the bird show

last night my little girl and i laid on our backs in one of those long lawn chairs and watched hoards of blackbirds criss cross above. our yard has super-tall trees that encircle the sky with a deep green ring of branches. kind of like a big christmas wreath with a twilight neon bowl shaped sky filling up the center. we were like the big bow at the bottom of the wreath, our arms and legs overlapping on the lawn chair.

the birds made a really loud raucous. loud enough to have to raise our voices a little to hear one another. the frenzied chirping must be a part of their ritual. they must be saying something with all that. or maybe they're just creating a buzz for themselves.

i've always been really sensitive to noise. i feel it in my skin - the vibration. if it's really loud it penetrates my spinal column. the bird frenzy was an interesting tickling sensation in the lower third of my spine. i can see how it would be a nuisance to someone trying to do something serious out here. like sleep or something. kind of like a lawn mower. but tonight we delighted in their rambunctious chirping. we giggled and said "here they come!" and joined them in their excitement.

they swooped down into the twilight bowl and then back up to perch in the highest points of the evergreens. then all of a sudden - silence. no more chirping. totally silent. still silent. and still. still. still. it was unbelievable. we held our breath waiting.

then just as suddenly and loudly, they resumed their resonant chirping. they did a few more orchestrated laps, and kept tweeting and twittering up to the tippy tops of the trees. i'd fix my eye on one and watch the branch bob underneath his little toes. "see him up there? he's got to hold on tight!" i'd say. "hold on tight!" she'd echo.

then silence again, kicked off this time by a robust maestro tweet. then, still totally silent, two groups flying opposite ways swooped in really low, circled around the bowl, criss crossed, and disappeared into the trees. we were a little stunned at that point.

it was very much like the grand finale of a fireworks show, only this one built up to a totally quiet climax. totally quiet except for their wings, which reminded me of that sound you make when you shake out a pillow case. only instead of one big pillow case, it was like 300 teeny ones, all flapping at once. it was something.

this bird show will be part of our regular routine for however long it runs. we'll add it to the already popular after dark "check the crickets" routine. that's where we say hello to the crickets, and to venus, and sometimes to the moon.

"mommy wants to check the crickets," she says in her sweet little voice.

yes, mommy does.

cue: "blackbird" by the beatles
"you were only waiting for this moment to arise...."