strange_bird bijou birdmad? 010923 ... art crimes amen 010923 ... birdmad someone calling? 010923 ... misstree meow. 010924 ... uneasy bird ~~ is wary of cats ~~ 010924 ... spooky fish is neither flesh nor fowl the cassowary for example blue and red and black and grey plumage large ugly red wattle and has claws on its toes that could gut a man with single kick ...yeah, that's pretty strange 010926 ... guitar_freak blue heron fucking glorious bird swerving and diving in and out of those canyons. Makes me wish I was a bird, so majestic and strong. 011125 ... crOwl peacock screaming at sunset, my call home from child's play 050925 ... log burning fire i was hauling water to the goats and horses, when i saw a strange shape imprinted in the snow about ten feet from my path. i set the buckets down and had a look. at first glance i could tell it was a bird. yet, upon closer inspection, i was startled with a mixture of shock and true_joy. it was a red-tailed hawk. it had fallen on its back and had its wings spread in front of its body as if it was embracing death like a dance partner. i photographed it and could see where it had struggled intensely, forming a snow angel around its dying self. there was a mark also where its claws had reached out as far as they could. i wondered if at first it was still alive because i couldn't see its eyes. the face was half-buried in snow, laying back with acceptance. it was so still, though, so i figured the death was recent. i couldn't touch it. i have seen many animals die. it rips deep at the soul. i texted kathy a photo and a brief story. she was out and looking for it in her ugg slippers immediately. her brown eyes sparkling with some kind of natural magic. she lifted it from its place with a tender beauty, as if it was the dead body of christ himself. this bird had obviously died for us. we looked at it for several intense minutes of wonder and child-like fascination, turning it over, finding the downy belly, the perfect symmetry, coupled with abstract patterns of the feather structure. artful design blended brilliantly with vicious practicality, and engineered mastery of its kind. we thought of hilary and her cabinets of wonders. could we have it taxidermied and give it to her as a birthday gift? turns out they are protected and must be reported to a local nature center. it is illegal to possess one and prohibited by law to be taxidermied. it was one of the coolest things we have ever experienced together. we brought it inside and kathy, being an expert photographer, set it up and did an amazing series she will have up on her site. this is rynomari 32. 130107 what's it to you? who go blather from