Blue is Good Color on a Winter Day
One of my philosophical mantras that I say to myself is to finish something to the end even if it feels as if there is nothing to be gained. I say this when I am at gatherings and getting bored and just want to go home and curl up with a book and no people around. But I have found that if I stick around I usually end up with a pleasant surprise; an intriguing conversation that would otherwise have never been heard, a new piece of information that somehow opens a door, or a new friend.
Two weekends ago, I participated in a late Xmas bird count. We’d had some cold weather and the number of birds sighted was lower than most years. After about 3.5 hours I was ready to call it quits. But my two companions felt we should do one more stop on the way home. It had been a pretty dull morning so I didn’t expect to see anything new.
Of course, we spotted a red-tailed hawk on a branch almost immediately. And not far into the woods behind the farm where my horse lives, we saw mourning doves, yellow-throated sparrows, a song sparrow or two, tufted titmice, juncos, red-bellied woodpecker, American goldfinches, and a family of eastern bluebirds. What a nice cluster of colors to flash around on a cold brown winter day.
So, it goes to show those philosophical mantras aren’t just platitudinal patter for the mind when things get tiresome.
This past weekend I went back to see if I could spot any of the bluebirds. Sure enough, one was perched in the brush.
I managed a few shots before it flew off and my LCD viewer went on the blink.
I’d had this happen the day before and despite resetting it per instructions from the Nikon tech department, the viewer eventually goes black on me. So now my camera will need to visit the repair shop.
And I’ll simply enjoy those bluebirds with the scope itself.
