Saturday, May 3, 2014

Passing Through

Pecking and Bobbing
One Show Only
Just Passing Through
Dandelions push through the cracks between paved driveway and cracked cement. Nothing remains passive. Nothing stays the same.

A flit of movement captures my attention. A tiny bird emerges from the winter-dry rose bush, pecking at the ground. He, or she--I can't tell--is a feathered ball of charcoal gray with an almost indiscernible streak of rust on back feathers.

I think it's an Oregon junco.

Juncos pass through, usually in groups. I've seen them descend in mass like bouncing hail, covering the ground so fast and disappearing as if they never dropped from the sky. At least three groups have visited.

This junco is friendly and I imagine us getting acquainted over the summer--me sitting on the sun-warmed boards of the porch, him bobbing in and out of the roses. He'll be striking once the stalks green and bud.

But nothing remains passive. Nothing stays the same. He leaves only his digital expression.

And like this junco, one day I'll just be passing through, too.

4 comments:

  1. I love the subtle, yet beautiful comparison here, Charli... especially at the end when you wrote, "And like this junco, one day, I'll just be passing through, too."
    I've never seen a junco before so now I am delighted to learn more about it. This bird looks like an interesting species. We adore our birds who we feed each morning but sadly, no juncos=)

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    1. Thank you, Gina! I'm learning a lot about and from the migratory birds. I'm pondering migrations lately, being on this pond with an abundance of migrating birds. This was my first junco affirmation! I had thought that these birds were juncos, but they do leave quickly. This fella hung out for a photo opp. Don't the birds just make your day?

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  2. What a cute little bird. He doesn't seem shy at all as you took his picture. I loved seeing the quail in Arizona darting across the roads with their little curly-q's on their heads bobbing. I love to sit and watch the birds. Thanks for posting this. The pictures are beautiful.

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    1. He was quite gregarious! I love quail...my husband is from Nevada. Watching birds is better than yoga. ;-) Thanks!

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