FREEDOM

Sitting in my backyard hot tub this morning, a flashy magpie’s bright white body caught my eye, very high up in one of a neighbor’s pinetrees, as the bird hopped in a circle, flashing its beautiful black and blue wings and tailfeathers while making a fair amount of noise. Next to it, in a branch very closeby, a tan and cream, round head moved up and back down a few times. Clearly, it wasn’t a predator or Mr. Magpie wouldn’t have landed there or continued the birdcalls. Wishing I had field glasses in the hot tub, the barnowl lifted off and what a sight to see. The striking wingspan lit up salmon and silver in the rising sun. Alone, as far as I could see, I nonetheless said aloud, “Oh my gosh!” The magpie seemed nonplussed.

Soon, two hummingbirds made their appearance on my deck above, finding food in the red calabrachoa flourishing in a couple pots. The dark green little visitors are outlasting others of their kind in our neighborhood, with the days getting shorter and some night temperatures down in the 40’s.

Seeing birds in flight makes me think of freedom. I realize they’re not free from hazards, but being able to defy gravity and move beautifully from spot to spot would feel so good. As someone who has legs that may or may not carry them solidly from room to room in my home, I envy the mobility and ease of lift off.

And, so, my Sara brain wanders and I chuckle, wondering if my post yesterday got any attention. I tagged ‘politics,’ which I never do, and it is that but, even more, it’s about humanity and compassion versus the complete absence of both. It’s my belief that any critically-thinking adult would vote for our democracy. I chuckled a bit more, reminding myself that I have one regular reader 0f my blog (shout out to Invisible Pain!) and, if I’m lucky, a couple more. I do write to a reading audience but, in reality it’s a very small group. That, my friends, is FREEDOM! I can write whatever the hell I want. If someone is offended? They probably didn’t read all of it and who cares? I don’t know them and they don’t know me. Obvious, right? Most bloggers probably go into their project so they can express their thoughts. I have, too, but I’ve censored myself. Why? I have no idea. It doesn’t matter; no one reads it!