Year of the Goldfinch

Theory that every year has an animal...like the chinese zodiac, except it changes always, not a set cycle.  (I don't really want to think of this like a keanu reeves character in Thumbsucker.)  Sometimes you have to be in the middle of a year, or look back to know what year it is--like Year of the Wolf if you're a loner and vicious or Year of the Turtle if you get stable and by a house.  

I think this is was my year of the Goldfinch.  Everyone likes them, they look shiny and special, but they're not really good for much except being seen from far away or flying through a field of vision quickly.  

Here's a picture of a dead goldfinch I took a few weeks ago.  I think it was hit by a car, there was another goldfinch near this dead one.  The live one couldn't move well, it was caught in busy Milwaukee and Chicago Avenue intersection.   I was late for work because I stopped and picked the bird up with a plastic bag and laid it down in a near by parking lot (the most peaceful place I could find in the area).  The bird in my hand felt lighter than an insect.  I'm pretty sure it was on it's way to dying.  

I hope this next year is something more useful like a badger or trout.