Follower of the Month for March: Don Scrooby

Our follower of the month for February is Don Scrooby.  Don Blogs at Candid Impressions.  Take a minute to stop by and say hello.

A Woman and a Woolly Necked Stork

She was a wonderful woman, full of compassion and a good friend.  One morning she stepped out of her kitchen and there standing in the doorway of her lounge, was a Woolly Necked Stork.  She thought she was dreaming, but the Stork was as real as the porridge she had just made for herself.

Why had the Stork come? Was it a sign? Was it an omen of some sort?  Was something good or bad about to happen? Merle (not her real name) being a practical woman, knew it was none of these. The bird had arrived because it was hungry. The drought was taking its toll. Birds do strange things in times of drought. Merle turned and went back in to the kitchen and came out with a piece of cheese. Giving its wings a shake the stork stepped forward and pecked the cheese from her hand. An unforgettable moment for Merle.

And so started a year- long relationship with at least two visits a week. Then, as sudden as the Woolly Neck arrived, she stopped coming and never returned. Something of Merle departed as well.

Eventually Merle went and lived in England. It was hard for her to leave. Just before leaving she composed a poem about her visiting stork. I was deeply touched by a haunting and beautiful last line, “Will the Woolly Necked Stork remember me.”   Merle died in December last year.

I often think of those two, Merle and the Woolly Neck. I wonder if those moments of meeting are inscribed on some universal and invisible hard drive just waiting to be experienced again. I can’t believe that moments like those are ever lost.

About Don:  “I’m a fellow observer and struggler through life, an avid reader and always seeking to discern the underlying beauty and naturalness in all of life. I also enjoy photography and the mixing of images with words.”  Stop by and visit Don at: http://candidpresence.wordpress.com/