Last spring I was out front cleaning and weeding the flower bed. Not something I can say I really enjoy doing, but it's the kind of job that lets your mind wander. Before long, you're thinking about everything except the weeds.
After a while I noticed a little bird flying back and forth behind me. It came in fast, landed not far away, then disappeared into the tree. A few seconds later it shot back out again, gone just as quickly as it came. It reminded me of that little bird I'd watched while repairing the fence.
I kept working, but I couldn't help watching it out of the corner of my eye. It made another pass, then another. Every move was sharp and certain. Some birds glide. Others bounce around like they don't know what's going on. This little bird didn't waste time. It just went.
I finally stopped and watched it for a minute. It made another quick pass, and before I knew it, it was gone again. For something that small, it carried itself like it knew exactly what it was doing.
It wasn't the colors that caught my attention. It was the way it flew. Fast, direct, and confident. Standing there, I started picturing that little bird with a leather helmet and a pair of big round goggles, flying an old prop plane and leaning into the wind like it had somewhere important to be.
Somehow, standing there in the yard, it made perfect sense.
That picture sorta stayed with me. Months later, while working on FenceBoard Flyers, I needed a website logo. I didn't have to think very long. That little bird and its plane were already there.
He just seemed to belong.
For a while, that was pretty much it. He was the little bird flying the plane on FenceBoard Flyers. But somewhere along the way, the idea grew a little. The bird got a name. So did the plane.
Rodee and Look-See.
Rodee became the first of the FenceBoard Flyers, with Look-See as the plane he uses to make the rounds and see what's going on around here. A job that seems pretty fitting considering the little bird that started the whole thing.
One determined little bird, a little imagination, and an idea that showed up when I wasn't looking for one.