My Funny Valentine - Bill Evans

My Funny Valentine - Chet Baker

...

full sunshine

untrodden snowfield

prismatic

Birds I especially miss after having relocated.

My wife and I moved east from Colorado a few years ago, and we've settled in upstate NY after a couple years in western PA.

We're tremendously pleased here, and getting to know the birds that visit our rural property.

I hope I never take the presence of any species for granted again, as I get wistful, a little teary eyed even, missing some that I used to see every day... especially magpies, mountain chickadees, and pygmy nuthatches (two individuals in particular who became dear friends.)

If I thought harder, I'd miss more. Steller's jays, Western meadowlarks, dammit.

Love the ones you're with.

I saw a wild turkey kill a chickadee today.

I noticed a turkey running around our yard with something flapping around in its beak, closely pursued by the rest of the rafter. It was windy, and I thought maybe it had picked up a stray piece of plastic or something.

I took a look with the binoculars, and was surprised to see it was a struggling chickadee.

It lay motionless on the snow when thrown aside.