NOTHING BUT BLUEBIRDS

"The bluebird carries the sky on his back."

Thoreau

On almost any summer evening, usually after the sun falls behind the trees, the dance of the bluebirds begins in my backyard.  The seven photos in this posting were taken at the dance just two days ago.  

It was a lovely little courting scene.  The male was the first to arrive at the finial of a garden structure. Moments later, the female joined him, but made it clear that she was looking for something more than just a social visit.  A nice dinner, maybe?  At that point, the male left for a few minutes and returned with a fresh spider.  The very sight of the offering drove the female into a state of ecstasy, but the male was not prepared to deliver until things calmed down a bit. After a moment of reflection, however, he turned and dropped spider into the expectant beak of the female.  As soon as the tasty morsel was devoured, the female flitted off to some other destination, presumably checking out other suitors, while the male, now appearing somewhat desolate, found solitude in a nearby willow.  Things will work out, of course; they do every spring.

"If there is not response in you to the awakening of nature -- if the prospect of an early morning walk does not banish sleep, if the warble of the first bluebird does not thrill you -- know that the morning and spring of your life are past.  Thus may you feel your pulse."

Thoreau 

". . . over our heads will float the Blue Bird singing of beautiful and impossible things, of things that are lovely and than never happen, of things that are not and that should be."

Oscar Wilde, The Decay of Lying: An Observation

And so remember this, 

Life is no abyss,

Somewhere there's a bluebird 

of happiness.

Life is sweet, tender and complete,

When you find the bluebird

of happiness.

Bluebird of Happiness, lyrics by Edward

Heyman and Harry Parr Davies

Blue skies Smiling at me

Nothing but blue skies do I see

Bluebirds Singing a song

Nothing but bluebirds All day long.

Irving Berlin, Blue Skies 

"Full of innocent vivacity, warbling its ever pleasing notes, and familiar as any bird can be in its natural freedom, it is one of the most agreeable of our feathered favorites.  The pure azure of its mantel, and the glow of its breast, render it conspicuous, as it flits through the orchards and gardens, crosses the fields or meadows, or hops along the roadside."

John James Audubon