Author Archives: cwheels62

About cwheels62

I’m Camille Wheeler, a veteran newspaper and magazine reporter and editor, a nature lover, a wanderer of mountain and desert roads, and a chaser of light. Since 2012, my writing research has been focused on the most exciting new frontier in light research: the exploration of the eye’s amazingly old and amazingly powerful nonvisual light-sensing system. I am a journalist and a layperson. My journey, like that of the scientists whose work I am following, is a never-ending process of discovery. And the findings don’t get any bigger than that of a new photoreceptor system in not just the human eye, but in the eyes of all mammals. This ancient system, officially discovered in 2002, performs a most important job: It detects the wavelengths of light that drive our biology and behavior through the resetting of the master 24-hour — the circadian — clock in the brain. The workings of this nonvisual system are shaping health and light research around the world, from long-duration space travel, to medical technology in hospital and healthcare settings, to lighting in professional sports stadiums, to comfort in our homes. I am particularly fascinated with the work of a flexible lighting design team, composed of neuroscientists and light and sleep researchers, which in collaboration with NASA is developing and testing an astronaut-friendly LED lighting system for the International Space Station. This highly sophisticated LED technology is designed to improve astronauts’ sleep, vision, safety and work performances. A talk I gave in August 2014 at the Better Lights for Better Nights Conference in Dripping Springs, Texas, focused on this groundbreaking research that holds huge implications for lighting applications on Earth. In the world of natural light, I am especially enamored with the light-seeking African dung beetle. A Swedish research team has discovered that on clear nights when there’s little to no moonlight, this dung beetle avails itself of another GPS device: the glowing disk of the Milky Way, composed of millions and millions of stars. This research, published in 2013, provides the first documented use of the Milky Way for orientation in the animal kingdom. But this isn’t solely a scientific and technological site. My blog title, “The Light of the Road,” also covers artistic and spiritual ground. I am mesmerized with the art of light as seen in the extraordinary work of contemporary light installation artist James Turrell and the pursuit of light and darkness via the genius of Vincent van Gogh. I am enthralled with the art of light in connection with the art of relationships: our relationships with each other, with the natural world and the animal kingdom, and how all forms of co-existence can be elevated through the application of light-filled love and compassion. I am enchanted with the nocturnal Eastern screech-owls that in the spring and summer live in a tree cavity in my urban backyard. As daylight fades, they perch on the cavity’s edge, waiting for the soft-light summons of dusk. (See my related Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine story at www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2015/may/LLL_owls.) A little bit more about me: I am an Austinite and native Texan who could live on hot sauce, jalapeños and brisket. My favorite spot on Earth is Big Bend National Park, where I hope to someday photograph a mountain lion in the wild. In my living room hang two framed photographs, both taken in far West Texas by one of my favorite photographers, Woody Welch (http://woodywelchphotography.com). One photo is of the Milky Way stretching up into the night, arching its back over McDonald Observatory high in the Davis Mountains. This photo accompanied my December 2010 Texas Co-op Power magazine cover story (www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/nature-outdoors/starstruck) that explored the quest to protect West Texas’ dark night skies — some of the darkest in the world — from rapidly increasing light pollution. The other photo is of a fleeting moment of light in Marathon, 70 miles north of Big Bend. It is twilight, immediately following a summer monsoon, and rain glistens on a train, its headlight on as it rolls through the tiny town. In the distance, the red, yellow and purple hues of sunset illuminate the contours of the Del Norte Mountains, the final rays of the day seemingly laid down in patterns of silk. Somewhere between these two scenes lies my relationship with light. It is to such a spiritual place that I hope to take readers — a destination of mystical, transformative light.

Boots-on-the-Ground Reporting

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Route drivers deliver The Rockdale Reporter every Wednesday within a 30-mile radius of the Central Texas town.

Route drivers deliver The Rockdale Reporter every Wednesday within a 30-mile radius of the Central Texas town.

In Rockdale, Texas, about an hour’s drive northeast of the state capital city Austin, the Cooke family has owned The Rockdale Reporter since June 1, 1911. This award-winning community newspaper, established in 1893, technically is a Thursday publication. My write-up about my trip to The Rockdale Reporter was featured in “Wednesday’s Headlines,” a new, and very smart, offering from Bob Ramsak, a reporter, photographer, and blogger at http://www.pirancafe.com:

Wednesday’s Headlines #3 – Small is Beautiful

The Rockdale Reporter — technically a Thursday publication for those subscribers who receive it by mail — is delivered for same-day readership every Wednesday in Central Texas.

The Rockdale Reporter — technically a Thursday publication for subscribers who receive it by mail — is delivered for same-day readership every Wednesday in Central Texas. To learn more about The Rockdale Reporter, and community newspapers in Texas, read my 2014 magazine story at www.texascooppower.com/texas-stories/life-arts/success-stories.

Every Wednesday, around noon, a truck delivers thousands of copies of The Rockdale Reporter straight to the newspaper building’s back door from nearby Bryan in Central Texas. Fresh off the presses of The Eagle newspaper in Bryan, where it is printed, The Rockdale Reporter is immediately readied for same-day delivery to a variety of locations within a 30-mile radius.

Production Manager Shannon Whorton whips through stacks of soon-to-be-mailed newspapers with the aid of an electric label dispenser.

Production Manager Shannon Whorton uses an electric label dispenser to prepare newspapers for mailing.

The Rockdale Reporter is prepared for mailing with the help of this Dispensa-Matic “U-45” labeler.

The Rockdale Reporter is prepared for mailing with the help of this Dispensa-Matic “U-45” labeler.

On Wednesday, January 20, 2016, a truck delivered 4,830 copies of The Rockdale Reporter to the newspaper. While Production Manager Shannon Whorton prepared 2,000 newspapers for mailing, labeling the papers with an electric dispenser and tossing them into plastic tubs that co-worker Cliff Dungan carried to a van, the rest of the newspapers were delivered by regular drivers for same-day readership.

Cliff Dungan, a printer, photographer, and fix-it man for The Rockdale Reporter, carries a tub of just-labeled newspapers to the newspaper’s van. Next stop: the post office next door.

Cliff Dungan, a printer, photographer, and fix-it man for The Rockdale Reporter, carries a tub of just-labeled newspapers to the newspaper’s van for delivery to the post office next door.

Dungan, who would eventually fill the newspaper van with almost 20 tubs, jokes that it takes more gas to start the van than it does to drive it to the loading dock of the post office next door.

But week after week, driven delivery to the post office is necessary: With a circulation of almost 5,000, The Rockdale Reporter is reaching a lot of readers throughout Central Texas. The newspaper’s staff boots-on-the-ground reporting gives readers the vibrant journalism so necessary for the health of any town or city.

So essentially — save for the 2,000 newspapers scheduled for Thursday mail delivery — The Rockdale Reporter is a Wednesday paper. Sure enough, about an hour after the delivery truck left, people were showing up at the newspaper’s front door, plunking coins into the old-fashioned newspaper rack and getting their weekly, Wednesday, journalism fix.

Eugene Lane, an 82-year-old Rockdale resident who has been reading The Rockdale Reporter for 40 years, grabs a newspaper hot off the press.

Eugene Lane, an 82-year-old Rockdale resident who has been reading The Rockdale Reporter for 40 years, grabs a newspaper hot off the press.

The Rockdale Reporter, established in 1893 and owned by the Cooke family since 1911, is one of Texas’ most successful community newspapers.

The Rockdale Reporter, established in 1893 and owned by the Cooke family since 1911, is one of Texas’ most successful community newspapers.

Kayaking is for the Birds

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Against the backdrop of downtown Austin, a Double-crested Cormorant tolerates my presence at Lou Neff Point on Lady Bird Lake.

Against the backdrop of the tall buildings of downtown Austin, a Double-crested Cormorant tolerates my presence at Lou Neff Point on Lady Bird Lake.

Every November, I start watching for the arrival of Double-crested Cormorants to Austin’s Lady Bird Lake. On the occasional stroll around the lake’s hike and bike trail, I thrill at seeing the cormorants dry their wings while perched high in bald cypress trees at the water’s edge. From a variety of vantage points along the trail, I love watching these big, athletic birds ride the small swells in the middle of the lake and then dramatically plunge beneath the surface.

When driving across any one of the lake’s bridges at dusk, I crane my neck, watching for the trademark, almost V-shaped formations of cormorants flying home for the night to their tall-tree roosts. The cormorants’ wings beat impossibly fast, as if the birds are competing in a race that can never be won.

I thanked this cormorant for giving me several different views.

From my kayak, I thanked this cormorant for giving me several different views at Lou Neff Point on Lady Bird Lake.

For me, the cormorants signal a solemn change of season; a time of reflection and pause. My heart plunges to a familiar melancholy depth when the first cormorants arrive. Strong swimmers, they survive by diving for fish. Otherworldly in appearance, the cormorants lend a prehistoric feel to Lady Bird Lake during their winter stay.

I recently tried photographing cormorants from the hike and bike trail. I was not successful. I realized I had to get closer: I had to get on the water, with the birds. So this past Friday, on January 15, I rented a kayak from the Texas Rowing Center on Lady Bird Lake, determined to sidle up beside cormorants and other birds and wildlife on the water.

Considering this was only my second time in a kayak (my timid maiden voyage came on a summer day several years ago at the Texas Rowing Center), I was nervous for me, and for anyone else on the water.

Grappling with my camera gear, worried about a bum knee, and horrified at the very real possibility of unceremoniously dunking myself in the lake, I slid on my butt from the wooden dock into my one-person kayak. To the stoically quiet employee who assisted me: Thank you for not laughing. At least not in front of me. Fortunately, save for a mother and daughter who pushed off in a double kayak from the Texas Rowing Center dock just moments after my departure, the late-morning lake was largely void of human activity.

The beautiful Bufflehead duck winters on Lady Bird Lake.

The beautiful Bufflehead duck winters on Lady Bird Lake.

The American Coot is a familiar sight on Lady Bird Lake.

The American Coot is a familiar sight on Lady Bird Lake.

More than two hours later, riding the calm lake alongside cormorants, American Coots, and a wide variety of ducks including scaups and Buffleheads, I had forgotten to be afraid.

I wasn’t graceful, but the lightweight kayak was. The slender boat allowed me access into many a tight spot.

A pair of Lesser Scaups accompanied me for a short stretch on Lady Bird Lake.

A pair of scaups accompanied me for a short stretch of paddling on Lady Bird Lake.

Red-eared Slider turtles ignore the bumping of my kayak into shoreline bramble.

Red-eared Slider turtles ignore the bumping of my kayak into marsh-like shoreline bramble.

 

 

Time and again, as I skirted the shoreline, edging up next to egrets and turtles, the latter strung out on small limbs like beads on a necklace, the forgiving kayak got me out of jams. I banged the boat’s nose into low-hanging branches. I scraped tree roots. I hung up on the lake’s gravelly bottom in shallow water. But with the kayak’s double-bladed paddle I found easy to use, I learned to push myself back into deep water.

This high-stepping egret deftly navigated the same shallow-water muck I was trying to avoid.

This high-stepping Snow Egret deftly navigated the same shallow-water muck I was trying to avoid.

 

I learned, sort of, how to stop the kayak, or at least slow my progress long enough to get better views of wildlife lingering at the water’s edge as I drifted past.

For me, Wood Ducks — male Wood Ducks, that is, as seen at left — are the Painted Buntings of the water. They’re stunningly gorgeous.

For me, Wood Ducks — male Wood Ducks, that is, as seen at left — are the Painted Buntings of the water. They’re stunningly gorgeous.

I learned that reclusive Wood Ducks don’t take kindly to clumsy kayakers coming up on them, especially at much too fast a pace.

Suddenly, I had come much too close in my kayak for this female Wood Duck’s comfort.

Suddenly, my kayak had come much too close for this female Wood Duck’s comfort.

 

I learned, from two fishermen on a small boat, below, that the bass were biting.

I’ve always wondered what kind of fish live in Lady Bird Lake. These two fishermen happily told me of one species: bass.

I’ve always wondered what kind of fish live in Lady Bird Lake. These fishermen happily told me of one species: bass.

I observed, at the corner of Lou Neff Point, that cormorants sunning themselves on low-slung limbs will let you take lots and lots of pictures as long as you don’t come too close — say three feet while cradling the kayak paddle in your lap, grasping a branch knob with your left hand, and somehow holding and focusing the camera with your right. For sure, that scenario is enough to make any cormorant, such as the one that tolerated me for a good 10 minutes, flee the branch for the safety of the water.

Weary of my close-up photography, this Lou Neff Point cormorant finally took to the water.

Weary of my close-up photography, this cormorant finally took to the water beside Lady Bird Lake’s Lou Neff Point.

I can’t wait to go kayaking again on Lady Bird Lake. I’m eager to learn how to step into the kayak, with the elegant confidence of an egret, instead of sliding in on my behind. I can’t wait to gently rock on the water in the middle of the lake, paddle resting on my lap, as I watch the wild, wild life fly, and swim, all around me.

Lady Bird Lake has its share of unusual birds: This swan pedal boat seemingly came out of nowhere beneath the Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge.

Austin’s Lady Bird Lake has its share of unusual birds — real and man-made: While I was kayaking, this swan pedal boat seemingly came out of nowhere beneath the South First Street Bridge.

Wednesday’s Headlines #1

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Blogger Bob Ramsak unveils the first edition of “Wednesday’s Headlines” (www.pirancafe.com/2016/01/07/wednesdays-headlines-1): a weekly international collaboration and compilation of newspaper-themed images shot on the same day across the globe. The inaugural collaboration, as selected by Ramsak, features newspapers from Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Portland, Oregon; Durango, Colorado; Austin, Texas; Montpelier, France; Vienna, Austria; Slovenia; Amman, Jordan; Mumbai; Beirut; Punta Arenas, Chile; and Athens, Greece.

Ramsak is currently blogging from Ljubljana, Slovenia at http://www.pirancafe.com.

Source: Wednesday’s Headlines #1

DanceAbility Street Parade in Austin

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Part two of an Austin-based DanceAbility Teacher Certification Course got under way on Sunday, Dec. 6, with an opening orientation and improvisational group dance at The University of Texas’ Anna Hiss Gym. Alito Alessi, the artistic director of DanceAbility International and co-founder of the DanceAbility method, joins the group (center right). Olivia O’Hare, project coordinator for Austin's Body Shift dance program, dances

Part two of an Austin-based DanceAbility Teacher Certification Course began on Sunday, Dec. 6, with an opening orientation and improvisational group dance at The University of Texas’ Anna Hiss Gym. Alito Alessi (wearing maroon sweatpants), the artistic director of DanceAbility International and co-founder of the DanceAbility method, joins the group at center right. To Alessi’s left is Olivia O’Hare, project coordinator for Austin’s Body Shift mixed-ability improvisational dance project.

I recently got my first glimpse into the world of DanceAbility: an internationally renowned method that creates opportunities for people with and without disabilities to move and dance together.

This Friday afternoon, Dec. 18, the DanceAbility method will be on spectacular display when graduates of a DanceAbility Teacher Certification Course dance their way through part of downtown Austin, starting a choreographed street parade at 4 p.m. at the Federal Building Plaza next to Republic Square Park.

Teaching class24

 

The graduates will present a series of structured improvisations — fluid, sculpture-like pieces formed by groups of dancers, as seen above — using the skills they developed during a two-part teacher certification course taught by Alito Alessi, the artistic director of Eugene, Oregon-based DanceAbility International and co-founder of the DanceAbility method.

Alessi, who teaches DanceAbility courses worldwide, taught the first half of the Austin-based teacher certification course in May in The University of Texas’ Anna Hiss Gym. The course’s second half, also being held over a 10-day stretch in the Anna Hiss Gym, will culminate with Friday’s street parade — a rare opportunity for Austinites to see DanceAbility in action.

Alito Alessi dances with Amy Elizabeth Litzinger

Alito Alessi, left, dances with teacher-in-training Amy Elizabeth Litzinger during a DanceAbility Teacher Certification Course in The University of Texas’ Anna Hiss Gym.

Alessi is globally recognized as a pioneering teacher, performer, and choreographer in the fields of contact improvisation and dance and disability. Alessi’s motto is powerful, and simple: DanceAbility is dance for everyone. Likewise, the self-described vision of DanceAbility International is that through dance and movement, people from diverse backgrounds experience the art of being together.

As further described on DanceAbility International’s website, www.danceability.com, the organization’s work decreases prejudice and misconceptions about diversity in the field of dance, and, by extension, in society.

It was my privilege last week to help photograph portions of part two of the teacher certification course being held on the UT campus. It will be my delight on Friday to help document the graduates’ street parade: a celebration of a dance method designed to be all-inclusive.

The DanceAbility Teacher Certification Course being held in The University of Texas’ Anna Hiss Gym offers teachers in training the opportunity to lead classes in the DanceAbility improvisational dance and movement method. The course will culminate with a DanceAbility Street Parade this Friday, Dec. 18, as graduates dance through downtown Austin.

The DanceAbility Teacher Certification Course being held in The University of Texas’ Anna Hiss Gym offers teachers in training the opportunity to lead classes in the DanceAbility improvisational dance and movement method. The course will culminate with a DanceAbility Street Parade this Friday, Dec. 18, as graduates dance through downtown Austin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sierra del Carmen clouds

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October 30, 2015: Clouds over the Sierra del Carmen Mountain range

October 30, 2015: Clouds over the Sierra del Carmen Mountain range as seen from U.S. 385 south of Marathon

I spent last weekend in Big Bend National Park where Internet connection is spotty, at best. Disconnected from my laptop, I felt free and unmoored. Free to keep my head in the clouds, such as this storm cloud formation that loomed over the Sierra del Carmen Mountain range on Friday evening.

A Flight of Integrity

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November 1, 2015: Red-tailed hawk in ocotillo, Big Bend National Park

November 1, 2015: Red-tailed Hawk surveying the desert from an ocotillo, Big Bend National Park

The Red-tailed Hawks of Big Bend National Park don’t spook easily. Last Sunday, on a late-afternoon drive across the park following a day of hiking, I spotted this hawk sitting high in an ocotillo. I stopped abruptly, pulling over on the roadside several feet past the ocotillo. Afraid of scaring off the big bird, I stayed in the car, shoving the camera out the driver’s side window. But the angle was too awkward. I couldn’t get a clear shot. So I slowly backed up, holding my breath and the camera at the ready. The hawk stayed put. I backed up a little more. Still good. I got a few shots.

Then the hawk looked at me and slowly flew away, low over the desert floor in the direction of the Chisos Mountains. It was a deliberate, unhurried flight. It was, I thought, a flight of integrity. A flight of authenticity. I interrupted the hawk’s privacy. The desert called. The call of the hunt.

November 1, 2015: Red-tailed hawk in flight, Big Bend National Park

November 1, 2015: Red-tailed Hawk in flight, Big Bend National Park

 

The Light Through The Window

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October 31, 2015: The Window, Big Bend National Park

October 31, 2015: The Window, Big Bend National Park

Of all the magnificent scenes that Big Bend National Park has to offer, none is more compelling than that of The Window, a V-shaped notch in the Chisos Mountains visible from the Chisos Basin visitors center complex. This past Saturday, while on vacation in Big Bend, I waited for sunset to appear through The Window — the obligatory, must-take-home photographic shot. But while waiting for the brilliant hues that only a far West Texas sky can provide, I found myself tracking another kind of light. Every few seconds, it seemed, the rays of light subtly moved, shifting their course from the tops of mountain peaks to down near The Window Trail that I and thousands of other park visitors have traveled.

I lowered the camera and watched the near-final light of day dance across the valley below. Then I raised the camera, sampling the light, grateful that it was not yet time for the sun to descend.