In the cypress swamp the approach of Spring promises renewal of life and spirit, warming air and water, nesting birds, and budding trees and flowers; all creatures wait in anticipation of rejuvenation. The little blue heron stalks along lapping wavelets, watching… for careless minnows or frogs, its feathers ruffled by the southerly breeze. It is s good time to be alive.
a fresh breeze carries
Al Gallia
the smell of bedding fish…
nesting egrets
Nothing is more peaceful in the summer than a cypress swamp in the dead heat of day. The stillness is broken only by cicadas harmonizing, peepers chirping, and occasional egrets calling. Nature’s pungent perfume wafts on a random light breeze that gently moves a few lily pads. Sweat drips from my brow onto my camera. I love it! okay
in the duckweed
a gator’s eye twitches…
foraging wood ducks
©️Al W Gallia 2021
Thank you, Lord, for this moment of your peace in our troubled world.
The streets in one of my favorite walkabout areas, a business and professional community called the Oil Center, are lined with upscale cafes and shops. I never know what or who I might see while roaming the landscaped sidewalks. Celebrities often visit too and and don’t hesitate to greet common folk like me!
storefront window…
smiling through the glass
familiar faces
© Al Gallia 2019
One of my greatest joys is wandering along trails in Louisiana’s swamps and woodlands, always with my camera and hiking stick in hand. Meandering and communing with God amidst nature’s solitude and beauty almost always brings my soul the peace, quiet and happiness it seeks. It is winter now and, after several frosts, the deciduous trees and shrubs have shed most of their leaves. A fresh north wind carries the scent of a campfire as it swirls the dry leaves. A single leaf struggles to hold fast to a cypress branch…
a dead leaf
hanging from the bare cypress…
gusting wind
Al Gallia
Searching for Serendipity 