Branch office
Friday January 31st 2014, 8:50 pm
Filed under: Life,Lupus,Wildlife

I was in the middle of answering an email about Coopernicus when there he was, swooping in, same time of day.

That branch is a favorite king-of-the-mountain spot for feathered and furred because it offers a commanding view of the birdfeeder and the yard, but it is dead and is on our must-go list, I’m sorry to say. Too dry. Too flammable.

And then I noticed for the first time that there in front of the dense limbs and leaves it also provided room for him to open those big wings wide unimpeded to lift off at full speed if need be. Interesting. (Those branches that look big and in the way in front of him in the second picture are actually the little twigs around the birdfeeder.)

He watched over me for 28 minutes, occasionally telling the world about it, occasionally looking around at every leaf from his side–while the rest of the bird kingdom held its breath unseen.

He left and there was a sudden explosion of life. A junco tumbled out of the olive tree, pulling up to a safe finish just at the ground. Towhees jockeyed for suet, a chickadee to the feeder, then a dove arrived below at the all-clear. Briefly.

Another grand scurry and all became still again.

And I went off to pick up my husband from work so I could tell him what the doctor said about the latest on the Graves results: autoantibodies that cause hypothyroidism and autoantibodies that cause hyperthyroidism. For the lucky patients, they balance out. Me, well, no.  Several months of testing to come.

And I utterly forgot to give the doctor the hat in my purse that I’d knitted for his wife. Which answers my question as to whether it was the right project for her: no. Not there yet. But then knitting some more while having a spare for the give-away bag is not exactly a punishment.


5 Comments so far
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Wow! Your yard is just full of excitement! And I hope the branch removal simply allows another to take it’s place. The conflicting medical results do give one pause, but I guess it’s good they’re watching it. Keep up the knitting; you know that hat will be just right for the as yet unknown recipient.

Comment by DebbieR 01.31.14 @ 10:59 pm

DebbieR: Alison’s “yard” sounds more like a private aviary!
Alison, hope Coopernicus continues to keep you company while you await test results.

Comment by LynnM 02.01.14 @ 3:29 am

I love it! No coincidences. Your hawk can read your mind – or monitor? – and I am inspired by your willingness to let your knits tell you where they need to go.

Comment by Channon 02.01.14 @ 7:48 am

I can verify that Alison’s yard is much better than any TV show. Action…drama…comedy – what else do you need? 🙂

Comment by (formerly) no-blog-rachel 02.01.14 @ 8:59 am

What fun! It reminds me of watching the birds at the cabin-in-the woods (and on a lake!) we owned for twenty years. Loved it!

Comment by Abby McKean 02.01.14 @ 10:20 am



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