Birds on the Brain

I like birds.  All kinds of birds. I have a battered copy of Peterson's A Field Guide to the Birds that my kids and I use all the time to identify what kind of sparrow is pecking in our yard and what kind of hawk is perching on our barn. 

It is with surprise and delight, therefore, that I have discovered what a fabulous spot my new "office" is.  My office is a cast-off drop-leaf table from college days that houses a laptop, a printer, and an African violet.  I try to clean everything else off it every night because I once read that people who clean their desks off before going home were viewed as more successful and therefore were promoted more frequently than their counterparts.  (If only I had read that article when I was teaching all those years ago . . . !)

My office is located in front of a double sliding window overlooking my gardens.  Prior to this, the window was 1/3-covered by a turtle cage.  

I had no idea what I was missing in that 1/3 view. 

Suddenly I have an unobstructed view of one of our many Aesculus (buckeye) trees.  Right now it is laden with gorgeous red flowers.  Behind it, my enormous Harry Lauder's Walking Stick curls its way into view. 

As a result, I am daily treated to the most enjoyable avian displays.  My neighbor on one side claims he hasn't seen a hummingbird in years.  I feel deprived if I go an hour without seeing one.  A male and female take turns slurping nectar from the tubular blossoms.  They're fascinating to watch, because they seem to be able to tell which ones have been tapped recently.  Those they poke into and leave with disgust.  At others they linger, and you can almost see their throats pulsing as they drink. 

The combination of plants has offered me sights I've never seen before.  The female (they have the whitish throats; males have the ruby red--in our region, anyway) likes to perch on a branch of the Walking Stick for a rest.  The other day while it was raining, I saw her sit in her favorite spot and stick her beak straight up in the air for about thirty seconds.  I swear she was catching the rainwater! 

Today, I got to see a pair of cardinals in the Aesculus, feet away from me, as if they were showing off their colors.  Yesterday a female Oriole fluttered around in there.  The male was flashing around, but he didn't settle. 

These are pretty common birds, so maybe I'm making a big deal about not too much.  But this open stretch of glass allows me to be a part of nature--which I love--while working--which I also love.  It is the best of both worlds.  It is SO much better than writing with my laptop balanced on my lap as I sprawl on the couch and crane my neck up at our projector screen. 

I am pretty sure these birds were here last year.  I've seen all of them occasionally before.  Never have I seen them so frequently and so clearly.  Just goes to show that sometimes you just need to sweep away the obstructions to see the beauty that already exists right in front of you.