Up and away for life! be fleet!-
The frost-king ties my fumbling feet,
Sings in my ears, my hands are stones,
Curdles the blood to the marble bones,
Tugs at the heart-strings, numbs the sense,
And hems in life with narrowing fence.
Well, in this broad bed lie and sleep,-
The punctual stars will vigil keep,-
Embalmed by purifying cold;
The winds shall sing their dead-march old,
The snow is no ignoble shroud,
The moon thy mourner, and the cloud.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
(The Titmouse)
Don’t know if we have Titmice here … I do get Juncos and loads of Chickadees to my feeders … love the video.
These three are my favorite winter birds, although I’ve only seen the juncos once or twice this winter. Unfortunately the sparrows and mourning doves seem to have blossomed in number and they crowd out the others…
Thank you for sharing this beautiful combo of video and poetry. Very enjoyable!
You’re welcome, Tiny! I never tire of watching these birds…
Me neither…as you know 🙂
Keeping up with your bird community is always a bright spot in my day! 🙂
Emerson and birds, very cool, thanks Barbara 🙂
You’re very welcome, Tai! 🙂
Lovely video. Thanks for intro. me to the Titmouse. We don’t have it here and upon checking online I found they are only in Eastern US. Which State are you in? During my New England road trip I saw Emerson’s House but didn’t go in.
Titmice are so adorable! We live in southeastern Connecticut, close to the shore. I’ve been to Amherst to visit Emily Dickinson’s house and to Concord to visit Louisa May Alcott’s house, but have yet to make it to Emerson’s house. One of these days… I enjoyed reading about your road trip this autumn.
Birds are so much fun to watch. They do so many interesting things. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Sheryl! Yesterday a little titmouse fell over – it was like he lost his balance. But then he flew away, so I guess he was all right…
My daughter has a parakeet. She bought it when it was very young. It used to occasionally fall off it’s perch, and then pick itself up and fly back up to its perch–and then it got a little older and figured out how to stay put without falling.
How interesting… My husband thought perhaps the titmouse was elderly but your daughter’s experience with her parakeet suggests another possibility: the titmouse may have been very young. It would seem the very young and the very old have that in common, a tendency to lose their balances and keel over.