Yes, of course. I sit down to a brainstorming session, determined to write for ten whole minutes without stopping, to see what sort of ideas might pour forth. I even set my alarm.

Five minutes later I hear a pheasant squawking almost right outside my window. Naturally, I just have to go and look.

Ring-necked pheasants are common in the pastures in Kula, where I live, but they don’t visit the neighborhood around our house. There was once a Kalij pheasant that hung out in our neighborhood for a few days, but never the more common ringneck — until today.

I’ve been trying to get a pheasant photo for two years, so I grabbed my camera and, moving with great caution, I leaned out the door and started shooting. Okay, so it’s not great photography, but a pheasant standing on a chainlink fence? That’s got to be an unusual pose.