Seeking Successive Autumns?

IMG_8968Our bird from last week has returned twice now, each time staying longer than the time before.

The last time, I stood a mere five feet away and took pictures while he watched, sizing me up. Even when LCB and the neighbors showed up and my flash went rogue, he remained.

IMG_8974I think he’s an old soul.

I don’t know why he chose our deck out of all the decks in the world, but given that his appearances have coincided with the advent of autumn, I’d like to think it has something to do with George Eliot’s sentiments about the season. She says of autumn, “Delicious autumn. My soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns.”

IMG_8976So perhaps he’s a bird flying about the islands, catching the beginning changes of the season on the coast: the humidity now broken, the Atlantic currents now losing their bath water temperatures, the hints of gold soon to erupt on the salt marsh.

I guess I should be on the same page as Mary Ann (i.e., George), but I can’t help but be reminded of the aviary species’ penchant for “gifting” me. Even more so, his successive visits are reminding me of a similar series of events that led to the now defunct Pelican Watch.

And so, after more than two stalk-free years, perhaps it begins again.

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