I've always like the Japanese idea of placing beautiful stones in a garden; some of which may be tied-up with rope. These sekemori-ishi ( barrier keeper stones, or stopping stones) are not only to encourage visitors to stop to admire them, but can also mean 'keep out' or 'go no further'.
I often come across things in nature that have much the same effect (without the 'keep out' element), and I find myself admiring some small insignificant object that would not normally attract attention of others.
The above tiny feather is one such object. It looked up at me on my morning walk yesterday, and said 'pick me up'.
For those who may not know European birds, it's a feather from the upper edge of a Jay's wing; no doubt designed to attract the opposite sex. It certainly attracted me.
34 comments:
How beautiful! I always notice feathers. When I saw yours I immediately thought of our local blue jays.
A really exquisite little feather; it shone from the ground.
I love feather and pick them up. Your Blue Jay's feather is very beautiful.
I keep hoping the Cardinals that come around here will lose a feather but so far no luck.
cheers, parsnip and thehamish
Such a beautiful, and seemingly unnecessary, feather is a joy to find.
I bet that's a striking colour. I always pick up owl feathers and keep them.
I have a jay here who comes every day to eat the cat's food.
I also like to collect small things and put them in my garden.
I once found a very tiny feather that I keep as a book mark. I don't seem to find any here. Maybe because I live in town. I should get a dog.
I like heart-shaped pebbles too.
Greetings Maria x
Well spotted.
That's a great one for the Nature Table - 1950's school days memory triggered there. I don't suppose they have them these days.
I'm ashamed to say that we frightened off our Barn Owls when we started work on the Sechoir. I meant to make a nesting box for them, but haven't.
We have very few Jays, I think they must have been chased off by all the Magpies we now have. There's a whole army of them.
Feathers make good book marks; this one however is less than 2 cms long, and would probably get lost. Lady Magnon plants feathers in flower pots, amongst the blooms.
I don't suppose they have 'Nature Walks'either. Pity.
An eyecatching feather, a shiny beetle, a perfect solitary mushroom, and as autumn begins to take hold, a gorgeous array of yellow, red and orange leaves.
It's such a shame that most people fail to notice or appreciate nature's beauty.
And all for free Dave.
I think more people notice these small things than your reader thinks.
People who are trained to 'look' certainly do.
I love jay feathers, I found one like yours once, was going to keep it and try to find another so that I could make a pair of rather fetching earrings with them. We'd been out in the car for the day and I'd left it in the dashboard pocket and forgotten to take it indoors. The car went for an MOT the next day and of course when it came back the feather had gone. Such is life, it'll probably be years before I get a matching pair!
When you find a feather in front of you it is supposed to be a sign that your guardian angel is looking out for you. What a glorious angel you have! Brilliant colour. The feathers I usually I come across are scruffy and grey.
They really are beautiful things aren't they. They would make great earrings.
I've not heard that about angels.... mine will have a lot of 'looking out' to do.
Lots of jays around here. They and their cousins, the Cardinals, are the most common birds in my yard and woods. I am very fortunate indeed.
Lovely birds, we always used to see them together with the Magpies, but the Magpies seem to have taken over now.
One of the joys of walking is the pace at which you move allows you to notice things like that lovely feather. Sometimes I will want to take such a treasure home with me, but often wish to leave it where it might be seen by others.
Best wishes.
I'm not as generous as you Frances. I tend to bring things back with me, which often end-up in my grandson's box of curiosities.
And beautiful it is too Cro. We have jays in the wood below our farm but never get them to our bird table.
Well here in Germany school classes go outside nearly every week in parks, Woods and even many schools have a little Garden . So children learn very soon to discover and respect nature. My little son has a collection of leaves, nuts, stones, feathers and dried flowers and so has my daughter and Berlin has also a lot of animals you can observe when roaming around.
Well here in Germany school classes go outside nearly every week in parks, Woods and even many schools have a little Garden . So children learn very soon to discover and respect nature. My little son has a collection of leaves, nuts, stones, feathers and dried flowers and so has my daughter and Berlin has also a lot of animals you can observe when roaming around.
Oh, if I had a grandson, I expect that I would very much enjoy doing the same as you.
I have read that about angels, though I can't say I belief in it .What about when you come across a lot of feathers all in the same place….I always think…it's a dead angel!! Not good.
I think that Jays are secretive birds and are rarely seen except at certain times of the year. I would love to have a feather like that Cro….it is beautiful.
A beautiful feather! We are sometimes lucky enough to get hoopoes in our field - their feathers are also rather lovely, although having cats, I'm always worried when we see more than one or two feathers in the same place!
They're not very sociable, are they.
They're quite similar in some ways to Hoopoes; except for the crest. Very similar colours. Hoopoes are my favourite bird (along with Herons).
I occasionally 'collect what I consider to be beautiful stones for the garden. I was trying to figure out the feather (I had briefly wondered Hoopoe) so thanks for the enlightenment.
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