I took this picture in the Olympic Mountains in Washington State, USA. It’s hard to believe, but living branches still reached for the sky at the very top of this huge tree trunk. I just love the colors and textures of the wood!

This beauty posed for me near the bank of a stream. Her feathers glowed in the evening sun. The sun’s angle also drew out shadows and gentle waves. All and all, it was a wonderful day 🙂

A few years ago, we had forest fires creep close to our home. I was reading about fires in other places just recently and dug out this photo. The sun looked like an autumn moon.

This cute frog posed for me just long enough to take his/her picture. He’s standing on a flax leaf in my front yard.

I took this picture while heading home from a walk near the Pacific Coast in southwestern Washington State, USA. The yellows and oranges were dazzling!

I took this picture of our Moon as it floated in a blue sky. The Moon loomed large, perhaps because of the hazy rings encircling it. The glowing orb dominated the clear heavens. I almost felt I was standing on another planet and gazing upward.

When I saw these luscious pink and blue colors, I just had to snap a picture. 🙂

I was sitting under myrtle and California lilac trees in my front yard. When I looked up, I just had to capture this image of pink clouds against a blue sky. From this location, it is just a ten-minute walk to the Pacific coast in Washington State, USA.

I witnessed a sad yet inspiring goodbye gathering. I noticed a bird on our
patio. She didn’t seem to have much energy, but she was eating seeds that were
lying on the ground. I left to return to my computer to work. When I check in on
the bird later, she looked even weaker than before. She managed to fly a little
way, but she fell when she tried to land on a nearby wire fence.

Several other birds of the same type arrived. There were at least six
individuals. They chirped as they circled the dying bird. The poor thing kept
trying to fly, but she just flopped around on the ground. At one point, she
rolled onto her side. After a few twitches, she rolled over so her back was
facing upward. She never moved again.

The other birds kept a vigil around her after she passed, but they were
quiet now. After about ten minutes, they began flying away one by one. After
that, a few birds came and went, but soon, the yard grew still.

The bird in the picture is not the one who died, but it is one of her kind.

We often think of such rituals as an exclusively human thing, but this was
one example of many where members of other species have their own ways of
saying goodbye to a loved one.

Rest in peace, little angel.