My little room on retreat is on the third floor of a beautiful antebellum home that looks out over the James River in Virginia. The room still has the old fireplace and two original floor to ceiling windows, but the owner thoughtfully added in a ceiling fan, a skylight, and a window to the front to allow for air flow and light and a view of the mountain beyond the river.
The bed is just to the right of the skylight, perfect for stargazing before falling asleep. I've had the windows open the entire time. With the ceiling fan and a small desk fan it's been perfect, and I am able to listen to the birds, insects, and such which I find very comforting and inspiring as I work.
This morning I woke up to what sounded like something cantering across the roof. It definitely wasn't a squirrel, but it didn't sound like a four-legged creature so I was mesmerized. I looked up at the skylight and there were a pair of black vultures!
I adore black vultures. They do a much-needed service to man - eating and ridding the landscape of carcasses - and if you take the time to look at them they are incredibly handsome birds. If you've never seen them performing their morning cleansing ritual where they spread their wings and hold them to dry in the sun you are missing a gorgeous sight.
These two birds today seem to be as fascinated with me as I am with them. They are looking in at me, striking regal poses, spreading their wings, and generally putting on a show for me. I've never been this close to a black vulture, so close I can literally look into their eyes.
At least one culture viewed the black vulture as a symbol of the divine feminine. To me they symbolize that as well as a connection between the earth and heaven - to watch them fly is for me a thing of joy. They soar, they circle, they weave in and out as a group. They stand in groups when they feed and the spreading of wings in the sunshine makes them look, to me, like nature's black angels.
This is the last full day of my writing retreat and to have this visit this morning is the perfect start to my writing day. A gift that speaks to me on an archetypal level.
They flew earlier this morning but returned as I started this post. I'm honored.
billie hinton’s camera-obscura:
life and lessons on November Hill Farm
Beautiful :D
ReplyDeleteThey were amazing! I got a lot of photos but not very good ones as there was condensation on the glass of the skylight and the screen was there too. Looking at them myself, they were so handsome but the iPhone couldn't quite handle the focusing. What a treat!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds enchanting. I love the black birds they really are beautiful. And they are very smart birds too.
ReplyDeleteThey were flying circles over the house most of the afternoon. I hope they show up again tomorrow morning. I am thinking based on a downy feather that was left behind that they are juveniles.
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