"Could It Be, Could It Be!"

A 5"x 8.5" painting!

 Good "easing into" Sunday Morning, all bodies.

Well, it was another yucky, wet day three days ago with very little color, I felt, in my life. After all, the football season was gone. But, a little ray of sunshine came by to visit our bird feeder.

Through the kitchen nook I peered cautiously through the glass to analyze closer without scaring the bird. Closer and closer making no sudden moves… like reaching for one of the three binoculars which are always on the shelf just out of reach.

The size of the bird was bigger than a goldfinch, but smaller than a cardinal with an elongated head and a sharp narrow beak. I was too far behind the glass with the Venetian blinds to really get a better look. With a slight flinch, it was gone.

Replenishing my coffee cup, I sat at the kitchen table with my trusty laptop open for anything. A flash of blue caught my eye as our resident House Wren hopped atop and circled the birdbath looking for drowning insects. Another flash. It was too small to be one of those noisy and nosy bluejays. Could it be, could it be!

I decided to try, one more time, to attract a different variety of birds by purchasing some dried mealworms, and adding it to the feeder. What usually happens is the woodpeckers discard to the ground whatever isn’t a nut. The bluejays aren’t much better.

A decade ago, or so, I attempted to raise live mealworms and keep some in the refrigerator. I was pleasantly surprised that my wife didn’t mind, but disappointed that wherever I put them, the ants got to them before anything else did.

Another blue flash, but this time, the bird landed atop the feeder and was hitting on the mealworms big time. It was the male version of the bluebird… such a beautiful bird. Not moving a muscle, the bird I saw earlier in the morning was the female which now landed and joined in on the feast.

I read bluebirds can live from eight to ten years old, and we’ve had our box occupied for way past ten years. Now that I’ve got the couple’s attention, after all these years, I suspect that they or one of their siblings will drop by every day to entertain and amaze us with their “bluetifull” ways.

Peaceful Sunday Morning cup!

Copyright 2023/Ben Bensen III