Dragonfly Dance of Freedom
...one morning's impressions from a unique observation platform over the floodplain found in the back channel of island number 35...
...a compression of impressions from a unique platform over the Lower Miss River floodplain, found deep within the back channel of Island 35, near Wilson, Arkansas...
...snapshots experiences with creation...
From Artist's Notebook
Sat July 29, 2023, Island 35
John Ruskey
two raccoons foraging upstream towards bridge
Danny and I watch, pencil in hand, camera cocked
digging in the wet mud along the slow trickle drainage remainder
great egret soars overhead
woodpeckers in woods
wrens calling, pileated screams
cicadas warming up
the sun climbs higher
dizzying dragonfly flashes of freedom
young beaver appeared three times below us
grabbing mouthfuls of tender grasses
fresh harvested from a squat mid channel muddy dune
and disappeared under duckweed waters
bumping pieces of floating driftwood
air bubbles pop upwards
for what purpose? we know not
maybe padding protected nest
under the wild piles of logs and debris accumulated here
a bullfrog weakly grunts from time to time
grrrrrr-uhhhh! grrrrrr-uhhhh! grrrrrr-uhhhh!
a pair of green herons awkwardly fly over
messy landings in the dead willow and dying cottonwood tree
masses of barren branches
the train bellows in the distance
green heron sharp emphatic scratchy screeching
screech! screech! screech!
Mississippi kite passes over
silently & elegantly twisting its tail side-to-side
creation exhibits itself
with fleeting glimpses
snapshots
you would miss
if you looked away one minute
what you saw
what your ears heard
your nose sniffed
your tongue tasted
your seventh sense radar registered
mysterious motions in the muddy water
a dead fish, severely decomposed on one side of bridge
a white and green something
(maybe a watermelon rind?) on the other
a single wild hibiscus blossom
peeping brilliant white through the dark green
dark balls of fur appear
then disappear
in and out of the grasses
what are they?
we know not
dragonflies dancing
a few fiery bright red ball blooms of the butterfly bush
glow like beacons out of the surrounding variegated green-ness
the circular back-and-forth stampede
of shining copper gold dragonflies
has begun where are the warming sun
exposes the west side of the bridge
no doubt awakens the swarming prey
the dragonflies feast upon
I crossed the railroad track at sunrise
eagerly eyeing the tawny pastel light
over the Osceola stretch of river
the travesty of cranes
roaring machines
concrete & steel
coal & propane
the belching insatiable greedy appetite of steel & coal power
the endless north to south freight trains
drinking the life blood of mother Earth like wine
I stood as still as a stick
standing stick still
on blazing shining tracks
rounding corner converging parallel lines
a fleet-footed fox darted out of the cotton field
and almost crossed at my feet
a last minute jerk of animal survival attention
yanked him off my path not 10 feet away
he sprinted by down the tracks
south towards the grain elevators
running the race of survival in a deranged world
the sun climbed up the water tower
and through the giant cypress, cottonwood and oak trees
and then up the stop sign
the power pole
the church
steeple
the railroad crossing sign
I was suddenly struck
a fresh vision of the crossroads
in the water way
how goods are valued
the crush of creation underneath
the heavy weight of it all. Spiral.Artist’s Sketchbook: sharing intimate details from experiences, impressions, visions, hallucinations: 
Roadkill: John James Audubon shot & mounted many of his subjects that were immortalized in his famous paintings. I use roadkill. Modern day artists need not look any further than the carnage of our roadways. 
Beavers: ever present wetlands engineers of the Lower Mississippi River Valley, gentle sociable creatures who create habitat for the entire biota
Farm Animals: I spent some time with friends at nearby Birdeye Farm
Wilson Fellows: I am artist-in-residence during 2023 with Danny Broadway, Thad Lee and Claire Hardy. We're having fun finding creative pathways within Wilson, an otherworldly intentional community in the middle of the Arkansas Delta, an island of peace, a garden of Eden. Visit Wilson for good food, gardens galore, great schools, cultural activities & events, a swanky micro-hotel, and a unique archeological museum in town square. Artwork displayed in loft gallery inside The Grange. Wilson sits just over the big river levee behind Island 35 and the 2nd Chickasaw Bluff, on blues highway 61, between Marion (Sultana Museum) and Osceola (Son Seals, Albert King). This is one of my favorite stretches of river. And one of the most spectacular. The four Chickasaw Bluffs leading into Memphis. Note: Wilson Fellows will be highlighted in a group exhibition at Dixon Gallery & Gardens, Memphis, July 14 – September 29, 2024.
Lower Mississippi River Dispatch No. 914 "Voice of the Lower Mississippi River" Memphis, TN ~ Helena, AR ~ Clarksdale, MS ~ Vicksburg, MS photos & text (c) 2023 John Ruskey except where otherwise noted
Nice!!!