Goldfinch begin to blossom.  By May the boys will look more glamorous than the girls, and when that happens we will hardly see them again until the late summer.  

    I slept once in a small wood in the Ardennes.  It was set back from the road in farmland.  When I woke I was surrounded by tiny little mice that had not the slightest intention of noticing me.  I could see their ears and their eyes.  When I moved they became curious.  Then when I stood up they were gone.  And it was as though I had dreamt them.  

    I could hear the road, busy with the morning.  I guessed that soon enough I could look for a ride.  I remained still, hoping to see the mice again but instead I watched the morning and a male Goldfinch chasing a female.

    The European Goldfinch male has the red face.  He appears stockier than the American relative and when his face is very red he can become a tyrant.  Bossing everyone around.  Which is not the case with the boys here in Kentucky.  The more colorful they become the more serene they seem to be.

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