Life is either
a daring adventure
or nothing at all.
~Helen Keller
or nothing at all.
~Helen Keller
Chunky and noisy,
but with stars in their black feathers,
they spring from the telephone wire
and instantly
they are acrobats
in the freezing wind.
And now, in the theater of air,
they swing over buildings,
dipping and rising;
they float like one stippled star
that opens, becomes for a moment fragmented,
then closes again;
and you watch
and you try
but you simply can’t imagine
how they do it
with no articulated instruction, no pause,
only the silent confirmation
that they are this notable thing,
this wheel of many parts,
that can rise and spin over and over again,
full of gorgeous life.
Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us…
~Excerpt from a poem by Mary Oliver
they spring from the telephone wire
and instantly
they are acrobats
in the freezing wind.
And now, in the theater of air,
they swing over buildings,
dipping and rising;
they float like one stippled star
that opens, becomes for a moment fragmented,
then closes again;
and you watch
and you try
but you simply can’t imagine
how they do it
with no articulated instruction, no pause,
only the silent confirmation
that they are this notable thing,
this wheel of many parts,
that can rise and spin over and over again,
full of gorgeous life.
Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us…
~Excerpt from a poem by Mary Oliver
As starlings gather in the evenings to roost, often they will participate in what is called a murmuration — a huge flock that shape-shifts in the sky as if it were one swirling liquid mass. Often the behavior is sparked by the presence of a predator like a hawk or peregrine falcon, and the flock’s movement is based on evasive maneuvers. There is safety in numbers, so the individual starlings do not scatter, but rather are able to move as an intelligent cloud, feinting away from a diving raptor, thousands of birds changing direction almost simultaneously.
*I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw. ~Proverbs 24:32 ✝
** Images via Pinterest
Sacred Touches 
I have seen a small swarm like that a few times. It would be amazing to see such a large one. You’re correct to point out that making observations is only the first step.
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I’ve never actually seen one myself, but I’ve seen a couple of videos of them. And I’m fascinated by them. Yes, you’re right. It all starts with observation. 🙂
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Thank You for your Lovely posts. I Truly Appreciate and enjoy Your Inspirations 🙂 Happy Friday and Have a Fantastic Week End~
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You are so very welcome, Morgan! I’m glad you enjoy my posts. I pray you have a marvelous weekend as well. Hugs and love, N ❤
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Cool! Murmuration–I’ve seen that many times in the big sky of Nebraska–not so much in the city. I miss the murmurations. I also miss my cloud of friends from Nebraska as well. Thankfully I’m murmuring with a great bunch of folks where I live now and also in the WordPress cloud. Murmur on! And have a great day, Natalie! Laura
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I’ve never seen a murmuration here. The ones I’ve seen were on videos and I’m fascinated by them. I’m so glad you have found new friends to murmur with. Yes I shall murmur on too. I hope you have a fabulous weekend, Laura. ❤
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They are amazing and keep me mesmerized. I am in awe of their tandem precision —not knowing their swarming was called murmuration—I quite like that as just saying that words seems to echo their massive reverberations on the clear winter wind—
Hugs and love my California girl!!
peachy cookie through and through
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They are incredibly amazing and mesmerizing. Like you I’m in awe when I watch them. I’ve only seen them on videos, but I’d love to see one for real one day. You are peachy through and through, my friend. And I LOVE peaches. We had a peach tree in our back yard in California, and my momma made the best peach pies and homemade peach ice cream on the planet. Hugs and love from your California girl. ❤
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You have snow!
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Yes, I do and hooooooooooray for WP. They’ve added a chat feature to the stats page and so today I asked how I could make it snow, and the very nice lady told me and it was so easy. So I am one happy camper. Hugs, N ❤
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I have seen this on TV. We don’t have this here in New Zealand. Though it is fun to watch the birds just having fun in the wind where they just glide around, letting the wind take them. They are like kites in the wind. Fascinating to watch birds enjoying it. Lovely post. 😀
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We don’t have them here either, Raewyn. I’ve seen them on the internet in videos and am fascinated by them. They do look like they are have a great time dancing in the air. I’m glad you enjoyed the post. Have a great weekend. Oh, I guess yours has already started though. Hugs, N 🙂
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Great post.:)
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Thank you, Gigi. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Have a great weekend. Hugs, N ❤
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I love the images and the thoughts you shared…Very special.
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Thank you, Charlie. I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂
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Beautiful lines and perfect images to go with 🙂
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Thank you so much. I’m glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂
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I like love this and the fact that you caught these little shape shifters so beautifully! 💗💜
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I wish I had, but I didn’t catch the little shape shifters. I’ve never seen them here so I looked and found this photo on Pinterest. Hugs, N ❤
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You are so smart! I love this post! (✿◠‿◠) ❤
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lovely.. ❤
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Thanks, Leyla! 🙂 ❤
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Hi Natalie. Wow, what a befitting quote at the top for the topic at hand here eh. A daring adventure indeed. I can even apply that to my life (Although I don’t do as these birds do, obviously). That is a fabulous photo of the birds. It’s like their way of protecting one another.
Love and blessings. 🙂 ❤
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I’m glad you enjoyed the post, Staci! I love the way they protect each other too. Have a great week! Love And hugs, N ❤ 🙂
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