#birds
EVOLUTION OF A BIRDWATCHER
BIRD WATCHERS!
I’m sure you’ve sen them out in nature…with their binoculars glued to their eyes….
pointing…waving…jumping up and down as if they’re constantly surprised!
They often dress alike…they flock together…filled with a shared one-love…
For years I found them easy to spot…and easy to make fun of.
Over the years, however, I’ve seen a subtle change in my outlook and attitude…
Now, whenever I see a bird in nature…I’m filled with gratitude.
I discovered the more I walked in nature…where birds are all around
I began to recognize some of them…from their sight and from their sound.
I’ve even gone as far as to buy myself a bird-watcher book…
and a good pair of binoculars…you know…to get a closer look.
The other morning on Honeymoon Island gazing through my binoculars
at another island…out of reach
I screamed to Deborah, who was next to me…”There’s an eagle on that beach!”
Did I mention Deborah also into this birdwatching life has grown…
She didn’t need to borrow mine…she has binoculars of her own.
We were mesmerized by that eagle who stood there without a flutter or a fuss…
Who did not need binoculars to see the two of us.
When he noticed people on his beach as the sun lit up the day
I’m pretty sure he nodded to us…before he gracefully flew away.
That was the highlight but not the extent of our birdwatching…as many other birds flew our way.
In fact we recognized by sight or sound…20 other birds that day.
Red-winged blackbirds, pelicans, laughing gulls…egrets, plovers
and a host of other birds before our walk was over.
As I was writing down the names of all the birds we saw…for a moment I became numb
because I realized, in that moment, what I have become.
Those birdwatchers who when I was younger I would ridicule and condemn…
I realized that morning…I am one of them.
A proud birdwatcher who often finds himself awestruck…without words
whenever I get to walk in nature…or share a sunrise with the birds.
DON'T FORGET THE SEEDS
A favorite memory of her grandma began before she could even say a word…
In her Grandma’s backyard, sitting on her lap…tossing seeds out for the birds.
It’s where her love for her grandma and birds began…where her imagination first stirred.
It’s where (I imagine you can guess what it was) she uttered her first word.
She remembers Grandma saying, “We only feed them seeds…we never feed birds bread.”
It’s where she learned her colors…blue, black, yellow, green and red.
It’s where she learned to count…it’s a memory that lingers….
how some days there were more birds in Grandma’s yard…than she had toes and fingers.
She remembers Grandma saying, “I live in this big house on my own…
and when you’re not here…with all these birds…I never feel alone.”
Her mom was worried about her on the day of her grandma’s funeral…
she hadn’t said two words.
Until, at the cemetery, she pulled a bag of seeds out of her pocket saying,
“This is for the birds.”
“What do you mean?” Her mother asked as handfuls of seeds were thrown.
“It’s to remind the birds that Grandma’s here…so she’ll never be alone.”
Now, whenever she visits her grandma’s grave…she kneels down…
she whispers a few words…
then she plants some flowers for her grandma…
and spreads some seeds out for the birds.