Happy Friday, dear loves, and welcome to the Open Mic! If you’re new here, on Fridays we get together here for some chat. (Sometimes there’s a guest artist instead.) The topic varies from week to week, but everyone is welcome to participate in the comments.
This morning I was doing yoga in the living room when I became aware of a strange series of sounds outside. When we lived in San Pablo I was accustomed to the conversation of chickens, and sometimes geese, but this didn’t sound like either of those. I went to the window and peeked through the blinds to see — turkeys!
Is it because I’ve been reading so much Georgette Heyer that I thought instantly of elegant lords and ladies at a ball? The hens are like gowned ladies, clustering together, their trains spread out behind them. As for the males — I never realized courting toms were so “prodigious elegant” (as one of Heyer’s Regency characters might say)! The way they fan those glorious dark tails tipped with gold, the graceful carriage of their dramatic bulk (they are much bigger than the hens), the way they strut and stop and point their feathers — they are exquisite, like characters out of an opera.
Alas, I didn’t get good photos, but I did take a little bit of video. I couldn’t get close enough to capture the courting behavior, but you can see the males a little bit, toward the right of the screen.
What amazed you this week? What had you gaping, delighted? Share anything, large or small. Catch you in the comments!
satsumabug.com | Lisa Hsia 
I met with my sister on Wednesday to trade some pantry items we each realized we couldn’t use but thought the other probably would. I’d waited for hours at a certain government office that morning and early afternoon, and while my sister and I were sharing a long walk and some conversation, I told her how shocked I was when the woman at the office who finally met with me was gentle, polite, and more helpful than I would ever have expected. The problem isn’t completely over, but I watched her do the best that she could.
I’d anticipated gruffness, eye-rolling exasperation and insinuations that she thought I was much less than intelligent. Instead, she smiled and asked if I had any other problems or questions she could help with. I was amazed. My sister understood, and we smiled about it together as we walked.
Oh, hooray! It’s so heartening to meet kindness and courtesy where one expected brusqueness and disregard. And yay sisters — and pantry swaps. 🙂 Hope the encouraging signs have continued into this week.
I have been amazed by wild turkeys this week, too! I’m currently reading Joe Hutto’s Illumination in the Flatwoods after watching “My Life as a Turkey” – both highly recommended.
Yay turkeys!! I’ll check out both your recommendations. Thank you, Emily!
Entering a church where I was attending the service of a young man,I saw a bunch of trees. He liked to hike, He loved the outdoors. The trees were to be planted in three areas which were close to him and his family.
Beautiful thought, sad too. But how wondrous to see trees in a church.
Beautiful! Love how you capture the interaction in words…a literary, dramatic dance. It’s great when you’re in a mental space to be able to recognize and record the beauty in the natural world around us, especially given the technological/ electronic “nature” of everything else.
This week, it was observing the full, pregnant, almost golden moon with my little ones. There was an eclipse of some sort. (Sorry, I didn’t pay that much attention to the news in science this week.) 🙂 The children were so intrigued, as was I, that we stopped to photograph it. Meaningful moments. Namasté.
Thank you ever much, Empress! I’m going to try to recognize and record more of the wonder of the world — I’ll post about that at some point soon, but I have a new idea for how to go about it. 🙂
I marveled at the moon last week too! Isn’t it something?