talismans from summer past

our resident sandhill crane couple departed for warmer temps in october. but we are still finding mementos of their stay with us. both birds molted in late summer, and on some days the back yard looked as if it had a dusting of snow, because there were so many downy feathers everywhere. i suspect when the snow melts next spring, i will still be finding sandhill crane feathers. and by then, fingers crossed, our two will be back with us. supposedly, sandhills have “high nest fidelity”, which means they often come back to the same nesting grounds. fingers crossed. i cannot express the feeling of tranquility it brought to our house to have these two pre-historic beasts wandering contentedly in the yard all day. it was wondrous.

sandhill crane feather