I have written about certain plants that reminded me of family members (purple spiderworts for my Mom and madrone trees for my Dad). Deciding to follow this line of thought, I made a list of family members and friends. Next to each name I wrote the name of a bird or birds that I most associated with them. For example: Daddy- vultures, ducks, pigeons. My Dad got a kick out of telling a story about a neighborhood boy who lay out on a driveway, motionless, trying to attract vultures. And, when my daughter was young, my dad would enjoy going to Zilker Park with us to feed the ducks and pigeons.
Next to the name of a very dear friend I wrote crows, because of her many recent crow encounters. I also wrote cartoon birds because she draws whimsical birds.
My next list was mammals and quite a few people had dog or cat next to their names. Some were more specific, such as hunting dogs for my Grandfather Johnnie and chihuahuas for my Great Grandmother Tee.
I started a new list, Reptiles and Amphibians. I have not completed that one yet. And I started a list of categories: plants, trees, flowers, insects, fish, rocks, fossils, geographic features, and constellations. I tend to enjoy associations with the natural world. But, the possibilities are endless. It might be fun to see what kind of music or books or cars or art you associate with friends and family. This could be a fun icebreaker at a get together. Or ask people what animal they associate with themselves. It may be very different from what others associate with them.
Have fun with this!
Natural Musings 
What an interesting study of personality. Now my wheels are turning.
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Thanks!
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In my younger days, I attended a party where we were to choose a spirit animal. I chose a black bear because they were peaceful, lived on berries and bugs, and slept all winter. Sounded good to me. Then I moved to Arizona and one night on the news was the story of a Boy Scout, on a camping trip with his troop, who was dragged from his tent by a black bear whose intention was evidently to eat the kid! He was rescued, but I then had a quite different opinion of bears.
One time I was on a hike in Boynton Canyon in Sedona and a very large yellow swallowtail butterfly flitted around me and landed on my chest, over my heart. He stayed for a long time. Since then I have identified with butterflies, specifically the yellow swallowtail. I’m pretty sure the have no desire to eat humans! It’s also a nice memory of a lovely day.
As always, enjoyed your blog post immensely.
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Thanks Trish! So sorry about your spirit bear! If I have a spirit animal it was the butterfly (generic) and now it is the bison. May write another blog sometime talking about why them and what they represent to me. I love yellow swallowtails and see them around here. Right now we are seeing the monarchs during their migration to Mexico.
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