The Magpie Woman Dreams Big

When my husband and I used to drive to Los Angeles to visit his folks, we would always stop at this wayside near Camp Roberts, where a rare flock of magpies lived. Instead of black beak and black legs and feet, they have yellow there. They are so beautiful. So far I have been unsuccessful at posting some photos, but I will keep trying. I am a techno-moron. These magpies don't say, "mag, mag , mag...", like the ones with the black beak and feet, but "reet, reet, reet..." It is so charming.

They are a friendly bird. We always stop at this little town, Greenfield, on the way to the wayside where we rest from our hours of driving and need to do the stretch-and-rest dance. There is a Mexican grocer who also sells fresh meats. I don't eat meat, but the mags do! They love potato bugs, but we have discovered they especially love roasted chicken with Mexican herbs and spices; so we splurge and buy one for the birds. There is a square of cement with two pillars to the north and the south. I sit with my legs criss-cross and I pull meat off the chicken and when I look up, the magpies are sitting on the pillars around me, waiting for me to toss a bit to a bird. I have to choose a beginning of the circle, (thank goodness for the pillars which act as a landmark) and I toss a piece of chicken to that bird. He swoops off the pillar and gobbles it down; and then the next bird flies down and comes forth a few inches to look expectantly at me, so I throw him (or her) a bit and this bird also eats it quickly and then steps back. We go all the way around the circle several times and they politely speak, "Reet, reet..." if I take too long in tearing the meat from the bone.

I long to bring my hand down their sleek head all the way to the tail, or caress the breast of just one magpie, but they are too shy. I would need to stay there a few days to "make friends". And I would love to do just that. You take Hawaii, or Aspen skiing. I love the long meadows sparsely filled with Shropshires and ravens and of course, my magpies. Their nests are huge and high up in the trees which look like cottonwoods, but I see no streams, so I am doubtful as to what kind they are.

Here is my day dream. To live in a stout brown canvas tent deep in the trees so that no humans could see me and I would have my small fire to make meals and heat water for tea. I would try to keep the fire to a minimum so that I would not be discovered. I would spend the days cooking on a low flame, a chicken turning it on a spit, because I couldn't afford to buy one everyday. I would water-color my birds and the sheep amongst the trees as they spread through the grasses. I would hope they would get friendly enough to come right into the tent! The wayside has bathrooms, so I could stay clean and at night I would read by the light of a small candle, but going to bed early, because I have a feeling these birds rise early. I would try to make friends and actually 'pet' one in a few days.
Just a simple summer dream, but one that would be filled with wonder as I got to know the birds better and better.