Tom Langen
@calocitta
parent, birder, story teller, ecologist, academic
In marshy prairie The wild rice whispers. The kayaks drifting Indian Canal, Where Oswegatchie And Grasse Rivers meet. Waxwings and swallows Harry the skeeters. Egrets, one by one Head east to their roost. #poetry
June is for freedom, July is denial. Reluctant return To the still office, August, for teachers, Is true summer’s end.
With first goldenrods And the Joe Pye Weed, Red leaf swamp maple, Katydid chatter, North Country August Is herald of Fall. The emails arrive. Faculty meetings, Grim convocations, ‘Helpful reminders’ To post syllabi And update moodle. #poetry
One meeting with the ESA Board, presenting and moderating one special session, presenting one Inspire, two panels, two hours of mock interviewing, one research talk. Ecological Society of America 2026 Annual Meeting at Salt Lake Series is over, and I'm tired and ready to go home. #esa26
As I turn the dirt Friable, wormy Black and sweet-smelling I think about soil Tilth is an apt word It rings of wealth Not of base metal But fertility And tilth echoes tithe What we owe the soil For providing us With a rich harvest #poetry 🌱
The toad trilling grows Three porcupines graze new grass Warm west winds bring rain #poetry 🌿🦊
Highlight of the drive to work: Eagle vs. Otter. In the end, the otter left the remains of its fish on the ice, and the eagle cleaned up the scraps. 🌿🦉🦊
March’s maple snows: Slushy, fluffy, Ephemeral. Beige rotten ice Still coats the marsh. Swans trumpet duets, Bachelor redwing flocks Chatter in the reeds, Raven pairs make weird cries As they circle overhead.
Many folks like to ski In the frigid morning sun I prefer gliding alone In late afternoon shadows I notice texture of bark Dream stories out of snow tracks Sky and snow changing colors As the sun slowly descends
Bluest Imbolc skies Shadows stretch to Druid dreams Raven seeks the dead #poetry
5 years ago, my first Fauci-ouchy. I'm recovering from my 2nd coronavirus-2 infection: mild 'bad cold' symptoms for 2 days. NBD. Grateful for all biomedical researchers and medical care workers involved in developing and delivering this vaccine, and its annual boosters (which I partake).
I finished my patch of the Canton-Potsdam NY CBC -11 C with 30 kph wind. Roads very icy and blowing snow. 24 species First bird: Raven Last New Bird: House Finch Most abundant species: Snow Bunting (of course) at 113 Best birds: 4 Bald Eagles, a Red-bellied Woodpecker 🦉🌿
The warm winter days are the worst Snow clings to skis like a bad thought Today is cold and powder snow Sun peek-a-boo-ing behind clouds Down the old gravel road, I glide And focus on the stride and slide #poetry
An onionskin ice glaze, Over a thick snow bed, I whisper heartfelt praise She’s breaking trail ahead. #poetry 🌿
Massena NY, USA Christmas Bird count My patch: Temperature -11 to -2 C Number of species: 30 First Bird: American Crow Last new species: Red-breasted Merganser Most abundant species: Common Merganser (420) Best species: Common Loon, Northern Shrike Notable: 17 Bald Eagle, 79 Trumpeter Swan 🦉🌿
Some days it’s like dragging A heavy sack of birdseed Along a sidewalk Today I glide down-trail like a snow-swallow The golf-course my Greenland #poetry 🌿
Hey, I was an 'expert scientist' on National Geographic Paranormal: Blood Rain & Star Jelly. Here are my hands, looking all sciencey. Maybe I can be on this panel.
I led a walk to this place today - Rainbow Falls in the Adirondack Park. 🌿
Jenny Jones warned She would wear purple When she grew old Summer now wears it A rich purple cloak New England asters Autumn aster starburst Amid goldenrod glow Seasonal finale Before winter’s long dark 🌿 #poetry
Now is the time of the hoppers Grasshoppers, coneheads, katydids Crickets - tree, field, and ground Trills, buzzes, clicks, chirps Kay-di- DEE Kay-Di-DEE ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZeet! Ambient noise like tinnitus Ubiquitous, unceasing
Birds have long stopped singing Frogs are silent in the marsh The fields are browning Brushed in goldenrod Swamp maples blaze scarlet Ashes turning lit-match yellow 🌿#invertfest #poetry
While purchasing a person was very expensive, by working enslaved people to a premature death in the sugarcane fields, the purchase cost was recovered in three years. And here we are, now at the stage where the President is angry because the Smithsonian portrays slavery in a negative way.
While in Baltimore, take some time to visit the amazing American Museum of Visionary Art. Learn why the American Woodcock is the inspiration for the museum's annual 'Woody Award'. #ESA2025