mourning dove

Cloud Menagerie – Day 662

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Cloud Menagerie – Photo: L. Weikel

Cloud Menagerie

We were besieged by some wicked storms late this afternoon and early evening. I believe we were even under a tornado watch for several hours. For a variety of reasons, including the spectre of wild weather, Karl and I didn’t manage to take a walk today. So tonight I’m sharing a photograph I took on our walk yesterday, which I initially thought was simply (and obviously) a hummingbird. However, upon reflection, I realize it’s a veritable cloud menagerie.

Yet again, I’m fascinated by the abundance of playful figures I see dancing in the photo – that I did not see when I initially took the shot.

Quite frankly, when the cloud formation initially caught my eye as we walked along the dirt road lined by fields filled with wild flowers and incipient hay, it reminded me of a gigantic hummingbird. Thrusting Spartacus’s leash into Karl’s hand so I could quickly take the photo, I exclaimed to Karl, “Look at the hummingbird!” For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how he couldn’t see it, but as I put the phone to my face, he sounded bewildered. “Where? I don’t see it!”

It was only when I showed him the image on my phone that he let out a relieved, “Ooooh!”

“I thought you saw a hummingbird in the weeds by the side of the road or something and thought you could get a close-up!” he laughed.

We then proceeded to have a lively debate on whether the cloud looks like a hummingbird or a ‘dumb bird,’ as we somewhat irreverently refer to mourning doves. Quite honestly, even now I can’t decide which bird the clouds resemble more.

Other Beasts Too

What I find particularly cool, though, is how I see so much more in this photo now that I’m looking at it here at home. I know I’ve commented on this before, but I do find the regularity with which additional Beings appear in photographs both intriguing and charming.

In this photo, I see at least two other four-legged creatures cavorting in the sky quite near to our dovingbird. And while the one hovering to the right of the bird (from our perspective) does not sport a horn when observed directly, there’s something magical about the creature when you sort of look at it askance. I See a unicorn. And no, I don’t see any rainbows. Not in this photo, at least!

Gratitude

I’m so grateful for the Cloud Beings. Their presence in my life brings me joy in the most unexpected circumstances. They inspire me to expand my perception (wink) and allow myself to be nudged out of, let’s say, perhaps, a cranky mood that has me feeling totally cornered and in a box.

And other times, which I also revel in, my beloved Cloud Beings perfectly mirror the ominous onslaught of dark times or dire circumstances that threaten my inner landscape. I appreciate it when they reflect my moods. In fact, often when I’m feeling bleak and they seem to be enacting a call and response, they help me realize the treasures that can be found in the rippling or billowed opacity of the moment.

Enjoy our Dovingbird and its frolicking minions. I needed a smile when those clouds showed up; and they delivered. I’m grateful.

(T-449)

Carnage – Day 539

Posted on by Lisa Weikel Leave a comment
Carnage at the beak and talons of an Accipiter – Photo: L. Weikel

Carnage

It happened in the blink of an eye. Carnage at the homestead.

No wonder nobody was coming ‘round the birdfeeders this afternoon. I could hear melodious birdsong emanating from the treetops behind the barn and across the fields. But in the maples and ashes nearest our feeders? Neither a peep nor a trill.

This happens occasionally every year, and it’s never easy. The worst was when it happened right before my eyes. The deed was dispatched so quickly that I would’ve thought I’d imagined it – but for the <<ploof>> of feathers gently drifting to the ground in front of me.

Cooper’s or Sharp Shinned Hawk

We have an extremely handsome accipiter living near us, who uses our yard as a fast-food joint. I’ve tried to locate our feeders in such a way as to make it harder for the hawk to just do drive-by knock offs, but obviously, it cannot be prevented entirely.

The deed is dispatched with sniper-like precision, so I take comfort (small as it is) in the knowledge that the guests for dinner do not know what hits them.

As I’ve mentioned, the evidence is indisputable that an avian snack is had at least a couple of times each year. The pile of feathers with no body and perhaps only a splatter of blood makes it clear that this was no clumsy cat ambush (no disrespect to Cletus intended). But the very few times he’s managed the Houdini act of not only sneaking outside during the day but also stalking and killing a bird, he’s almost always presented it at the doorstep as a proud proof of prowess and worth.

When the hawks nail a bird, the prey is dinner. No two ways about it. And the only leftovers are the feathers that explode from impact. Nothing is wasted.

Mourning Dove

And so it is that a mourning dove is mourned. We’re confident of the identity of the victim due to an analysis not unlike CSI of the crime scene. All DNA points to Cooper’s Hawk or Sharp-shinned. I realize I must pay closer attention to the vocalizations. That may be the most reliable way I will have of identifying which killer is in our midst.

Sassy

There was one bird today that just kept showing up and demanding attention. It cheekily modeled its sleek, monochromatic good looks and asked to be photographed. I complied. I just hope it doesn’t get too cocky. The area where I took its picture is precisely along Accipiter Way, and it’s an area precariously out in the open – making way for occasional carnage to ensue.

Sassy Catbird – Photo: L. Weikel

(T-572)