Turkey Day
We found it auspicious that two Cooper's Hawks took up residence in a nest high up in the White Pines outside our bedroom window shortly before we found out Hillary was pregnant for the first time. And for the first time in his 12 years, our dog Chuckles had just stopped sleeping in the bedroom with us. We later listened to others' stories about their pets uncanny forecasting of an addition to their broods.

This is the tree where we had a secret marriage ceremony and it's the same spot where she asked the justice of the peace if the word "obey" was still in the vows. A short time later I remembered that I had done this painting. That same morning of our elopement we woke to find two turkeys also outside our bedroom window and looked up the omen in a book of American Indian mythology while denying ourselves a more colloquial and humorous interpretation. We knew it was significant because we had seen turkeys only twice before, and always on Thanksgiving.

A couple of days ago as the sky was starting to turn dark I was standing at the beginning of the path down to that same Leery conservation property in Monument Beach watching my daughter drop sticks in the creek and run to the other side of the little bridge to wait for them to float by. Suddenly, a flurry of feathers darted by our heads. Perhaps it was a hawk or even an owl -- it happened so quickly -- but I got a glimpse of a small red bird up front zig-zagging through the thicket.

Copyright 2006 DOUG RUGH. Artwork may not be reproduced without permission.