The other day at the park I must have been kicking up small insects as I walked over the hills in the grass because the barn swallows which were already flying in low circles there started flying in tighter circles around me, sometimes as close as two feet away or closer so I could see their deep blue backs clearly and it felt like I might even walk into one. Of course that could never happen. They are incredible aerial acrobats, creatures of speed and beauty and grace who constantly know where they are, where they're headed and where everything else is. That's why it felt amazing to be so close, to have one right in front of me, not once but time after time as if they were dancing for me there alone in the park. I've seen where their mud nests are. I hope my walk across the park helped them feed those babies in the rafters of the pavilion.
