I woke up very early this morning, around 5AM or so, before the dawn began to widen her grip on the world. I must be more bird than girl these days. The cool of morning felt tremendously refreshing after a hot, sleepless night. I poured myself out of bed, onto the plank floor, and walked directly out of the house where the world was edged blue and just beginning to ache with the first leaping of light. I went walking with Tater Tot, up the ridge behind the house. On the far side of this ridge is a cottonwood with a snaggy crown, the kind hawks like to perch in, and rightly so, as it allows them an unhindered view of the fields below. This morning, perched in that bony old river drinker, was a red tailed hawk. I could see his silhouette inked black against the dawn. I walked up the slope to get a better look at him and check for feathers on the ground beneath his perch.
As I drew near the cottonwood, I spooked a doe from her bed, she bounded out across the meadow, stopped, and turned to watch me from a distance as I tooled about beneath that tree. Someone has been irrigating it, there is a hose running just slightly underground to its roots. I’m glad someone has been caring for it, it adds so much beauty to the edge of this meadow as the slope is mostly bare but for large groupings of sage and bunch grasses. In the middle to lower branches of the tree I noticed a nest and thought it strange it was built so near to the ground. I kicked off my flip flops and quickly climbed up the tree to check inside the nest to get an idea of what kind of bird built it but it was utterly void. I did sustain a few more nicks and scrapes to my legs but I don’t care, they already look so terrible from hiking the river banks and wading while fishing that all my vanity has dissolved into resigned practicality. I look a bit like a six year old girl who frequently falls off her bicycle.
But for one small grouse feather, I made my way featherless and back down to the gardens, watered all the vegetables and then walked out across the upper pasture to the other hill that is colonized by ponderosas. The largest pondi of the group has a beautiful, wide and gnarled crown. Four feet off the ground, I can see where someone wrapped the trunk in a coil of barbed wire some time ago. The tree has grown out and over the metal in most places — nothing can contain the spirit of a ponderosa pine onces it gets to growing and standing tall. I bet that loop of barbed wire, just under the bark, feels a bit itchy. I bet, on moonless nights, this tree reaches down a branch and gives itself a good scratch around its midsection, when everything is sleeping. I’ve seen the owls use this tree as a perch and I often check the ground beneath it for owl feathers. Today I found a crow feather, one more grouse feather and eight northern flicker (red shafted) feathers. Either a flicker frequents this tree or died beneath it and the wind and I are slowly exhuming it’s plumage. I have found fourteen flicker feathers here now in three weeks time.
As I made my way back to the house, the sun was just capping the East side of the valley and the birds were begining to stir. I stepped inside the house, put a kettle of water on for coffee, uncovered the bird cage and fed Titus who was in his usual morning frenzy. After making him a birdbath, I opened the French doors to the deck and was delighted to see and hear a small grouping of cedar waxwings in the apple tree. Titus, hearing his own language trilling in through the open doors, set about singing back and hopping wildly about on his perches, it was a bird jamboree. I can’t imagine what the waxwings are saying. It’s probably something like, “It’s a beautiful day, I’m a dashingly handsome bird, let’s go find some berries my darling bandit friends.” I always wonder what the animals are saying to each other. I also wonder if they know how beautiful they are. I wonder if they stare at their own reflections in the rivers and lakes, oblivious to the world around them, blinded by their own beauty…that’s the sort of behavior that will get you eaten by a bear. I suppose the vain ones are always eaten first, in that being vain takes away from your awareness of the world around you. It’s survival of the fittest, not survival of the prettiest. It’s probably best to be beautiful and clueless about it, in the human world too.
The forecast for today, last I checked, was 102F with chance of thunderstorms, I hope they’re wrong about that. This heat is exhausting.
What a beautiful start to your day! I’ve always wanted to be a morning person, but I’m just too much of a night owl. I hate going to bed, and then I hate getting up. I’ve conquered my natural tendencies a few times over the years, and I just love that magical fresh beginning to the day.
I once heard a preacher talk about the order of our days. Quoting from the bible, that God created dark and light: the first day, he believed it meant our days actually started with going to sleep. And so we begin our days in rest. Interesting, and makes you wonder.
Thanks for a peek at your morning!
Oh my gosh!
I have been writing, so much lately (this summer really), about what sleep does for our spirits every day! I was going to blog about it sometime soon. I can’t wait to share now!
And I can’t wait to read it! I have a real problem lately with making myself go to bed at night. It’s like I need my mother telling me to go to bed!! And it isn’t just me that suffers when I’m not well rested.
Looking forward to your insights 🙂
God this is beautiful! Thank-you so much for sharing it!
Thanks for being here, Anita!
I love the quiet places your words take me to. I would have gladly held your bundle of feathers. (Don’t you just wish we could pull the barbed wire away…scratch that itch!)
Wishing you gorgeous thunderstorms and torrential rain! =) I am currently listening to mine. (And bought one, too. I just had to: https://www.etsy.com/transaction/91431965)
Sending cool breezes. (It’s going to be ghastly here, too, but I like to pretend.)
XXX
PS. i didn’t quit.
…my feather sherpa.
🙂
I’m so glad you didn’t quit.
You never fail to bolster me.
XX
Good afternoon dear friend. That deer looks funny, doesn’t look like cartoons or is it that cartoons look so real. I find most animals a little funny with the exception of mean bears and the creepy crawly ones. 102 is exhausting…I hope no thunderstorms…I would give anything to smell pine now. I cannot imagine how a pine would scratch its belly : )
I found some dove feathers the other day and stuck them in the ground like a bush. I too have often wondered if the animals know how pretty they are. I think they don’t, although our cats do know that I take their pictures and they do pose on occasions!
xoxo
That deer TOTALLY looks funny.
Every time I’m really close to running deer, I’m amazed at how “thwumpy” their feet are. I always expect they’ll sound as graceful as they move. Nope.
I think our pets know because we coddle them and coo at them and snuggle them and smooch them on their velvet noses…I’m sure if we did that to cougars, elk and bears all the time they’d get a little vain. 🙂
I think perhaps you are a little more bird than girl, picking up weathers, extending your heart-eye to the trees around, hopping on grasses, listening to the morning rise, blessing the ground with curious steps… bless you old friend xx
Good morning, gentle beauty!
I think you may be right.
Love having you here, always.
You bring with you the coolest, sweetest breezes.
X
Thank you for sharing this bit with us.
I am often awake before dawn, it is my favorite time of day. The restfullness and quiet slowly turning to the bright and noisesome day.
Yours in feather hunting,
B
Mornings are beautiful.
There’s nothing like a WINTER morning though — all that cascading and murmuring blue light….I can hardly wait to photograph the coming winter.
XX
swoon
magical morning indeed
precious moments of nature and soul stillness
nothing is better than starting a day in these reflective way
ahhhh
gonna just hang her for a moment and breathe it in…….
Love and Light
Hey Cat!!!
Stay as long as you like! 🙂
xx
What a beautiful, morning scene. Titus about ready to ‘fledge’?
Getting really close now. He’s starting to use his beak and eat on his own quite well. RW wants me to wait until he gets home from this fire…we’ll see how long that is.
Your fabulously fun energy infused in this post. Pure pleasure to read
Xo
Thanks, dearie! x
This was just lovely…Keep the nature appreciation/memoir/ stories coming, I loved reading this!
Shall do, sweets! Thanks for being so kind.
Restless sleep along with the heat…ugh. I know the feeling. But, those early morning gifts of nature wouldn’t have been yours had you not gotten out of bed and taken a walkie with Tater! You’re really hitting the jackpot finding a variety of feathers. Yay! And anytime your view includes a darling deer, it’s all worth it, eh?
This has been the summer of the birds for me.
No joke.
Birds, baby birds, raising Titus, feathers…it’s been amazing.
a lovely glimpse into your private world.
i just re-read this.
and this is what i saw:
“it’s probably best to be beautiful and clueless about it, in the human world too.”
amen to that.
[someday i want to discuss this with you.]
Well it’s true!
Isn’t it?
🙂
I feel like I found a lost page from a book…
Wonderful book that makes me dream…
I enjoy reading you so much, Jillian!
Thank you for being so sweet!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading about this morning walk and how you view your world. I have legs like a 6yr old all banged up and scarred. 🙂 I thoroughly appreciate your views on vanity too- makes sense to me.
Thanks, Eileen.
Love hearing from you.
gorgeous, every little bit of it. as an aside, have you heard of the book “what the robin knows”? i’m ready it right now, trying to learn more about bird language.
I haven’t!
I’ll look for a copy. Thanks chickie!
Oh jillian, thanks to your encapsulating words and photos, I feel close enough to breathe in the landscape and morning rays…you have quite a magnificent life, deary! thank you for sharing.
Oodles of love,
-lulu
Lu,
I think it’s magnificent too.
Most of the time.
🙂
XX
how blessed you are to wake up in such a glorious corner of the world. there is beauty everywhere if you really look. i wake every morning at 4.30 and love to walk to the train station through the empty streets and feel like the city belongs to me.
i wonder too, like you, what the animals are saying to each other and wishing i could earwig a little..learn their secrets 😉