Eleven Minutes Of Continuous Magpie

Some thoughts on intelligence, emotional and otherwise

I got dumped recently. Okay, modern living makes the definition of "getting dumped" as fuzzy as the definition of what a relationship is. Some people now refer to a certain kind of relationship as a "situationship," which I find is exactly as helpful as calling it a "thingamabob."

Anyway, the latest such dumping was not so much a phone call or a text message or whatever telling me that it's over. It was more like, to quote one of my favourite songs, "the long farewell of a hunger strike." I had plans fully in place to take the trip out east to meet her, and just when things were coming together I realized that she had stopped talking to me. And not long ago either, another person (a long distance from me but who means a lot to me) dropped me out of my life because, well, I'm not sure. I think she misinterpreted where I was coming from.

And before that, the most devastating loss of all. I had my best friend dump me. Why? Because I've been struggling with some issues that I haven't yet fully mastered. But even then, when the dumping in question happened, I actually had some good news that way. But I've recovered from the setback since then. Well... physically, anyway.

And here’s the irony: each time I was let go? It was right when I had good news to report.

So why am I going on about this? Because Pluto is currently retrograde at about three and a half degrees Aquarius, and my natal Venus is at just over exactly 3 degrees Aquarius. It's strange how the first time Pluto hit my Venus and I was all love and light and listening to Love Train by The O'Jays a lot. This retrograde conjunction though? It's been tough.

Anyway, about that magpie:

If you've followed my work for a while, you've probably noticed that I get inspired a lot by animals. All kinds of animals, but specifically the undomesticated neighbours I see in my yard. I've developed a specific bond with magpies. They are intelligent birds, and why anyone would dislike them is beyond me. Then again I've never had one fly away with a piece of my jewellery, so there's that.

I've developed a particular sense of kinship with one of the magpies in my area, whom I have named Kingpin. He's a particularly large fellow, and he's also the reason I had to take down the bird feeder in my bedroom window. And as much as I love feeding the birds, it's pretty damn annoying when you refill it in the evening and then the magpies start shouting to each other DUDE REFILLED THE FOOD TRAY AND THIS TIME HE INCLUDED CAT TREATS at 5 AM. Magpies crave things like cat treats more in the early Autumn, just so you know.

At the time of the most recent dumping, Kingpin flew over and sat by my bedroom window. There is nothing unusual about that, strictly speaking, except he sat there looking around and looking at me for 11 whole minutes. If you're unfamiliar with magpies, you know that one of them just standing around like they're waiting for a bus or something is pretty unusual. I looked him over to see if there was anything wrong with him, but there didn't appear to be. And I swear that when I did this he was looking me over too in order to gauge my mood.

I've learned and grown a lot, watching the animals that passed through my yard and my life. And that day, as Kingpin sat there looking me over for a full 11 minutes, I think I learned something about emotional intelligence. Lots of scientists can tell you that magpies are smart birds, but there's also an element of compassion to them. I've seen it. And I'm sure if one day some clever zoologist comes up with a way to measure the emotional intelligence of magpies? I'm sure they will be near the top of the avian pile in that category too, and not just with problem solving ability.

Anyway, in conclusion? Relationships can be painful, but Kingpin is awesome. Thanks for dropping by, little buddy.

NEXT TIME: A less maudlin look at modern love.