Bird encounter

At dusk I was in the back yard watering plants. I reached under the porch startled two little birds. They flew out so quickly I could barely see them. But I think they were purple finches. There wings brushed my arms as they flew out. The wings felt so soft.

Mouse

My friends made this edible mouse-- Delicious too.

Emporium Epigram

Datemi la faccio della terra intorno,
E la strada davanti a me.
Non cerco amore ne speranza ne ricchezza,
Ne un'amico che mi capisca;
Voglio solo il cielo sopra di me
E la strada sotto i miei piedi
--Stevenson

This verse was printed on a plastic (presumably biodegradable) shopping bag from an Italian grocer. I don't know who Stevenson is, but the name sounds suspiciously un-Italian. Roughly translated, it says:

Give me the round face of the Earth,
And the path before me.
I don't seek love nor do I hope for wealth,
Nor even a friend who understands me;
I want only the sky over me
And the path under my feet.