The world was late today. I don’t know. I was late. But I wasn’t expecting the world to also be late. I had hoped for a leisurely ride in on mi bicicleta. Instead there were cars everywhere. An automotive horror show. Maybe it was the rain. Rain slows the world to a crawl. Like slow motion, creeping and crawling. Not me, though. I was pedaling quite rapidly, in fact. Bike commuting reminds me I am alive. Otherwise I might think I was a walking corpse. Or a dancing one. I’m skipping a meeting this morning. I don’t care. It empowers me. Robert Walser would skip it. Walser wouldn’t still be here seven years later, though. Walser wouldn’t have made it seven months. Seven weeks, maybe. More likely seven days. He’d be in his attic room writing his soul out on shreds of borrowed paper with a stolen pen. Oh, where is the rain crow. He migrated long ago. Now who will tell us when it is about to rain. I felt the cold rain on my face and knew I was alive. No more alive than last month or last week or yesterday, but alive nonetheless. 2013 dreams have been vivid so far. It’s like there is an arthouse revival series going on in my dream life. I’m liking it. There’s nothing else to report, I’m afraid. Raining, check. Biking, check. Reading Walser, check. No more rain crow, check. Not a corpse, check. Alive, check.
All posts in category birds that make me feel better
late rain world
Posted by sean on January 15, 2013
https://sd-stewart.com/2013/01/15/late-rain-world/
corn crake
Drawing of the Corncrake from Naumann, Natural History of Birds in Central Europe, Volume VII, Table 15 – published 1899
I want to see a Corncrake (Crex crex), also known as Corn Crake. I think I prefer the two word spelling, but I’m not sure yet. In this post I will test out both. We don’t have Corn Crakes here in the U.S. Last year someone claimed to have seen one in Maryland, but it was never verified. Seems unlikely…that would be extreme vagrancy. Corncrakes are in the rail family, a group of secretive mostly marsh-dwelling birds known for mystical practices like turning sideways and disappearing. One Maryland birder reported seeing a rail literally walk through a fence. Unlike other rails, though, corncrakes live on dry land. They prefer grasslands, especially hayfields. Corn Crakes, like most rails, are notoriously difficult to spot. The corn crake was also a threatened species for some time due to changes in mowing practices and loss of habitat. Numbers remain low in western Europe; however, increased monitoring determined that due to its expansive range, the species is actually not in any immediate danger of disappearing.
I’ll admit that the only reason I really want to see a Corncrake is because I love its name. And frankly speaking, I really don’t care if I get to see one or not. I’m just glad it’s out there doing its things. Corn Crake may just be my favorite name of any bird in the world that I know of. I also like Wood Stork, but I’ll save that for another day. Corncrake makes me think of autumn. Sometimes when I am sad I just think Corn Crake and I feel better. Corn Crake. Corn Crake. Corn Crake. Corn Crake. Corncrake. Sometimes it’s like that and it doesn’t take much. Other times a bit more. What can you do. Oh, whatever can you do. Not much other than think about Corncrake and hope for safe passage to the other side.
Posted by sean on September 18, 2012
https://sd-stewart.com/2012/09/18/corn-crake/
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