BIG BLACK BIRD! Yesterday I went out into my garden with camera in hand  ... I have been doing this for quite a few months, first while my husband was recuperating from a heart attack, and now I have continued on after my almost heart attack...or what ever it was that took me to the hospital a couple of weeks ago...

Its been a lovely break for me ... I enjoy all the sights and sounds within my yard and garden,  the fragrances of my flowers ... my eyes become filled with the beauty of nature while I am encased within the privacy of my wooden fences, I am there, in a world of my own for a little while...so nice, my husband seems to enjoy sitting quietly along side of me during some of those times.

Soon I will return to my doctors, and perhaps be allowed to drive again, and do a bit more than what I have been able to do lately ... thank goodness my HoneyBear has been feeling somewhat better these days, although at times it has definitely been the blind leading the blind ... or should I say the grey leading the grey? A blond friend of mine who found herself in a similar predicament and lives in a household of blonds called it the blond leading the blond ...  anyway you sort of get the idea, :-D

Returning to yesterday, there I was, and nothing ...  no rabbits, no butterflies, no exceptional flowers, no pretty sounds of birds singing, no refreshing breezes ... a rather glum, hot, and icky feeling day.

I sat there waiting ... convinced that the loveliness would occur at any moment ... all there was to see and hear was a big noisy black bird. I have seen him there before as I was busily , photographing what I considered to be amazing sights, he usually is fluttering about making a racket, not bad racket but well sort of breaking the silence and beauty I so have been enjoying.

Having nothing better to look at I focused on the big black bird, and he proceeded to preen, and do his birdy thing...after awhile I realized he is quite regal, really sort of pretty! I'm convinced he was trying to get my attention and has been doing so all along; I just never really paid that much attention to him, but he is always there in our yard, sometimes clumsily trying to bathe in our small birdbath
 :-D

So here he is... :-) my gorgeous, big black feathered, garden guest!

He has highlights of dark blue, and violet in his coal black glossy feathers when the Sun is shining on him just so.

In this photo he looks like the cover of a book or story ... once upon a time on a wooden fence there sat a big black bird and....

Shake a tail feather???? By the way he sings quiet prettily, I think the squawking sounds must have been something like hey look at me???... :-D

He finally got tired of all the posing and singing and flew off to sit on top of our shed roof, He sat there preening and doing his feathers as I started into the house....

As I walked in the direction of our door there on the fence was a gorgeous butterfly....

 The prettiest I have been able to photograph so far....

and it was doing little antics too, and I was able to get some great PICS of it! :-)

I happily went in the house... thinking, beauty is all around...we just have to stop and look...like the saying about taking time to smell the roses ... :-) Blessings, Arita