Walden Pond SR, Concord, Massachusetts
Still on the beaver's pond.
Look over there.
Cannot believe. Chickadees on dead trees.
Picking tangibles they value from the trunk hollows.
Never could I expect to see them here.
For me,
they are birds of lively crowns.
Flitting playfully amongst sparkling needles.
Yet HERE ?
Can I see what they see? Not really.
But it makes me think...
Weir Hill, North Andover, Massachusetts
Gazing into the colors...
And there they are.
Chickadees,
amidst the shades of autumn,
picking the seeds.
Some will be stored for the winter...
Walden Pond, Massachusetts
We hear them on our walks, those tshcick-a-dee-dee sounds that raise winter spirits.
Somewhere in the crowns, flying from branch to branch,
always in motion but almost never too close to be seen...
And then comes the view, among nearby branches.
Hops, stops, cleans her feathers in a jiffy, hops...
Makes me feel good about this mild winter...
Mass Audubon Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, Massachusetts
First sunny day after the snow storm.
Most of the unworn nature is in white blanket, the temps hover around -8°C.
Harsh times for birds. But they keep spirits. For them, it is a matter of survival...
... their life force passes through my soul, I feel privileged...
Fells Reservation, Massachusetts
The winter is not that far-off.
Chickadees are earnestly caching seeds in the bark of trees, in the cracks of wood.
Flying about, with brief stops, just to check... it seems all is known, even my gaze...
Of all the birds, Stalking Wolf respected the chickadee the most, even more than the hawk or the owl... We learned to be patient observers like the owl. We learned cleverness from the crow, and courage from the jay... But above all of them ranked the chickadee because of his indomitable spirit.
The exuberance of the chickadee made him our idol...
A chickadee doesn't look like a good bet for survival; you could close your hand with one in the palm almost without hurting him. There are better fliers; swallows have more grace and all the soaring birds are more spectacular. But nobody flies with more reckless abandon than the chickadee, and nobody flies with more delight.
The chickadee lives by joyous faith in living...
The TRACKER (as told by Tom Brown, Jr. to William Jon Watkins)
