Bluebird of Happiness
In my flower garden I put up several birdhouses which I painted in bright colors. They were just cheap things, glued together and my main thought was decoration, not really thinking any bird would want to live in one. To my surprise over the years they have been inhabited by chickadees and sparrows and bluebirds. Being rather flimsy, they’ve gradually fallen apart prompting the birds to go elsewhere. But one remains on the post of my garden gate, and that’s where Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird have decided to live. Not in one of those drab, proper bluebird houses, set on a stake in the middle of a cleared field.
This little house is mint green with a hot pink roof, octagon shaped, with daisies painted on it. Tucked under the garden arch with a purple clematis blooming overhead, next to the gate which I’m often going in and out of with the rattlely old wheel barrow. The blue gate, made from a bit of picket fence, is hung with bells of different sorts that make a cheerful noise when the gate is opened and shut, but to keep things a little quieter for the new parents I’ve just left the gate open so I can slip in and out with minimal disturbance.
I love looking out my kitchen window to watch the bluebirds working on their new home- a beak-full of straw first (that was a challenge to fit through the little hole), then some grass clippings, and lastly a few downy duck feathers. Papa Bluebird is quite protective and has chased away the big pileated woodpecker who had come to check out the suet nearby. One day I looked out to see Papa Bluebird perched on top of the arch glaring at the pileated who sat on one side. On the other side sat a dove, and underneath a humming bird hovered at the feeder hanging from the arch. Impossible to find the camera in time! As I watch this pair, the male bringing the female things to eat and watching over her, I feel so lucky to be in this corner of the world. My life isn’t all roses and butterflies, no one’s is, but it is a gift to take a step back from the worries and troubles to watch a small bird of the most beautiful shade of blue glide through the sunshine, after a week of cloudy days and rain.
Add comment May 22nd, 2010
