Sometimes, when I’m standing around in the kitchen, waiting for the espresso machine to heat up, I see a common magpie land in our front yard. It’ll hop there, glance around, strut around with a swagger, looking all classy in black-and-white, like it’s walking on a red carpet on its way to a gala dinner.

Although, there’s something a little sneaky about it, too. It hops, looks around, as if to see if anybody is watching its every move.

» Continued