today, i went for a walk in the sunshine, to find wonder and magic with my camera.

instead, i got caught up in my thoughts. probably because i wanted to walk down the long and winding road, and atlas wanted to walk around the neighborhood.

atlas won.

while i was walking along, lost in thought, a flock of birds flew overhead.

the sight of their white breasts against the blue sky jolted me out of my head and into the present moment. they landed on a power line nearby, so i stood still and waited, hoping they’d fly away – in my direction – and i’d have a chance to capture the image of white on blue with my camera.

while i waited, one of the birds turned sideways, and i realized it was a blue jay.

i love blue birds, including blue jays. they remind me of happiness. there was a pair of blue birds and a pair of stellar jays that visited me daily in oregon. i’ve been calling them in here. it took a while, but the other day, a blue jay visited my parents’ bird feeder.

well, they were all blue jays.

10 of them, to be exact.

(i know it looks like there are 9 birds in the picture, but the fifth bird is actually two birds, one in front of the other.)

i was filled with wonder.

it reminded me that sometimes, we need someone (or something).

to take us out of our head and into the moment.

to point us toward wonder and magic.

i want to point you toward wonder and magic.

won’t you join me for hope floats in winter?

let’s find the wonder + blessing + magic in the coldest and darkest of seasons.