Can you guess what the second one is a revision of?  

There will be a reception for the show on Friday April 6, from 5-7 at the Falmouth Art Center on Gifford Street in Falmouth. Stop in to see them for yourself. 

Daily Walks & Getting Creative

"Creativity is really the structuring of magic." - Ann Kent Rush


     Marsh walks over the past year have inspired so much creativity in my daily life. I'm feeling excited (and finding the courage) to get more of my work out there. I took the image above from the Shining Sea Bike path around dusk at the Great Sippewissett Marsh.

    In April, I will have two mixed media art pieces  in a show at the Sandwich Library and two other mixed media art pieces in a show at Sandwich Town Hall.

     So excited and grateful to share them with the community. I'm still writing (working on a poetry collection and have freelance writing assignments) although making art and taking photographs lends itself to a certain kind of magic that inspires me. Besides, making more art gives me more to write about.

Please check back soon to see images of recent art work. And I'd love to hear about what creative adventures you are embarking on.