Four and Twenty

Blackbirds are what I spotted while driving across the Viaduct. They were sitting on the sandbar which stretches across the Kansas River. There were lots and lots of blackbirds.

In the middle of the all the black, a much larger bird w/ a distinctive white head sat amongst his companions. Imagine that: a Bald Eagle...sharing the morning sun w/ all those little guys.

The next day Gill and I stood out in our yard, talking. I looked up. Suddenly I started an animated dance while pointing straight up and yelling,"Bald Eagle! Bald Eagle! Bald Eagle!"
Gill followed my gaze to the eagle flying low between our house & our barn. How fun that was! She & I ran around the yard, around the house, following the eagle as he circled our home. He was low. And big.

And those are two nice things I have enjoyed recently.
The End.

A Winter Tale

I was driving east late the other afternoon. Up above me was a very, very large formation of geese. They were flying north. Silly gooses. Miles later, another quite large formation of geese appeared, flying south. Miles on down the road, and now toward dusk, I observed several small formations flying hither & thither. They all seemed to be close to the same altitude as each other, passing closely as they went on their ways.

I wonder if they talked to each other. Did the head goose ask the oncoming head goose about turbulence? Did the geese honk jokes as they passed?

And then, as the sun set, I saw two geese flying all by themselves. It kind of made me sad. Couldn't they keep up? Where would they end up that night?

Three days later it's 9º and bitterly WINDY outside; I'm thinking maybe all those silly gooses knew something I did not, and perhaps they are better off for having scattered to the ends of the Kansas earth.

Unsettled Peacocks

"When raised on the game farm and are well settled,

many people find that peafowl don't stray far from home."

I have made the acquaintance of three neighbors today, thanks to our extra-social peacocks.

I began my hour-long stroll circling our pasture and creek, then headed down the road to the Coulsons, whom I thought had peacocks of their own. Nope, that would be Grandpa Coulson down the road. Off I go to his house. Grandpa Coulson wasn't home, but some other man was, who said that a Mr. Carlisle had ridden his lawnmower from down the road "a piece" to ask if the peacocks in his yard belonged to Grandpa Coulson. Assuming these were Armstrong peacocks, I ambled further down around the Wabaunsee triangle to the Carlisles. Sure enough, they were the two Armstrong peacocks and the peahen. After visiting w/ Mr. & Mrs. Carlisle and touring their apple orchard, the three of us commenced herding the peacocks down the highway back to our house. It was the Wabaunsee rush hour, which was due to the Annual Beecher Bible & Rifle Church (Google it) Annual Bake Sale.

Yep, Wabaunsee rivals Lake Wobegon...

Things on my mind:

It's its.

Could have, should have, would have. Not of.

Eager, not anxious. Or anxious, not eager.

Now what?