Chris Ulshafer Hears The Call of the Wild

Focusing His Lens on Birds

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

When Chris Ulshafer introduces himself, he’s likely to say, “Hi, my name is Chris, and I’m a bird man.” Outside his home in Bear, Delaware, near Chesapeake Bay, there’s a whole world of wildlife putting on a show for his camera. Especially the birds.

From the ospreys, who he has even given names – Bonnie and Clyde, Boris and Natasha, Sonny and Cher – to Bald Eagles, blue herons, finches, wrens, vultures and more.

Now that he’s retired, Ulshafer – a former Eagle Scout and Boy Scout camp counselor – has time to pursue his outdoor interests, monitoring the birds’ comings-and-goings at nearby Locust Point, which is a haven for wildlife.

Ulshafer has come to know the ospreys, in particular, and keeps his telephoto lens trained on the new eggs and chicks in the various pairs’ nests, watching as the parents bring back food and teach their young to fly.

There’s lots to look at, too, since Chesapeake Bay is home to one of the largest concentrations of nesting ospreys in the world.

A volunteer and “resident scientist” for Cornell University’s School of Ornithology, Ulshafer works with the Audubon Society to collect data that helps to track and measure the birds’ habitats and migratory patterns.

“It puts me in my car on dirt roads where the osprey nests are,” says Ulshafer, who adds that the assignment’s “worked out quite well to relieve retirement boredom.”

In addition to the birds, Ulshafer sees other things that get his attention, including wandering turtles, butterflies…

And this horse named Bubba, who always comes to the fence to say “Hello.”

Ulshafer, who grew up in Southern California and went to Culver City High School with SurfWriter Girl Patti, has adapted well to his East Coast home and he and his wife Jan enjoy the natural world around them – or, as he calls it, “my outback.”

Whether it’s from the deck of his house or on the trails of the state park steps away, Chris Ulshafer has his camera in hand and is on the lookout for his wildlife neighbors.

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

SurfWriter Girls

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Rumi – The Spinning Sage

A Poet – Philosopher for All Time

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

At an uncertain time like now, the writings and wisdom of the 13th Century Persian poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī are more needed than ever.

Known more simply as Rumi, this learned individual was a man of many talents – a poet, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic (whirling dervish) – who left the world a beautiful legacy of poetry and wisdom for the ages.

Revered for both his insights and humility, Rumi thought that it was important to look inward before we can hope to change things around us. He said, “Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to save the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

Rumi also believed that intellectual matters of the mind often stemmed from questions and feelings of the heart. He observed, “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

The underlying theme of most of his poems and writings is the need for love and its ability to transform us and our relationships…if we will only let it.

Hoping to bring people together in harmony, Rumi was opposed to violence and discord.

One of the most translated, quoted and enjoyed writers of all time, Rumi’s books sell millions of copies each year.

He spent most of his life in the Sultanate of Rum, the center of Persian Society, in what is now Turkey.

Rumi, who became a whirling dervish, believed that poetry, music, and dance could be combined as a path for reaching God. In Rumi’s honor, the Malevi Order of Whirling Dervishes was founded in 1273 after his death to perform the rhythmic, spinning dance called the Sufi.

Dazzling to see, dervishes can often spin for several minutes at speeds up to one revolution per second.

Whether writing, teaching, or spinning Rumi never forgot the importance of love, noting that it is there “in the silence of love you will find the spark of life.”

Surf’n Beach Scene Magazine

SurfWriter Girls

Please post your comment below. Comments will appear the next day.

Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.