Okay, on to the winged part.... Also way back 20 or so years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ken Carey who had written "Return of the Bird Tribes," a piece about how native tribes, especially in the northeast part of our continent, carried out practices that created peace between different groups. Carey is saying that there are a few of us humans who have come back with that as a goal and value. Made sense to me. And since I always have loved birds and feathers -- their beauty, their smarts, the incredible variety -- hmm, okay, I'm there. If you'll bear with me, I will share some brief but memorable sketches of my bird encounters:
* * *
During the revival of street trees along the busy boulevard at the top of Capitol Hill in Seattle that is Broadway, I recall my delight that the city was greening an intensely commercial area, and that the best part of all was that it was now possible to not only have cleaner air, hear the musical rustle of the leaves in the breeze, but -- most importantly -- come eyeball-to-eyeball with -- a sparrow!
During the revival of street trees along the busy boulevard at the top of Capitol Hill in Seattle that is Broadway, I recall my delight that the city was greening an intensely commercial area, and that the best part of all was that it was now possible to not only have cleaner air, hear the musical rustle of the leaves in the breeze, but -- most importantly -- come eyeball-to-eyeball with -- a sparrow!
***
The Quetzalcoatl, the colorful bird of Mexico, exists in my mind as more myth than reality, though it is replicated in ultra-colorful large macaws. Whenever I come across such a feather, I truly feel blessed.
* * *
Before I left Seattle to transplant myself to southern California, I was given a large mandala made out of feathers, an etheric shield of sorts, by a member of the Native American-led spiritual meditation group I was a part of. For the move, I carefully boxed it up in an oversize, thin carton that accommodated its two-foot “wing span.” For three years, it remained boxed while I became acclimated to my new environment; we don’t want to rush into these things, after all.
When I finally made the move to the Los Angeles area from San Diego, finding Malibu as home, I had forgotten what was in that odd-shaped box, but amazingly it had a pulse, a life of its own that made it stand out from all the rest of the boxes that had been in storage for so long. The feather shield practically spoke to me like an old and good friend when I lifted it carefully out of its container. Even without the feathers inside, the box itself seemed to have life and light in it. I was amazed.
* * *
I was first brought to Malibu to housesit for friends I had known 25 years earlier in Seattle when we had met as houseboat neighbors. Their Malibu house was in the middle of what had been a large ranch and now was being gradually subdivided. Still, there were wide open spaces. A long drive lined by trees led up to the walled compound. On my first night there, having driven from Hollywood along Sunset all the way to the ocean, and then up Pacific Coast Highway, I was clear that I could stop wondering where I would make a home. Malibu was it.
As I drove through the gate at the end of the drive in the gathering dusk, I saw -- and felt -- a dark form swoop down over the hood of the car. It had to have been an owl. I appreciated the welcome. The next day, when I walked down the drive to water the trees, an owl feather whispered to me from the ground, and of course has found its way into my permanent collection.
* * *
Of course, there is also the chance meeting in Santa Fe one day, the last day of a holiday there (well before my move to Southern California) when a certain tall, friendly Indian approached me as I strolled along the Rio Grande in the quaint town. The affable native asked me how I was, and then interjected that he thought I looked a little sad. I told him I was, indeed, sad since this was my last walk along the river before returning to my home in the Pacific Northwest. He looked at me earnestly and admonished me to please go to see his artist friends in Taos, that I needed to see people in the pueblos. I took it as a deeply insightful and thoughtful gesture, and regretted I didn’t have the time. His friend called to him, and as he left he extended his hand with its long fingers, and introduced himself. “I’m Lee Feather. I’m pleased to meet you.”
* * *
I welcome the thought that, as Ken Carey says, indigenous people see birds as closest to the Creator, here to bring messages and love from above. But besides my personal connection with our feathered friends from early on, I simply reflect on the simple pleasures of bird watching: of seeing a flock of 25 pelicans flying low in formation above the ocean just offshore, effortlessly gliding on updrafts, or gently moving their massive wings almost in unison; or the even more intense scene of perhaps 50 birds, smaller than the pelicans, flying in a cloud, all making their moves in the same direction at the same time (how do they know when to dip and swerve?); or of seeing an entire flock of red-beaked seagulls, standing (on one leg or two) on the sand, all facing into the wind and the setting sun; or in my mind seeing the scene reported by my sister who noticed that a flock of sparrows sitting on a telephone wire had, in the center, a light turquoise parakeet who obviously found freedom and companionship, no doubt oblivious to their genetic differences. Many things to learn from our delicate, beautiful, and gifted feathered friends.
* * *
And then again, perhaps the most affecting experience with a bird image was when a roadrunner appeared as a cloud formation in Seattle’s western sky while I was on a trip north tying up some loose ends after my Swedish aunt’s death. The roadrunner had been her mascot; she had them everywhere. According to Indian legend, roadrunner originally had a colorful tail and plumage, but lost it when the sun god attacked him for retrieving fire for the people. The most astounding thing about the vaporous image in the sky was that for about a minute a small rainbow actually appeared across the tail, an echo of the native legend.
I am convinced that spirit comes to us in many ways, but that birds with their feathers bring something – and mean something – extra special.
Anita M. Coolidge
760.479.0301
http://www.wingsofbreath.dreamhost.com/
The Quetzalcoatl, the colorful bird of Mexico, exists in my mind as more myth than reality, though it is replicated in ultra-colorful large macaws. Whenever I come across such a feather, I truly feel blessed.
* * *
Before I left Seattle to transplant myself to southern California, I was given a large mandala made out of feathers, an etheric shield of sorts, by a member of the Native American-led spiritual meditation group I was a part of. For the move, I carefully boxed it up in an oversize, thin carton that accommodated its two-foot “wing span.” For three years, it remained boxed while I became acclimated to my new environment; we don’t want to rush into these things, after all.
When I finally made the move to the Los Angeles area from San Diego, finding Malibu as home, I had forgotten what was in that odd-shaped box, but amazingly it had a pulse, a life of its own that made it stand out from all the rest of the boxes that had been in storage for so long. The feather shield practically spoke to me like an old and good friend when I lifted it carefully out of its container. Even without the feathers inside, the box itself seemed to have life and light in it. I was amazed.
* * *
I was first brought to Malibu to housesit for friends I had known 25 years earlier in Seattle when we had met as houseboat neighbors. Their Malibu house was in the middle of what had been a large ranch and now was being gradually subdivided. Still, there were wide open spaces. A long drive lined by trees led up to the walled compound. On my first night there, having driven from Hollywood along Sunset all the way to the ocean, and then up Pacific Coast Highway, I was clear that I could stop wondering where I would make a home. Malibu was it.
As I drove through the gate at the end of the drive in the gathering dusk, I saw -- and felt -- a dark form swoop down over the hood of the car. It had to have been an owl. I appreciated the welcome. The next day, when I walked down the drive to water the trees, an owl feather whispered to me from the ground, and of course has found its way into my permanent collection.
* * *
Of course, there is also the chance meeting in Santa Fe one day, the last day of a holiday there (well before my move to Southern California) when a certain tall, friendly Indian approached me as I strolled along the Rio Grande in the quaint town. The affable native asked me how I was, and then interjected that he thought I looked a little sad. I told him I was, indeed, sad since this was my last walk along the river before returning to my home in the Pacific Northwest. He looked at me earnestly and admonished me to please go to see his artist friends in Taos, that I needed to see people in the pueblos. I took it as a deeply insightful and thoughtful gesture, and regretted I didn’t have the time. His friend called to him, and as he left he extended his hand with its long fingers, and introduced himself. “I’m Lee Feather. I’m pleased to meet you.”
* * *
I welcome the thought that, as Ken Carey says, indigenous people see birds as closest to the Creator, here to bring messages and love from above. But besides my personal connection with our feathered friends from early on, I simply reflect on the simple pleasures of bird watching: of seeing a flock of 25 pelicans flying low in formation above the ocean just offshore, effortlessly gliding on updrafts, or gently moving their massive wings almost in unison; or the even more intense scene of perhaps 50 birds, smaller than the pelicans, flying in a cloud, all making their moves in the same direction at the same time (how do they know when to dip and swerve?); or of seeing an entire flock of red-beaked seagulls, standing (on one leg or two) on the sand, all facing into the wind and the setting sun; or in my mind seeing the scene reported by my sister who noticed that a flock of sparrows sitting on a telephone wire had, in the center, a light turquoise parakeet who obviously found freedom and companionship, no doubt oblivious to their genetic differences. Many things to learn from our delicate, beautiful, and gifted feathered friends.
* * *
And then again, perhaps the most affecting experience with a bird image was when a roadrunner appeared as a cloud formation in Seattle’s western sky while I was on a trip north tying up some loose ends after my Swedish aunt’s death. The roadrunner had been her mascot; she had them everywhere. According to Indian legend, roadrunner originally had a colorful tail and plumage, but lost it when the sun god attacked him for retrieving fire for the people. The most astounding thing about the vaporous image in the sky was that for about a minute a small rainbow actually appeared across the tail, an echo of the native legend.
I am convinced that spirit comes to us in many ways, but that birds with their feathers bring something – and mean something – extra special.
Anita M. Coolidge
760.479.0301
http://www.wingsofbreath.dreamhost.com/
1 comment:
Anita,
Very interesting blogs.
Who/ What is out there.
You seem to know better than most.
Good work
Best,
Moses
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