It’s been so dry. Rain has been forecast this day and that day and it has not happened. But today the weather gods came through for me. Just a few minutes and POOF! half an inch of rain had fallen. The precipitation added sparkle to the feathery foliage of asparagus in the vegetable garden. I can just imagine a big cheer coming from the plants that have patiently been waiting for the moisture. I’m cheering too.
Knock your socks off COLOR. That’s what I think of when an image of a male Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea) comes to mind. With the female, if you look carefully you might be able to catch a hint of the vivid azure that the male wears so magnificently. But I wouldn’t know a male Indigo Bunting during the winter. He wears feathers of brown.
Soon to arrive to spend the summer. You’ll get a hint as to how soon in looking at this photograph. She’s using a spear of asparagus as a landing spot. Asparagus is coming up right now. In looking through my photos and seeing when the Indigo Buntings have arrived in the past, I think they’ll be arriving just any day now. And through their journey they often migrate at night using the stars to navigate. Birds after my own heart.
Amazing to think, the feathers of the Indigo Bunting contain no blue pigment. The blue we see is a result of the way the feathers are bouncing and reflecting light.
What an amazing trick of Nature.
