a tale of wings

Pen, inks, stamp collage on sketchbook paper

The tale is in two parts, events that happened on consecutive days last week.  Part 1:  A kayak/canoe outing on the flood plains of the Laguna de Santa Rosa from Lynmar Estate with Mercy and Dave.  (me in the kayak with camera in hand looking at the Lynmar vineyard)

This waterway disappears in the summer, but during this rainy season the fields flood and birds flock to this area; my favorites – the white pelicans, egrets, great blue herons, as well as the hawks.  But on this day we were given a long and wondrous audience with a particular osprey who caught a rather large fish and then proceeded to eat it from an exposed perch while being assailed by hungry crows.  He was so busy with this predicament that he allowed us to get quite close to watch.

Part 2: My rare encounter with a newly metaphosed Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly who was pinned to my front door by gusts of wind before it was ready to fly. (see my last post Moonbird and Butterfly)  Bob snapped a picture for you to see. . .

Well, these two experiences combined for a heady potion of nature’s alchemical  brew and I headed to my art table to find out what the messages might be.  Here’s what came from “A tale of wings”:

I am the osprey.  I eat watchfully, always on edge, concerned the food may slip from my talons or be taken by other birds if I relax my vigilance for even a moment.

I am the butterfly who finds herself fragile and in a strange new world, where she must find her new wings and learn to use them or be blown away in the storm.

Who among us does not feel these things as we watch our world, led by economic chaos, changing so rapidly and wondering tensely how we will adjust?  The osprey and the butterfly make the necessary adjustments without the fear and gloom we superimpose on change.  I think I’ll try to do it their way!