I know it's not really spring, and Bluebirds aren’t yet here in the northeast on this Valentine’s day but bear with me.
With a little googling you can discover that the bluebird is a symbol of peace, hope and happiness, good luck and prosperity across many cultures, and for thousands of years. Try the phrase bluebird of happiness, and you’ll get a plethora of postings. Plays and poems abound about these birds. They’re in Russian fairy tales and Native American folklore. And songstress Judy Garland has them flying over the rainbow in the Wizard of Oz, “where troubles melt like lemon drops.”
Two years ago, the bluebird photos on my website prompted loads of positive feedback. Among the best reactions: “thanks for sharing your soul stirring little blue friend.” And now today, I’m very pleased that some of these photos have been chosen for a worthier cause. They’re being displayed along with other art at Memorial Sloan Kettering in the hospital’s chemotherapy center in West Harrison, NY, in partnership with ArtsWestchester. I mention these organizations in case you might want to learn more about their good works, or perhaps even support them. This joint project aims to bring a little distraction, comfort and wellbeing to hospital patients and visitors through the work of local artists. Here’s a photo of my Bluebird images on display at MSK:
And if you’re still with me, it’s true bluebirds are not really blue. Turns out there’s no blue pigment in their feathers. Birds who show off red and yellow may do that from pigment, often resulting from what they eat. Think pink in flamingoes and their diet of shrimp. But blue in birds is a “structural color,” meaning it’s all about microscopic holes in their feathers that act as prisms with sunlight, cancelling some colors and letting the fantastic blue that we see shine through.
Still, bluebirds are kind of a miracle, and they’re still beautiful flying over the rainbow. Where troubles melt like lemon drops.
