sadly, we found a Mourning Dove on our front steps the first day of summer. she had obviously and tragically flown into a large paned window. not wanting to leave her there alone on the sidewalk, unseen and unnoticed by the ambivalence and intention of city life, we brought her in, and placed her in the window light ...

how rare (and sad) an occasion for me to see a bird not in flight, without movement. the whole of her was not pristine, and i could see she had lived a while ~ but there were parts of her still magic, at least to me. as i photographed her, and drank in her delicate beauty, i felt inspired to commemorate her life, and the birth of the new spun season

i think about growing up in southern California, and of my summertime memories. knee-high fields of gilded poppies spring to mind. i miss seeing them, this time of year, blanketing the tinder dry slopes which climb upward and away from the Pacific. i miss wanting to pick them, yet NEVER EVER doing so {it's an old wives' tale ya know, it being illegal and all to pick the California state flower}. i think about the way their petals close tightly by night, yet open again the following morning, faces held up to heaven, seeking sun and warmth. we are a lot alike ... my sunny state blossom, and me!

so, this is my offering to summer, and to the bird who awakened in me a brand new ... old memory! alas, the poppy of a Golden State, sun-baked and open ~ offered up from remembrances, mourning, summer, and the grasp of a dove

this ring was hand cast in sterling silver from the foot of a real dove. it is adorned with a vintage carved coral flower (i think of it as a poppy ~ but it can very well be the bloom of your choice). the ring fits a size 7/8 finger perfectly at the moment, but can be sized either way

(p.s. this is not her foot!)

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