Goldfinches at the Spa

When the Smoke was at its worst, there didn't seem to be any birds about. But little  by little as the air quality improved, they began to come back, not so much to the feeders as to the water sources...especially those with running water. It was a pleasure to watch them bathing and drinking fresh water with relish.

The filter in this fountain was choked with ashes and soot so John went out today and cleared it. The word spread quickly, and the first birds to arrive were the goldfinches.Others arrived but birds are adept at social distancing and waited their turn with perfect spacing between them on the edge of  the garage roof. I loved the stance of the one on the right, seemingly fascinated with its own image in the water. 

I read in the paper that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny,  in a German hospital recuperating from being poisoned with a nerve agent. Although there is no other way in which I could begin to compare our situation with his, I admired his sarcastic humor when he joked about being able to breathe on his own without a ventilator.  Just on my own, no extra help , I didn't even use the simplest valve in my throat. I liked it very much. It is a remarkable process that is underestimated by many. Strongly recommended.... Until it is threatened in some way, we do tend to take the act of breathing for granted.

At least when we can see the air we are breathing and it hurts the lungs to draw those breaths we have the option to stay inside until the smoke clears which it is finally doing here.