Waxtober 16

I look at this morning’s waxing and smile. I see a small shape… Out of curiosity, I lay the 3×3 grid over my photo… The shape is cut in half by the vertical line between the 1st and 2nd thirds and it floats just slightly above the horizontal line that sits between the top and middle thirds, like it has just taken flight from a perfect crossing point… I think back to this morning’s journey and smile more as it seems that one of the birds I crossed paths with earlier, followed me home…

When I started my driving job 2+ years ago, I asked if I was expected to travel set routes. I was told to do whatever I felt was easiest. In my mind, to travel a road with ease, is not about what is easiest in terms of time and distance but about taking a route that eases my mind to take in more interesting thoughts than traffic… I spent the first few months trying out various routes and mostly in terms of time, it doesn’t really matter which way I go as I pretty much always finish my shift at the same time… This is something that mostly escapes a lot of my passengers. I fully understand that after a 12hr nightshift, the call of the duvet is strong and I can understand people looking anxious when I detour away from main roads and start heading off into the sticks but *sigh*.

This morning my passenger got into the car, already in the mindset of making mountains out of molehills, so when I felt the urge to turn right instead of tank on down the road that looked empty ahead. I told her – trust me! There’s a traffic jam further down, this way looks longer but we’ll get there quicker, besides, I think this might be a good day for kites.

She looked at me blankly, raised an eyebrow – Are you alright? What do you mean kites?

I told her I’m good, and what I meant was that I’m going this way because I think we might see something that you should see…

She said, well all I see is 3 big lorries up ahead blocking the road. Are you sure this road is open?

No, I’m not sure but let’s see… I continue to drive until I’m sat behind the 3 lorries, I wait as they manoeuvre around each other to get through the entrance to the site where the new builds are going up… I swing out to pass and back in again just before a car comes tearing around the corner. Wow! That was good timing, she laughs then hey! No way! No way! Oh you’re right. I did just see something I needed to see!

What the bin wagon?

No… The guy behind it! He lives near me and he’s always trying to hit on me, telling me he works in a gym! Yeah mate! Funny looking gym! Wait until I see him. I can’t believe you brought me here to see that! How did you do it?

Oh… No, that was lucky coincidence, there’s something much better coming…

We carry on driving, I see a shape up in the air, off to my left, I slow slightly… It’s not a kite, it’s a kestrel… Cool but not full on cool that satisfies my craving for being hit in the sweetspot that lights up when I see kites. I put my boot down, maybe today is not the day… I’m almost out of the prime area for sightings… I pass through and instead of turning right, I decide to go left. I don’t often go left as that way there’s a good chance of getting stuck behind 100s of sheep as they change fields… And that’s OK when I’m solo but it’s not the kind of counting sheep that nightworkers like to be doing at 8am. I cross my fingers and the way is clear… Another right turn… Slowing down for a sharp blind corner… A shape in the road far off in the distance… Could it be? Yup, a little closer and I see clearly 2 birds sharing a breakfast banquet of roadkill rabbit… I slow right down almost to a halt. My passenger hasn’t yet noticed what I’ve seen… Is something wrong with the car?

Nope… Look…

Wtf? What is that?

Keep watching…

I let the car roll of its own accord with no pedal pushed… My passenger starts to piece together what she’s seeing. The bird on the left is a crow, it ups and offs over the hedgerow into the fields further left… The other bird, looks at me, looks back to the rabbit, grabs a few more morsels, looks at me again, then takes to the air, flying directly towards me and swooping up into the sky, perfectly passing over my windscreen with wings fully outstretched, treating me to a spectacular view of its underside. I grin like a Cheshire chat as I think, yup, this is the easiest route, the way that (pl)eases my spirit…

My thoughts are interrupted by Wtf? What was that? Was that a fucking Eagle?! That was fucking cool! Wow! I’ve never seen anything like that before! Wow! WOW!

No… That was a Red Kite… I told you today was a good day for flying kites… And I told you you needed to see it!

Karen? How do you know this stuff? Are you a psychic?

I smile and don’t answer, I laugh away to myself thinking that it’s funny that often people don’t notice the world around them and that when you use both eyes to look, they think you’re using a special 3rd eye…

I look at my waxing and think about crossing paths… How easy it would have been to turn my kite into roadkill if I’d had the mindset that this path is mine! I think that it’s good to have patience when the path you are on is crossed by another on their path… To pause and see nature and Nature… I don’t know whether kites have such thoughts or not but it amuses me to think that maybe the kite appreciated that I didn’t drive him off the road and I didn’t wreck his path… That maybe his passing over my windscreen so I could see and almost touch him, was a fly over thank you… I don’t know, maybe I’m just winging it… Maybe I’m just glad he didn’t shit on my screen as I’m about out of screenwash… (Note to self – top up my tank. It doesn’t take a psychic to know that no-one else will fill it for me).