That particular Wednesday in January was cold and dreary, but tucked in amongst the day’s mail was a vision of warmth and loveliness.

Crow had received a postcard from an old family friend: one of the now-grown children of a large, boisterous family of grackles who lived on a sunny island in the far, far South. Crow’s elderly aunt had stayed with the family when she and her sisters visited the area in their (much) younger days.

And since then, a postcard had arrived every winter — always, it seemed, on a gray day in January — to offer up a glimpse of the grackles’ island, the impossibly clear water, and sometimes a rainbow or a velvety soft watercolor sunset.

(January 2023)

Story & Photo © Jennifer Singleton / Read+Purr

This is another vignette in my ongoing series of Tiny Garden Stories: peaceful 1-minute tales, full of cozy vibes, delicious details, and generous dollops of imagination & whimsy. Click one of the first two buttons below to go to (or back to, if that’s where you fell down the rabbit hole) either the Public Garden archive page or (if you’re a Story Club member) to the Private Garden page. Or click the third button to learn more about my Tiny Garden Stories. Want each week’s featured story delivered directly to your inbox? Subscribe to my Substack.