All Website Updates from UUSS

Hi, Folks, Today, without further comment, I’ll hope that this Snowy Egret portrait brings to you a sense of beauty and light from the American River Parkway. …

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Hi, Folks, I drifted in my kayak toward this flock of highly opinionated Double-crested Cormorants. They seemed willing to share their views, so I asked, “Do …

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Hi, Folks, Here’s a beaver on the Parkway, gently swimming, not fighting the conditions, keeping its nose above water. I’m hoping you’re also able to move …

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Hi, Folks, Here’s an endearing little Western Screech Owl.  It’s only about the size of a robin- not more than 10 inches tall, a little over …

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Hi, Folks, This lovely photograph of a Great Blue Heron, yellow wild iris and their reflections was recently made by Sharell Katibah alongside the American River. …

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Hi, Folks, I’ll let the photograph of the river below the bike bridge at William Pond Park speak for itself today, and hope that there’s pleasure …

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UUSS Tuesday Online Vespers, May 12, 2020 Reflection by Lindsay Mitchell, Worship Associate In 2008, the holy month of Ramadan began September first, only a few …

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Hi, Folks, I drifted downriver in my kayak toward these three Merganser sisters who had heard that some taverns and pubs in the surrounding counties were …

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Hi, Folks, Here’s a Green Heron, intently focused on what’s to come before it on the American River. While hunting, the heron pays rapt attention to …

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Read Tuesday Check-In

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Hi, Folks, Growing up as I did, almost always near salt water and sea-farers, I learned early the adage, “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight; red …

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Hi, Folks, While out on the Parkway, I recently came upon this American Crow, with what was left of a crawdad in its beak.  Except for …

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Read Congregational Meeting Packet for UUSS Members

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Hi, Folks, Calmness, stillness can give rise to wondrous reflections.  Here, I’ve stopped paddling the kayak and have remained motionless long enough for the slightest ripples …

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Hi, Folks, Here’s an interesting resident of the Parkway. Somewhat bigger than a crow, it’s a Black-crowned Night Heron, not so often seen in the daytime …

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Hi, Folks,   The adjective most often used to describe river otters seems likely to be “playful”.  To see a group of otters, or just a …

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Hi, Folks, Here, to go with the photograph today, are the first three stanzas of Mary Oliver’s poem,  “Heron Rises from The Dark, Summer Pond”: So …

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Hi, Folks, These deer companions in a spot of early morning sunlight on the Parkway are excellent practitioners of social distancing.  One more stroke of my …

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Hi, Folks, Sometime Soon? Two mergansers and an egret shared a gravel bar one day. “I’m going left as you go right!” I’m sure I heard …

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Hi, Folks, Does it seem like our world has, in some ways, been turned upside-down? “Hah! Big deal!” says this Acorn Woodpecker at the Effie Yeaw …

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Hi, Folks, This delicate looking Greater Yellowlegs is tougher than it appears.  I wouldn’t expect a bird, seemingly so fragile here on the Parkway, to be …

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Hi, Folks, A whole lot of “begatting” is happening on the Parkway as new generations of creatures are brought into existence this spring. Karen Tarp and …

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Hi, Folks, You’re in for an exciting moment along the American River Parkway if you’re able to watch an osprey spot a fish from high in …

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Hi, Folks, On seeing yesterday’s photograph of the snowy egret, Rich Howard asked if I’d tell the story of the driftwood on which the egret was …

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Hi, Folks, If you’ve seen one snowy egret, have you seen ‘em all? I hope not, and hope you don’t mind seeing another one here, or …

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Hi, Folks, For a little lightness, here’s an exchange I recently heard between a long billed curlew and a killdeer on the Parkway… The Curlew and …

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