Oh, please, please, please

Still Life In Blues and Yellows

American Goldfinch, male (the Washington state bird), with Chicory inflorescences.

I was hanging with a bunch of goldfinches yesterday morning and there was just this one, solitary, chicory plant, blue flowers utterly aglo, standing there in a meadow of dried grasses, below.

“Oh, please, please, please, won't one of you fly over there and, you know, turn on the lights?” I asked.

It didn’t happen right away but eventually, boom! One of those really, deep yellow males I’d been watching in the thistle patch flitted over and flared a perfect landing among those stunning blooms.

Some say you don't get what you don't ask for. My experience tells me that sometimes you do, actually. But yesterday, in the yet-cool of the morning, I went ahead and asked, anyway, leaving no room for doubt. Then I kept a ready eye, waiting for something magical to happen, just in case. You might be amazed at how often this seems to work.

I guess I don’t dare say ‘believe it or not’ after beginning this little tale by showing you the picture, first thing. No need to insult your intelligence.

Of course you believe it; you’ve already seen the ending.

Anyway, this stunning, male, American Goldfinch, who’d been perched atop a cluster of Canada thistle, chowing down on their beloved and invasive seeds flitted over and landed in amongst those impossibly blue chicory blooms, creating the briefest moment of visual magic, inflaming my heart and lasting just long enough for me to squeeze off five, motor-driven pictures before he took wing again, flying on toward some other magic trick, elsewhere.

In one of those frames (above), that pretty boy was ‘Voguing’ in my direction as beautifully as Madonna ever did, and for just a moment, holding perfectly still.

I did absolutely nothing to deserve this gift. But I was there to witness it, camera and heart, at the ready.

…and then he flew away.

And as he did, I whispered my ‘thank you’ and may have done a little happy dance.

I think it’s good to let those magical, bird people who show up for you see you laugh and cry, give ‘em a sense of just how much their choices can mean; as long as you’re polite. I mean, don’t you?

---