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April 25, 2005
Feathers
A couple of weeks ago, Marie published this amazing picture of a robin with ruffled feathers. I was stunned by it and have gone back to it several times.
And then a downy woodpecker was sitting on a branch outside my study window yesterday, right at eye level. Now, if you click on the link that I've provided, you'll see that the male downy has a red smudge on the back of his head. Just a smudge; not much more. But when the wind is coming from the west and the woodpecker is facing to the east, those red feathers get ruffled up into a magnificent crest. And I don't think I ever would have seen it if I hadn't already seen that robin through Marie's lens. So thanks, Marie, for helping me see this familiar little bird in a whole new way.
Posted by senioritis at April 25, 2005 10:06 PM