Bird Watching

Sometimes life is just going on all around you, just waiting for you notice it. Yesterday was a day such a day.

A friend I haven't talked to in ages phoned me and I immediately made my way into the living room to gaze thoughtlessly outside while we talked of many things.

The first thing I noticed was robins. The robins are back! I wondered if they were migrating their way south and have just stopped over at my neighbor's yard for some nourishment before they continued on their way.

Then I noticed what I firmly believe were woodpeckers. Several of them. They had long beaks, red heads, yellow under their wings when they flew and would attach themselves vertically to the trunk of a tree. They were having much more luck finding bugs on the ground so that is where they spent most of their time. One of them had a genuine bird bath in a puddle on the street while the other simply waded on the sidelines.

As I marvelled over the woodpeckers, I noticed movement in our tree. There was something yellow flitting about within our fir tree's branches. There were more than one of them. They were a small drab looking yellow bird. My son told me they may have been yellow warblers. I'll go with that.

I noticed yet another unfamiliar bird. This one had a somewhat checkered black and white back. It was small and rather cute. I wondered if it was a distant relative of a chickadee but I don't know my birds so I highly doubt it.

Then a blue jay flew in to join the crowd. He didn't appear to upset the harmony but added one more bird to those I had been noticing.

Had I not stopped to gaze out the window, I would have missed the show. I thought I would be able to pick up from where I left off this morning but the birds must have moved on.

What else is going on around me as I mindlessly make my way through the days without looking up and out into the world around me? I get so caught up in my head I forget to look up.

Look up and see what is right in front of you.

I wrote these words and walked away. Hours later, I heard my son calling my name. "Come here," he said. There, right in the middle of OUR front yard was a rabbit. He was literally in the middle of the yard, facing our house. Waiting to be noticed. He was hiding in plain sight. All day, I had been glancing out the window wondering if the birds would return. And there was a rabbit right in front of my eyes.