"Sometimes, The Mindless Is The Bestest!"

The Elusive Bird...

Good "Friday" Morning, all bodies!

Well, I reluctantly left the coffeehouse knowing that there was so many things I needed to do that I just didn't want to do. Like a buddy of mine, who decided to leave as I did, admitted he, too, was just procrastinating.

As I drove along the driveway, a small branch from one of the oaks, brushed along the roof of the car a bit more heavily than the day before... and the day before that, and the day before that.

"Okay, okay, I said to myself, that'll be the first thing I will tackle this morning!"

But, when I opened the car door, there was that bird song that some folks tell me belongs to a wood thrush... and maybe it is. I took out the pole mounted pruning saw and headed straight for that driveway branch, but the bird's call seemed to get closer and closer.

What IS that bird?

I can't miss an opportunity like this, I thought. I need vindication!

So, I headed back into the kitchen to grab the best of the three binoculars I own and headed back out to get a glimpse. Oh man, it was so close... so close as I carefully maneuvered my way into a shady position where I could comfortably hold up the binoculars and scan the mid morning sunlit trees.

At 10:30, I was already feeling the heat.

With my back up against a pine tree, I followed the song with every move from one branch to another, but never found the sound. Within ten minutes of my aerial pursuit, the treetops that surrounded me, became silent. The bird's warbling song was not gone, but migrated from one tree to another and every momentary peek I had following that noise produced one regular yardbird after another.

I snuck up onto some commotion in one of our blueberry bushes, only to see a female cardinal fly away with a big, ripe berry in her beak.

"Hey, Lady, I said, glad to be of a service to you!"

The bird call became distant, then, just above me. Then, to the left of me, then, to the right. There had to be more than just one "cheep, cheep, cheree!"

For over three summers now, from late Spring to early Fall, there's a vibe that I can hear, but can never see and maybe, for me, it is just not meant to be. So frustrating!

Seems like we, as a species, always have to find a solution, fix the problem, make all the pieces fit logically, have some sense of reasoning, attempt to explain or justify our existence, and maybe, to seek and inadvertently, destroy.

I don't know, but once again, after wasting about an hour chasing that sonic dream, maybe, just maybe, I'm better off allowing some mysteries to stay mysterious... and magical.

It was something to contemplate indoors, in the air conditioned studio, with a ginger ice tea. And, ya know, that hanging tree branch will still be there hanging tomorrow!

First cup!

Copyright 2022/ Ben Bensen III