La Conner Weekly News - Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

To Tom Robbins: your Kingly glow persists.

Seasonally inspired, birds deposited seeds where no one could not see their timely forthcoming. First ever to proclaim your first King of the Day parade.

Open kitchen blind, eyes getting bigger each day. Disbelief morphing to winged wonder. Dutifully aimed berry-washing-breakfast water to where thicker and thicker stems flaunted all green larger, five-pronged huge leaves. How big could they get?

Then came their royal salute to you, King Tom:

A string of crown jewels evident in a perfectly edged pure gold rim on the grandest leaf.

And days later a golden trumpet of a flower. Mother Earth bending sunlight to her will. Blossom shriveled by the next morning. A whimsy. Days later another. Pause. Another. Three visible in all.

Leticia said, "Some people take the big flowers. They fold them into a sort of pastry." Adding, "Very expensive to buy."

Food followed. Vertical green irregular lines on a white squash, another form of manuscript for those who can read. Three in all.

Not done yet. Smaller plant. All green. Hidden requiring a deep bend to find a round, pure gold little squash.

The Irish parrot faithfully abided with you all Parade Day, courtesy of a globe-winging spirit manifested in human form.

Let those who have inner eyes to see, and senses extended by King Tom's prose, rejoice.

The "Still Life with Woodpecker" author's inspirations already seed another King Tom parade, all in due season.

The birds and other species thank the Maker of us all for the coincidence of time and place, here and now.

Little wonder, Mel Damski wrote on birds and habitat for King Tom's parade issue of the La Conner Weekly News.