Hello friends,
The phrase “for the birds” is used to describe something as worthless, undesirable, or unimportant. But when I tell you this week was for the birds, I mean that literally and with the utmost sincerity. This was a week for birds of wonder and awe.
First came the black vultures. Vultures in and of themselves are rather common here in Florida. I see them soaring on updrafts on a nearly daily basis. I’ve even seen a few feeding at a distance. But I’ve never seen one so close I could reach out and touch it. This week, I saw three. They were sitting on a grassy area by the side of the road, and at first, I didn’t quite believe what I was seeing. The vultures weren’t eating or even searching for food. They just sat there observing traffic without a care in the world.
For a brief moment, while the light was red, I sat and stared at those great creatures. I see them every day, but I’d never seen them quite like that, so relaxed and regal. People often think of vultures as frightening or disgusting, but they don’t have a say in their nature. The ugly duckling became something different in order to be beautiful. Vultures, though, command a deeper respect, one that turns something hideous into something stunning. I was grateful to witness their majesty up close.
A couple of days after the vultures, a great egret visited me. I was sipping my morning coffee when I saw a flash of white from the corner of me eye. I walked to the back porch and saw the egret bobbing around in the yard, poking its long, S-shaped neck forward with each slow step. I sat motionless on the porch with my cat beside me, equally still. The egret looked around for a few moments before deciding my backyard contained nothing of interest. With two flaps of its great wings, it was gone.
Egrets and herons are about as common as vultures here in Florida, but I never tire of looking at them either. In some ways, the two birds are complete opposite. One dark and peculiar looking. The other bright and graceful. And yet both feel like home, my neighbors in this strange swamp.
I am both vulture and egret. I am light and dark, odd and alluring, somewhere in between life and death. I am beautiful in the mere fact of my existence. I emerged because of those who came before. I will feed the ones who come after. I’ll notice everything in between.
Until next time,
Yardena
WEEKEND POTPOURRI:
Currently on repeat:
Is humanity’s monarch intervention harming more than it’s helping?
You don’t need to know anything about figure skating to know that Ilia Malinin is stunning. Watch it, and tell me you don’t get goosebumps.
A (collection of) poem(s): Spring poems for any occasion from the Poetry Foundation