Tree Swallows have a curious association to farm equipment for me. I have two distinct memories of Tree Swallows and both are anchored to farm machinery. The first was when my Dad got his first Farmall from my Grandfather’s Niece’s husband. Phew, that’s it’s own tree to follow there! When we pulled it out of his barn to load, we disturbed a pair and they circled us chattering until we left. They maintained a safe distance at the same height as they circled.
The second is at a farm equipment auction site outside of Dothan, Alabama. The name escapes me looking back nearly 35 years but the heat and smell is right there. Early May heat scented with Fresh cut hay mixed with diesel and grease. Dad would occassionally take me. Usually because he needed extra muscle and not for my witty banter. At the time I was in the FFA so I had an interest and it was “guy” time. When we picked up his disc harrow it was at the edge of the auction side. On a fence post was a Swallow, ruffled a bit, watching our late evening efforts underneath a broken cumulus sky. Funny how some minutae you remember clearly.
This piece honors that memory; a Tree Swallow on a post. It’s 8 X 10 and it’s painted on a 1938 topographic map of Walton County, Florida
