Despite the forecast, it turned chilly yesterday, wind rising and clouds gathering in close. By evening, they delivered a short, staccato shower, just enough to settle the dust and lend a new edge to the night air.
Today dawned a little colder, but now, at mid-morning, the air is warm. The swallowtail is back, fluttering most recently around the lilac bushes — bit of bright gold against the lavender-gray remains of the blossoms.
And the thunderheads are rising again in the east like a portent.
Days like this are the best of summer here: warm, but not too hot; air calm but not quite still; world adance in a rush of wings — honeybee, dragonfly, butterfly, hummingbird. It’s been too chilly, for the most part, for many of them to spend much time here, but at last, we may be able to welcome them home for the season. Wings spotted a hummingbird racing through the morning air and promptly refilled all the feeders with fresh nectar, just in case this one should be a scout for the larger clan.
Meanwhile, there is so much to be done, and yet it is so hard to begin. The urge follow the hummingbirds’ lead, to allow our spirits simply to float upon the air, is incredibly strong. No one wants to be indoors, and when outdoors, no one wants do anything except enjoy the warm winds and summer light these small spirits seem to carry upon their very wings.
Today’s featured work embodies not only these tiny but powerful beings, but season and sunlight, as well. From its description in the Pins Gallery here on the site:
On Sunny Wings Hummingbird Pin
Summer departs and autumn arrives on sunny wings. The small fierce spirits of this threshold season infuse this work by Wings, a tiny silver hummingbird who carries the sun itself. The wingéd one is cut freehand out of sterling silver, with wings outstretched in full hover and dagger-like beak at the ready. A triangular point defines the beak; a single lengthy score line separates the wings. Sunrise symbols in two sizes delineate body and edge of wing feathers; the tailfeathers are formed by a flowing-water motif and edged with arrowhead points. Where wings join body, a single small round cabochon rests in a saw-toothed bezel: fiery orange amber, the color of the autumn sun in a place and space of magic, mystery, and medicine. Pin stands 1.5″ high by 2-1/8″ across at the widest point; amber cabochon is 3/16″ across (dimensions approximate).
Sterling silver; amber
$625 + shipping, handling, and insurance
The description refers to summer in its departing phase, a nod to the point in the season in which the piece was made. But it arrives on them, too, these sunny wings — even amid the coalescing thunderheads, the sun still filters through, lending the earth its warmth and light. The hummingbirds know that the clouds are temporary, as are their effects; at dawn, the skies are bright, and they will be radiant, too, at dusk.
We may require shelter from the storm as it occurs, but it’s simply a matter of outriding and outwaiting it. As the hummingbirds know — perhaps because they carry its promise, if not its tangible being — on either side of the clouds, there will always be warm winds and summer light.
~ Aji
All content, including photos and text, are copyright Wings and Aji, 2019; all rights reserved. Nothing herein may used or reproduced in any form without the express written permission of the owner.
