WRITING PROMPT RESPONSE

Bird Pictures … Almost!

P. L. Goaway
Weeds & Wildflowers
3 min readDec 1, 2022

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I promise I will go outside next month :)

What’s THAT?! (Picture by the author)

Okay, I know this looks bad. But please — hear me out.

I had this all planned out. I saw the “bird” writing prompt, I watched the weather forecast and was told that today, November 30, would be an unusually warm day for the season.

So I thought, “Awesome! I love birds”; I love going for walks — I’ll just take a long stroll in my local park, get some shots of the ducks, maybe see a heron or two and on my way home, enjoy a group of frolicking blackbirds. Plus, I’ll bring some nuts — something to make the crows happy too. Then I get home, upload the pictures, write a fun story around them and hit “submit”. What better way to combat the somewhat lackluster enthusiasm I’ve been feeling for Medium lately than a love letter to the group of animals that gives me more joy than almost any other — birds?”

That story would have pretty much written itself too. It was to be warm and sunny, but when I hear “November” and “birds,” the first things that come to my mind are fog, wet leaves, the ground drenched in mud, and a general dreary, somewhat melancholy atmosphere — the occasional sound of a crow interrupting the otherwise perfect stillness, an eerie cry in a setting ripe for ghost stories. Contrast that with the unexpectedly beautiful weather and you get the perfect setup for a most pleasant juxtaposition. I’ve used the word “frolicking” above, maybe a crow could be jumping through the grass happily, and a seagull might be seen elegantly landing next to the pond, evoking memories of the beach.

So that was the story I had planned to write.

And then it started raining.

And then there was a storm.

And I looked out of the window and at my comfortable chair and out of the window again and at my chair again, and the chair won.

I’m sorry.

I did not go outside today.

But I could not let this opportunity to express my love for birds just pass me by. I needed to take part in this somehow, in however an indirect a way.

So as the rain continued pounding against my windows, and I was on my approximately fifth hot beverage of the day, I started exploring my apartment instead.

What could I find? Figurines? Book covers? Clothes? Napkins? Well, if there was a bird on it, it was good enough for me. Time to take some pics!

So with all that being said, I present to you: The Birds I Observed In My Apartment.

A bird napkin. (Credit by the author)
An amazing bird guide. (Credit by the author)
A stork. (Credit by the author)
My bird shirt. (Picture taken while I was wearing it!) (Credit by the author)
Beach vibes on a mug. (Credit by the author)

Thank you for reading! This is a response to Dennett’s wonderful November Writing Prompt “In Flight”. You can check it out here:

I promise I will post some outside bird photos soon :)

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P. L. Goaway
Weeds & Wildflowers

I spent way too much time trying to come up with something entertaining to write here.