I was sitting on the beach in Portugal eating Spumoni ice cream when a small blue bird flew by.  It landed on a nearby table in the restaurant where I was having lunch.  After chattering for a bit and looking around anxiously it flew over and landed on the corner of my table.

Looking into that bluebird’s eyes reminded me of the friendship that Spumoni had with a bluebird at Lake Tahoe. Our house had a big wraparound deck that stood high off the ground. It faced due south and was partly shaded by an enormously tall evergreen tree.  The tree was home to a family of bluebirds, 1 of whom liked to walk on the deck by the living room window.

That particular living room window is where Spumoni liked to lie in the sun from midmorning onward. The filtered sunlight coming through that enormous south facing window provided the perfect spot for him to relax. And Spumoni had quite a friendly personality and was very social with 2 and 4 legged creatures.

One morning I noticed Spumoni staring intently out the window. Looking closer I could see this cute blue bird looking at Spumoni, moving his eyes and bobbing his head. Spumoni just sat quietly as though he were taking in just who this new visitor might be.

The very next day the same thing happened again. Spumoni and the blue Jay appeared to be in this telepathic conversation. Neither one was making any noise or any motion towards the glass. Maybe they were just checking each other out see to see the new neighbors. But this became a daily occurrence until the onset of winter with snow covering the deck.

Winter came to an end and in April 2006.  With the snow gone from the deck, the blue Jays had returned. I walked into the living room one morning and sure enough there was Spumoni looking out the window only this time he was saying something to the blue bird. The bird appeared to be looking intently at Spumoni and nodding his head as if he understood.  After the bird flew away Spumoni laid down on the carpet and looked up at the tree.  It was only a few weeks later that Spumoni passed away. Looking back it makes me wonder if he knew that did not have long to live and was saying goodbye to his friend.

It’s not often that I find myself eating Spumoni ice cream, but when I do it usually evokes the memory of something special.  Surely that cute little blue bird passed away long ago. It made me wonder if its future offspring still make that beautiful evergreen tree their home.

Spumoni relaxing at Lake Tahoe in the sun near the living room window