The first steps of my walk around the pond today gave me no hope of finding much to photograph. It seemed for some time that it would be more of a workout than an opportunity to capture anything of interest with my camera.
But then I saw a flitting motion at the far end of the pond, the only motion in sight. A little flock of little birds was flying short distances and alighting on fence-top and low branches. I hurried, in a sneaky sort of way, not wanting to scare them off before I got a few pictures.
I was delighted when I realized they were eastern bluebirds! I followed them and stood under a tree where for a couple of minutes they let me take their pictures – one (above) even looked me in the eye. “Hold still while I take your picture,” I thought and it did.
I still carry a great sadness that my mother is not part of this life any longer. Today as I started my walk, I hoped it was a time of reconnecting with my habit of frequent walks around the pond, which has been interrupted since last August – mostly because of my mother’s need for my care, her death, and the sorting out of things that follows.
As I began my walk, I felt myself begin to cry. Were I to get a good picture of anything, my habit of giving her a sneak preview before posting to this site would not be happening as it always had in the past.
My mother knew my thrill one time at seeing the eastern bluebird, several years ago, at the pond. Today, I couldn’t help but think she gave me a bit of cheer, a “chin-up” message, with the presentation of those beautiful birds in an otherwise stark winter setting.
Who knows if those on the other side come to us, or if we attach to them meaning in the things we see on this side. I know my mother knew that I’ve been waiting to see the eastern bluebird again.
SilverLining 