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Debut Poetry Collection: Watershed

Rae SpencerLeave a comment

I’m delighted to announce that my first poetry collection, Watershed (Kelsay Books), has been released in paperback and Kindle ebook formats. The paperback ($20/US) is available through the Kelsay Books website (here) or through Amazon (here), while the Kindle ebook ($9.99/US) is available through Amazon (here). (For more details, I’ve created a permanent page for Watershed here.)

Watershed front cover: a pale sunset image of clouds and sky over a pool of water, which reflects the clouds and sky, surrounded by seagrasses and shrubs. Text on the cover reads: Watershed, poems, Rae Spencer.

The poems in Watershed are mostly autobiography, written within my nostalgia for the landscapes of Tennessee, my journey into Virginia’s coastal landscapes, and my tenuous understandings of how “growing up” changes my gaze.

Photograph of a chickadee fledgling perched on our deteriorating fence. The young chickadee is shedding downy nestling feathers, while the fence’s aged wood is cracked and weathered.

As I pondered this post, how to introduce my debut collection, I finally grasped the word connection between debut and debutante. How ridiculous to contrast myself–middle-age, married, and profoundly awkward–against the idealized debutantes of historical romances.

Photograph of my reflection in a window. My face is hidden by the camera I used to capture the image. My graying hair is shoulder-length in tangled layers. I’m wearing a sleeveless shirt, so the tattoos on my hands and arms are visible–an ink collection of flora and fauna.

And yet, here I am, a debut author sending my first poetry collection into the world. I’ve loved every minute of the process, from the writing to the planning to the organizing to the submission to the rounds of editing after acceptance, all the way through this final phase of setting up author pages and posting announcements. I suppose all of this means that I’m finding my way.

Photograph of a brown thrasher fledgling hiding in a nook between a planter and our fence. The little fledgling is brown-and-tan-striped with the exaggerated beak, forehead, and eyes that render baby birds endearingly cute.

Finding my way to where?

To here, for now. To exactly where I am.

Photograph of an osprey passing overhead with a large fish grasped in its talons. The osprey’s muscular wings are fully extended, long tan-striped primary feathers spread at the tips, and its sharp beak and eyes are turned toward some unseen destination.
Photograph of a blue jay in the process of taking flight from the top of our wooden fence. The blue jay’s wings are extended, tiny black feet stretched into its launch. The bird is carrying in its beak a peanut, selected from a small pile of peanuts we left on the fence.

To a small yard in a sprawling suburb, somewhere in the middle of life’s extremes, poised between the lush luxuries of nostalgia and hope. There’s always something precarious on the horizon, but, for today, I’m here.

Photograph of a hummingbird perched on a woody vine of honeysuckle. There are no honeysuckle blooms in frame, so everything is green and brown, including the hummingbird’s feathers.

The following links lead to articles, essays, and posts that are more important and more interesting than my debut poetry collection:

Spring is in the Air (and in the Ground)

Rae Spencer3 Comments

Fly April 10

When the pear tree’s pollinators finally arrived, they arrived in encouraging numbers. Hoverflies were the first wave, pretending to be bees.

Fly April 10

Fly April 10

A wave of true bees followed.

Bee April 10

Bee April 10

Happily, a few Question Mark butterflies drifted in near the end.

Question Mark April 10

Question Mark April 10

While the pear blooms lasted, the yard’s winter flock of yellow-rumped warblers divided their time between sipping nectar, foraging for insects, and sampling the last block of winter suet.

Warbler April 11

Warbler April 11

(As an aside, I spotted the following warbler yesterday and was confused by its complete lack of yellow feathers. I believe it is a yellow-rumped warbler, but I’ve never seen one that didn’t have at least a blush of yellow under its wings. Please comment if you can correct or confirm my identification!)

Warbler April 22

As the pear tree dropped its petals, we readied the yard for summer. We replaced damaged boards on the aging deck, uncovered the ginger lilies, and swept leaves out of the cactus bed. (The carpenter bees ignored us and concentrated on chasing each other. They also chased warblers, chickadees, crane flies, hoverflies, beetles, bees, leaves, dandelion fluff, and pear petals.)

Bee April 22

The garden stores aren’t fully stocked yet, but we found most of the plants on our list: dill, fennel, milkweed, columbine, annual lantana, snapdragons, salvia, and cosmos.

Flowers April 22

Yesterday, this American Painted Lady butterfly made me wish we had planted more cosmos. (The yard’s 2015 butterfly sightings, so far, are a major improvement over last year’s butterfly drought, but they don’t begin to equal 2012’s impressive migration.)

Butterfly April 22

The yard’s birds have been getting ready for summer, too. This little house wren doesn’t have a mate yet, but he clearly has a favorite house.

House Wren April 21

House Wren April 21

A pair of robins finished their nest last week and now spend most of their hours foraging.

Robin April 22

Robin April 22

(I am amazed by how many worms they find and eat each day.)

Robin April 22

The robins aren’t the only efficient foragers in our area. A pair of osprey make regular passes over the yard, carrying fish. Yesterday I caught a few frames as one of the pair nearly dropped its lunch on the deck.

Osprey April 22

After a brief struggle, which lasted no more than two wingbeats, the osprey managed to subdue its lunch and flew on. What would happen if the fish managed to break free? Would the osprey land on my deck and reclaim its catch? (I’d probably drop my camera and break it, leaving me with no proof of why I dropped it…)

Over the years I’ve found many surprising things in the yard, but never a fish. Perhaps this summer?

Osprey April 22

Except, it’s not summer yet. Today the windows are closed against a surge of chill that moved in overnight and is forecasted to last through the next few days. Mother would have called it dogwood winter, expecting the dogwoods to bloom after the chill passed. Or blackberry winter, if the blackberries were due to bloom. I’m content to call it the end of winter.

Hawk April 18

Spring Gains Momentum

Rae Spencer9 Comments

Flower April 10

The yard overslept this year and still seems a bit sluggish. Even so, every day brings new manifestations of spring.

Bee April 10

Butterfly April 8

Wednesday was so warm that the flowers wilted mid-day. As sunset neared, the irises and roses wanted watering, so I turned on the hose and started working my way through the beds. Before long, I had company.

Duck April 10

I carried the hose to an area of the yard where water ponds easily and made them a nice puddle. They stayed until the water completely dried up, though the female duck enjoyed her visit more than the male.

Duck April 10

He spent most of the time keeping watch, muttering quiet complaints as she explored the puddle.

Duck April 10

Every year I find myself hoping the ducks will nest in one of our iris beds, but they never do. They prefer our neighbor’s azalea bed, and a quick glance at the sky shows why.

Osprey April 10

I doubt the osprey would bother a nesting duck, but I can’t blame the ducks for seeking denser cover. Perhaps I should go azalea shopping, this weekend…

Spring Birds and a Basking Snake (Ophidiophobia Alert!)

Rae Spencer13 Comments

Our weather took a definite turn toward spring today. A combination of warmer temperatures and cloudless skies created the perfect conditions for a stroll with friends at First Landing State Park.

Osprey April 7

The osprey have returned to the park in force. They wheel and soar over the marshes and beaches, voicing high-pitched challenges as they claim their summer territories. Their massive nests dominate the scenery, but there are plenty of other birds to see, as well.

Ducks April 7

Ducks April 7

These ducks were not alone in the water, but I spent too long trying to line up the “perfect shot” of a loon, so missed it altogether.

Loon April 7

Further along the trail, we saw a pair of brown-headed nuthatches hopping in and out of a nest cavity. One of them stayed in the nest most of the time we were watching, but the other seemed less convinced.

Nuthatch April 7

Nuthatch April 7

They spent a great deal of time calling back and forth, one in the nest and the other on a nearby branch, almost as if they were discussing their options.

Nuthatch April 7

Nuthatch April 7

Nuthatch April 7

It seemed to me as if the nest was going to win.

Nuthatch April 7

After my friends left the park, I wandered a bit further in search of a woodpecker that I had heard calling in the distance. I never found the woodpecker, but I did find a lovely snake basking in the sun.

Snake April 7

Snake April 7

I wonder if the snake feels like I do tonight, peaceful and content, happy that spring has arrived at last.

A Slow Start to Spring

Rae Spencer9 Comments

Pear Tree March 30

Today was finally warm enough to feel like spring. Add in an entire afternoon of bright sunshine, and it was a beautiful day in the yard.

Iris March 30

Speedwell March 30

Osprey March 30

Robins March 30

Rabbit March 30

As much as I enjoyed my afternoon in the yard, I couldn’t help comparing it to last year’s spring, which was both warmer and earlier than this year’s season. By the end of March last year, the pear tree was fully in bloom and the yard was full of bees. This year, the pear tree is only beginning to bloom and I haven’t seen a single bee.

Pear Tree March 30

Last year, all threats of frost were past. In fact, there were days that felt like summer. The tulips were blooming and spiderlings were hatching. This year I’m afraid to uncover the ginger lilies, because it seems likely we will see more frost, and the tulips are just getting started.

Tulip March 30

I wonder if our delayed spring will spill over into a delayed summer, or if summer will simply storm in right on the heels of winter.