​Ray Zimmerman is pleased announce a book signing for his new poetry and photography chap book Healing and Conflict:
Saturday, November 24
1 PM to 3 PM
Star Line Books
1467 Market Street, Suite 106
www.starlinebooks.com 
(423) 777-5629
 
This will be a second chance for those who missed the book launch earlier this month (photos attached).
 
More than half of the poems are previously published in journals, including:
 
The Avocet (Fountain Hills, AZ)
Number One (Gallatin, TN)
Quill and Parchment (Online)
Weatherings Anthology (FutureCycle Press, Lexington, KY)
 
Terrence Chouinard of The Wing and the Wheel Press contributed the perfect typography and design skills to this collection. The local Chattanooga printing company Wonder Press did an excellent job with production. The author will assume primary distribution at readings, signings and open mic events. The book is locally written and locally printed.
 
Fellow poets had this to say about the advance copy:
 
Ray Zimmerman’s collection of poems Healing and Conflict invites the reader outside: “go and watch/rain falling on parched earth. /see it come back to life.” His words, like that rain, are transformative to those who look and listen. Trees burn with ice, water cascades, booming, against mountain hardwoods. Most memorable are the birds. Warblers, hawks, barred owls, chickadees, and cranes provide this book’s unifying motif, and a delightful surprise, when the reader joins a flock of blackbirds in flight.
Marsha Mathews,
Author of Beauty Bound        
 
“I have come to understand / that my poems are not poems…but the poetics of the earth” (“Intro Part I”). Ray Zimmerman explores nature through language and language through nature. With images and similes like “The winter snow arrived like a sonnet. / It reached the house in three waves, / capped by a couplet of ice” (“Winter Snow”), the reader becomes immersed in Zimmerman’s vivid landscape, both verbal and actual. Though he claims, “My poems are shadows on the wall” (“Intro Part II”), Zimmerman’s words intrigue the reader as she delves into the subtext of these poems, and they continue to haunt her long after the book is closed.
KB Ballentine
Almost Everything, Almost Nothing
 
In “Introduction, Part II, Zimmerman says “If you enjoy my poem about falling rain or about cranes in flight…go and watch rain falling on parched earth…listen to cranes trumpeting as they take to the air.” In Healing, these poems not only have a prayerful devotion to the natural world but use specific names, images and Zimmerman’s hard-won humor from handling hawks, eagles and owls. In Conflict, he reminds us of the massive plastic islands humans have left floating in the oceans, of trends of certain species’ depletions. Yet, this chapbook is a celebration of birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals, of seasons and landscapes of planet earth, narrated with sensory details and a deeply personal voice.
--Bill Brown, The News Inside
 

​February: Eyeshine
 
A warm winter night sent me down the road with car windows open. My body told my mind that anything could happen. The mountain road was lonely enough to break your heart … or fill it to overflowing.
The green shine of an eye rose on the road, perhaps the eye of a deer. As I hit the brakes a much smaller creature appeared. A fox ran off the road and into the bushes below.
I exited the car and walked to the side of the road, but the fox was gone. I turned to walk back and glimpsed fur on the roadside. Three young foxes lay on the berm. I could have tapped them with a toe but did not.
Instinct told them, “don’t move if you want to live.” They lay as flat to the ground as possible. Their eyes were paradoxically rolled up to the top of their heads, fixed on me, the large predatory threat above. In this pose they looked as though a cartoon artist had drawn them there, among the sparse roadside vegetation in the light of a half moon.
Their fur looked coarse with the guard hairs which protect wild creatures from briars and catch snow natures insulation for the body beneath. Under the guard hairs, the short fur next to the body would be soft as a duckling’s down, warm to the touch.
I did not try to touch the three. Foxes can give a painful bite and are known to carry disease, including rabies, but there was more to it than that. Seeing them here in the light of a half moon was a rare gift of nature, whom I have called my muse. I would intrude into their world no further.
Caught up in the magic of that moment, I nearly jumped when a fast-moving shape cut through the brush below; crashing through the woods as if it were a bear or a human. When I looked back down, the three were gone, following an adult fox to safety.
I have since pondered that distraction. Foxes can move silently. Why did the adult fox crash so noisily through the underbrush? It had to be an intentional distraction. It got me to look away as the three escaped. I was sure that these three would safely reach adulthood, though they certainly are gone by now, more than twenty years later.
 
For further reading:
Sally Carrigher gave close views of wild creatures in her books, including One day at Beetle Rock, The Twilight Seas, One day at Teton Marsh, and several others.
 
For the Reader:
Describe your own close encounter with a wild creature.

​Eye of the Beholder

​I rode in on the dirty dog, as they call the Greyhound bus, Ohio farm dirt still in my hair. At least I had the sense to clean the cow shit off my boots.

Then I briefly lost my luggage, or so I thought, standing there in the Port Authority of New York. They could call me any name in the book, or even a few that weren’t, but I was stubborn and would not get on that local to London, Connecticut, until I saw my duffle bag stuffed into the compartment underneath the bus.

Despite reassurances that my luggage would catch up with me, I remained steadfast until a man appeared driving the world’s smallest tractor. He pulled behind him a string of small carts with my duffle bag standing up in the first one. He just shook his head as he loaded it into the luggage compartment.

“Sit up front, son,” the driver said. “There aren’t that many passengers on Sunday Morning, not even at port authority. Keep your eyes peeled and I will show you one of the sights not on the official tour.” With those words, he backed the bus out and exited the bowels of that building through a grimy archway.

Born onto that city street, I shielded my eyes from the light and looked to my left.  There they were, lined up as they must often beat the precinct. Number three, take one step forward and turn left.

The driver turned his speaker system to public address and said, “Good morning, ladies.” One of them smiled and waved, as the others glared. “They think I’m bad for business,” he said.

​They were prettier than I would have expected, dressed in hot pants and leg warmers with the temperature not twenty degrees out. Now that’s dedication.
 
Commentary
The story is a performance piece, based on, but exaggerating actual events My writings identify me as a person most at home in the woods, but I have come to appreciate urban environments and realize that even the cityscapes are part of nature, what is sometimes called the “built environment.” Trees grow out of walls, nighthawks circle parking lots hunting insects, and migrating cranes sometimes circle downtown Chattanooga on their way to Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. The book, Coming of Age at the End of Nature, with introduction by Bill McKibben and including essays by members of the millennial generation, addresses coming to peace with nature impacted by human activity.
 
For the Reader:
How do you respond to urban environments?
Where is wilderness in your world?
Do you see nature as ending or enduring? 

​Introduction
 
I am writing a series of blog posts which may become a short book of daily meditations on the natural world. Some of these entries began as short articles published in newsletters and periodicals. Some began as performance pieces read or recited to live audiences. In some cases, I learned the hard way how long is too long for a performance piece. I also learned that the tolerance for lengthy pieces varies from one audience to another in sometimes unpredictable ways.

Some of the pieces were written as short essays and combined for submission to journals as braided essays. Longer pieces are fine as essays, but do not work well as orations, so I have unwound a few essays into component parts to create the short meditations presented here and for use in performance art.

In most cases I have included citations to places where the reader can find more information. Use of these references is, of course, up to you, but I want your experience of the pieces to be as much about you, the reader, as it is about me, the author. I have also posed questions which you may view as a starting point for your own meditation, an opportunity for rebuttal, or questions to be ignored. A few people may view them as a writing prompt. Posting them on my blogs creates opportunities for reply.

 
Bull ’Gator’s Lament
 
What’s that man lookin’ at, down here in this cypress swamp, so thick with branches that the sun barely gets through? He’s lookin’ at me, Old Bull ’Gator, and I’m lookin’ at him.  Why don’t you come on over for dinner?

Speaking of dinner, you should have been here when I grabbed that turtle from his sunny spot over there by the water hyacinths. When I broke through to meat, those tourists thought a rifle shot had gone off. Fish, man, bird, or turtle, I get my dinner.

Sometimes, man eats us though. He’ll come down to this swamp and put a bullet in a ’gator’s brain. Those poachers don’t waste any time. They skin the ’gator out right here and cut up the tail meat for Cajun delight. The hide gets made into boots.

The poachers never got me though. Bigger ’gators missed their chance too. I had to be careful when I was young, because we been known to eat our own. But now, I’m king of this here swamp.

​Springtime is my favorite time of year, with Spanish Moss fluttering in the breeze, like curtains in an old mansion house. That’s when I get to bellowing. My bellows echo off the cypress trunks and all through the swamp. Those lady ’gator’s bellow right back. When one of them judges Old Bull fit, we spin like two demons in a whirlpool.

Pretty soon, she will be building a nest out of mud and sticks. When the eggs hatch that fierce old momma ’gator hears those young’uns grunting She gently pulls the nest apart and tenderly frees the baby ’gators. That’s when she won’t want Old Bull around, because we’ve been known to eat our own.
Maybe I’ll just wonder off and watch those fishing boats go by. Perhaps one of them will flip over. Man, fish bird or turtle, I get my dinner.

Look over yonder at those little ’gators sunning themselves on their momma’s snout. I believe one of them is a baby bull. He will have to grow some before he can be king of my swamp. 
 
Commentary:
Bull ’Gator’s Lament is a performance piece, generally well received by the audience. It was once much longer and is now shortened to a length that works better. I will continue to refine it as I present it at more venues. It is of course, pure fantasy. For a factual look an alligator’s habitat, read Everglades, River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglass
 
For the Reader:
Though nature is sometimes portrayed in the cuddly realm of soft bunny rabbits and downy goslings, predation is a day to day reality. Some animals are downright frightening. 
How to you perceive the natural world?
Is it a resource for the creation of wealth through extraction of such materials as timber and coal?
Is it a wilderness to be protected, or perhaps tamed?
Is it a place of solace and healing?
Is it a frightening place? 

​Healing and Conflict is my new chapbook featuring my poems and color photography. The color photographs of waterfalls and flowers reflect the healing power of nature Many of the poems are paired opposites on the same topic, one expressing conflict and the other expressing healing. The $12.00 price for the book reflects the cost of color printing. For this one event, participants will receive both a copy of the book and a spaghetti dinner for just $15.00. Ticketing will be available at the door.           

​Go to home page for further details. 
https://www.rayzimmermanauthor.com/​

​October Meeting, Tennessee Ornithological Society, Chattanooga Chapter
 
Ascension Lutheran Church 720 S Germantown Rd Thursday, October 11 5:30 p.m.  Executive Board 7:00 p.m.  Monthly Meeting Program:   For our October 11 meeting, O. J. Morgan will present a program on his birding trip last year to South Africa. O.J. is Headmaster of The Bright School. Some of you may not know O.J., but he joined our chapter of TOS about three years ago, has become an active birder, and encourages bird awareness and observing at his school. 
  
Thanks  Thanks to David Aborn for presenting an illustrated talk on birds of Argentina and bird banding in Argentina at our September meeting.  

 
Greenway farm is a large wooded park in Hixson, a part of Chattanooga north of the Tennessee River. It includes a dog park, walking trails, two canoe launches, fishing access, Chickamauga Quarry and a building available for meetings by Reservation, (423) 643-6311. Further information is available at:
 
http://www.chattanooga.gov/public-works/parks

Here is my story of a recent visit:
General Comments
The old cabin and the garden provided numerous photographic opportunities. I visited the canoe launch which provides creek access, Like the river, the creek was running high and muddy.
The old quarry proved very photogenic, with blue-green water and vertical rock faces. Sneezeweed (Helenium sp.) was prevalent along the path.  
I remember finding some interesting Paleozoic fossils here in past years, primarily Crinoids, Bryozoans, and Brachiopods. I would imagine that it is well picked over by now.
Species Noted
Goldfinch at gardens
Eastern Blue birds at gardens
5 Lined Skink at quarry http://srelherp.uga.edu/lizards/eumfas.htm 
​Unusual Stinkhorn Fungus

OK, maybe it is raining on the day you find this article, but when the weather turns suitable, consider a visit. Local readers are probably familiar with Chattanooga’s the eight-mile paved trail known as the Riverwalk, and particularly that section known as the Tennessee Riverpark, maintained by Hamilton County Parks and Recreation (http://parks.hamiltontn.gov/). The playground, fishing peers, boat launch, picnic tables, gear rentals, and grills are popular attractions. Families and organizations can reserve picnic shelters for large groups. The phone number for reservations is 423-493-9239.

Though I like the Tennessee Riverpark for group events and bicycling, I thoroughly enjoy two other areas along the Riverwalk. Bird watchers and other nature lovers will particularly enjoy Amnicola Marsh and the Chickamauga Dam area.

Amnicola Marsh is perhaps best known for the American Lotus which bloom and go to seed in late summer. The margins of the large open area are home to a variety of wetland plants, including buttonbush. The surrounding forest is a lowland second growth forest, parts of which occasionally flood. 
The open water inside the vegetated zone has numerous snags, dead trees and shrubs which provide perches for numerous birds. Great Blue Herons are usually abundant, and Green Herons are common. Other wading birds, shorebirds, and waterfowl are seasonally abundant. 

For those not familiar with the birds I name, I recommend viewing photos in a bird guide or on popular web pages, including that of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology https://www.allaboutbirds.org/ or the National Audubon society https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/wood-duck. 
 
During one particularly hot and dry summer, a juvenile Wood Stork made an appearance of several days. Great Egrets are numerous at times, and bird lists have included immature Little Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets.
 
Killdeer are known to nest here and it is a stopping place for Solitary Sandpipers and, on occasion, rarer shorebirds. 
 
The colorful Hooded Mergansers have appeared in winter. Other ducks are common. Mallards and Canada Geese appear year-round. Wood Ducks probably nest here. Gadwall, Green Wing Teal and Northern Shovelers are winter and spring residents.
 
The area immediately below Chickamauga Dam is also popular for bird watching and fishing. A sign installed by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation warns fishers to limit consumption of catfish caught in the river. Peregrine Falcons have been known to nest here. Gulls are abundant in winter, with occasional rarities.
 
Osprey nest in the area, and frequently fish below the dam. Bald Eagles appear occasionally. Nest boxes maintained by a corps of volunteers have yielded several clutches of Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallow. 
​