Spring is in the air, and the Tree Swallows were busy trying to decide who would get to move into these deluxe accommodations. Fast and furious they were setting up house.
The Princess: O Swallow
O Swallow, Swallow, flying, flying South,
Fly to her, and fall upon her gilded eaves,
And tell her, tell her, what I tell to thee.
O tell her, Swallow, thou that knowest each,
That bright and fierce and fickle is the South,
And dark and true and tender is the North.
O Swallow, Swallow, if I could follow, and light
Upon her lattice, I would pipe and trill,
And cheep and twitter twenty million loves.
O were I thou that she might take me in,
And lay me on her bosom, and her heart
Would rock the snowy cradle till I died.
Why lingereth she to clothe her heart with love,
Delaying as the tender ash delays
To clothe herself, when all the woods are green?
O tell her, Swallow, that thy brood is flown:
Say to her, I do but wanton in the South,
But in the North long since my nest is made.
O tell her, brief is life but love is long,
And brief the sun of summer in the North,
And brief the moon of beauty in the South.
O Swallow, flying from the golden woods,
Fly to her, and pipe and woo her, and make her mine,
And tell her, tell her, that I follow thee.
Emily Carter ~ Nature as Art 
Loved the poem! 🙂 did they all finally decide on property purchases in the end? 😀
I think it was not only property rights, but girl rights as well. Didn’t stay to see, but plan on getting back there for a visit. Perhaps I’ll get to see babies.
I hope so too 🙂
Great photos of one of my favorite birds!
I could have spent all day photographing them..and blowing through 1,000 images in 30 minutes doing it. 🙂
Lovely to catch them with their wings spread
You are too kind Diana. Thank you so much!
Love the first photo! Birds in flight, awesome capture!
Thank you so much Judy ! Wonderful to see you and hope you’re doing well. Perhaps one day I’ll get to meet you on one of the Feathered Friends Meetup dates.
That would be great!
Yeah!
🙂
This whole post, beautiful. I really enjoyed the poem especially after such pictures. I love the blue of these swallows! Gosh I love your sharp colors. Great captures too, how you got them working away. “Now honey,” she’s saying, “no, no don’t put that like that. You know that’s uncomfortable to sit on!”
HAHA ! You are so very funny. To think that in the bird world, the girl dominates. Totally can be picky about the house and its decorations. Why can’t we do it that way? Thanks for the feedback on the colors. I got a new laptop 2 months ago and the colors on the screen are all washed out. Terrible optics. I can’t really tell if I get my colors right until I move them to my iPad.
😉
That’s too bad about the laptop. I work off of a laptop but am itching to get a PC as well. You can’t always do picture work just anywhere and be successful. Hopefully your screen issue can be resolved. Good luck!