Plate Glass Window

Annette deFerrari
2 min readNov 16, 2021

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from Reflections on a Life, writings and paintings for my father

Six drawings and paintings of birds by Annette deFerrari
Six drawings and paintings of birds by Annette deFerrari: 1. plate glass window, 12x12" watercolor on board; 2. bluebird, 8x8" watercolor on board; 3. two birds for dad, colored pencil on paper; 4. line drawing, graphite on paper; 5 Tufted titmouse, 8x8" watercolor on board; 6. blackbird, graphite on paper.

The only birds I could identify as a child were the cardinal and the robin. But I loved the sounds of the names of birds. I thought they were pretty.

Nuthatch. Sparrow. Warbler. Chickadee.

My dad knew them all. And the music of his voice was part of the sound of the words. I still can’t separate the melody of his voice from the simple fact of the words. We had a large plate glass window in our dining room. My dad often called me toward it to it to see the birds. “Move slowly,” he’d say, “Don’t make a sound.” He would stand like a guard on my path toward the sight. I’d walk thief-like toward the plate glass window, until he quietly told me to stop.

Sometimes the bird would be right there on the outside sill where my parents had scattered bird seeds. But sometimes the bird would be in the yellow delicious apple tree just beyond the grape arbor and my dad would give me the bird’s specific location. I’d stand absolutely still and my eyes would search for the spot he described, and if I was lucky, the bird would perch there until I found it. Then my father and I would stand silent and in awe until the beautiful creature flew away.

An earlier version of this writing and several of the bird paintings were part of an exhibit honoring my father shortly after his death.

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Annette deFerrari
Annette deFerrari

Written by Annette deFerrari

Wanderer & ponderer of nature, art, & our ties to our stuff. I have a series of stories about my dad & an in-progress book: You Don’t Have To Throw It All Away