Nature Watching

I have always enjoyed watching the show birds put on in the spring, especially outside the city limits. When I was young and hopeful, the pairing up of birds in the spring tugged at my lonely heart as I wistfully thought of love and all of its entanglements. My feelings of "entanglement" has shifted over the years but I still love the sideshow of love-in-the-air as I make my way down life's highway.

Watching birds pairing off together sets the storyteller within my mind in motion. Ahhh ... nature, instincts, mating rituals, nesting and the arrival of baby birds sets my heart aflutter. As a parent with children between the ages of 24 and 44, I no longer wish for "baby birds" of my own but signs of new life stir up memories of a time when new life was dominant within my thoughts.

Early spring, my eyes are drawn toward the sky. The swooping, diving and little airshow the birds put on before they choose a mate. Next comes the pairing of birds in the courtship phase. Followed by the nesting stage. I am not a scientist and none of what follows is a proven fact but simple observances with a trace of facts retained from years gone by. 

What I have noticed about the birds in my own back yard is a Momma Bird appeared to be out shopping for just the right twigs and building material for the nest. As Momma swooped in and disappeared within a tree, Poppa was hot on her tail wings and found a spot in a neighboring tree out in the open where he chirped, made his presence known and diverted attention away from the home Momma Bird was building. Momma seemed to be a bit of a stickler for detail, as it took some time before she flew out of her hiding spot within the tree. Poppa escorted her as she went shopping for whatever she needed next. She didn't settle for anything on the ground beside her. It appeared she didn't want to attract attention to the actual location of her new family.

I thought I was watching a pair of blackbirds when I first noticed our new residents. Perhaps I was right and they got evicted by grackles. All I know for sure, is according to my bird identifier app grackles are the current resident. I hear grackles are a bit of an opportunist within the bird world and steal other birds' nests. I hope this couple built their home from scratch but I'll never know. 

Robins are building a nest in the blue spruce tree in the front. There is a lot of bird activity in our east-side yard. A robin with some nesting construction material caught my eye when it perched atop the lawn swing. The moment I noticed the twig in its beak, I watched to see where it headed next. Sure enough we have a family of robins in the front yard with a family of black colored birds in the back. Awww ... isn't love grand?

The next morning, as I opened the blinds I noticed a number of black colored birds outside the kitchen window. There was a robin in their midst with a distinctly red breast. Remnants of that-which-I-learned-as-a-child surfaced to the tip of my consciousness as I admired this robin, identifying it as a male. As I watched the birds scavenge for bugs, I didn't notice the incoming robin with a twig in its mouth and a more muted tone of red (obviously female, right?). She swooped in and her body language translated to human had me imagining her tweeting, "What in the heck are you doing here lazing about when I'm busy building our home?!" Poppa Robin immediately flew off and Momma stopped for a little breakfast before flying off. 

Canada geese are my favorite highway attraction. I fear icy, snowy road conditions when driving in the winter. When spring arrives, watching birds is my most dangerous driving hazard. They have paired off and each couple appeared to have their own stretch of real estate and I often spot them grazing in a field. Usually one is eating while the other is on high alert with its neck fully extended. 

(Pictures that follow were taken on a June day several years ago)

Note one goose on guard duty as the others are free to graze.

Where you see one goose, there is always another. This past week, I have noticed the bird groupings have increased to four to six. My novice bird watching skills has me wondering if these parents are getting close to having their goslings and are arranging co-parenting support groups. My "knowledge" is based on photos I took of Canada geese in June, so just a little beyond our present date.

This pair of birds must have been assigned daycare duty while the rest of their extended family took a break.

What a sight to behold ... moments that set my heart aflutter.

As I immerse myself in whatever sideshow Nature has in store, I find a childlike quality within myself coming to the surface as I make up little stories about what I see. Long forgotten facts drift to the surface as what I witness triggers little neurons of knowledge from long ago. I feel the weight of the world lift off my shoulders as I am amazed by the miracle of life, instinctual behavior which has resulted in survival of generations of wildlife who manage to populate this world of ours without creating the havoc of their human counterparts.

Random Idea Day

It was exactly one year ago today when an incoming text from my middle child changed the trajectory of our lives forever. "Random idea for you to think about..." Perhaps my most favorite seven word combination of all time.

I love the presentation of an idea that is worded in such a manner. It allows the person on the receiving end the freedom to consider, to ponder and wonder. No pressure - just some food for thought.

Random idea. A lovely phrase. I believe that is what I like best about sitting still with my own thoughts. The freefall of ideas that come to a person while in the shower, out for a walk or gazing off into the sky without the diversion of real-life thoughts. Random ideas can be nurtured or left alone. 

The words "random idea" conjure up all the best of the best transitions within life as I have lived it. The standout moments of my life were all planted with the seeds of random thoughts. 

In a world which has been dictated by pandemic restrictions, ethnic biases, viral propaganda spreading skewed information to purposefully sway opinions, I truly believe Random Idea Day should be an international holiday. If all information was spread in a manner in which one was simply invited to ponder without spreading fear, hate and bias I believe it could change the trajectory of where we go from here.

Making a Bed Around a Cat Tutorial

Living with cats requires some accommodations. Living with cat hair is perhaps the only thing I don't love about living with our furry felines.

One of our cats favorite daytime napping spots is on my bed. Despite all efforts, dealing with the cat hair accumulation is an exercise in futility.

Awww ... so sweet, isn't it?

But Jet prefers to sneak in under the covers (note the little bump under the covers in the picture above) to share the wealth of hair on top of and IN my bed.

So, I decided to adorn my bed with a bed sheet during the day and securely tucked the top of the sheet at the top of the bed to deter any sleeping "under the covers".

This worked. For a while. Then this happened: 

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Jet in for the win. Again. I keep trying, while Jet is scheming to plot his next move.

The following is a typical morning-in-the-life with Jet and me. Jet doing what cats do best - napping. Me? I'm just trying to make the bed around a resting cat. Who wins the battle?

I think it's a tie.

Routines Revised

This morning's routine did NOT work. I will not repeat life this way tomorrow.

The intention: walk, then write. 

What happened: walk; laundry; cat litter & related chores; eating toast at the kitchen table without distractions; hearing a bird I wanted to identify with my bird sound identifier app (i.e. becoming distracted); start a blog post but got too long winded so started all over again; decided my Making a Bed Around a Cat video would be a wiser choice; file too big to share; downloaded an app to shrink video file; saved to my computer and figured out how to speed up playback speed; tried to upload video onto blog but it was the wrong file type; saved video as another file type; blog did not finalize the upload; so tried yet another file type; success at last.

My morning started by walking out the door at 5:45 a.m. It is now 8:59 a.m. I have walked, washed a load of laundry, ate breakfast and come up with a blog post.

Teaser alert: The video finally uploaded but I will not post that blog until tomorrow. 

Tomorrow's routine will consist of writing FIRST, then walking. If at first you don't succeed, try try again.

The next day's goal will be to write about something a little more important than "all of the above"

Setting Intentions

I sat down and had a good, stern talk with myself one morning a few days ago. I came up with a list of intentions. I may have set too many. But I tried to make each and every one of them attainable.

It sounds easy:

• Walk
• Water 
• Write
• Limit TV/Netflix
• MINDFUL eating only (cut out eating in front of the TV, while at the computer or reading)
• Read
• Putter
• Initiate (notes/letters/email; invitations; seek out something new/different)

NOTE: Absolutely NONE-OF-THE-ABOVE cost one penny!

So far, I have managed four out of the eight. Not bad but there is room for improvement.

Writing - that is a big one for me. I have been half-hazardly hand writing three, 8-1/2" X 11" morning pages in a semi sorta on-again-off-again manner. I can do better than that. So? Here I am. Back on my blog.

When I started this blog, my goal was to write once a day. Focus on the positive. Live my days so I had something to write about (i.e. NOTICE the little things daily). Little stories. Write purposefully and attempt to wind up each post with a succinct finish that made my words worth reading.

I have strayed far off the mark and recently simply stopped posting. 

I am back. I plan to stay. By blogging, I become accountable. Accountable to show up, live each day in the moment so I have something fresh to bring to the page, focus on positive and up-lifting moments and make an attempt to wind up my thoughts with a summary worth reading. 

Those are a lofty set of goals. I am rusty but I will give it my best shot. I can tell I'm already making some headway. I am noticing "nature" again. I am stopping to listen and watch the world like I did in my days of daycaring. I have picked up the phone and initiated contact with friends and family. I am getting my feet wet and initiating invitations &/or suggestions.

I have been lost. COVID restrictions kept me where I was comfortable. It is time to peek out of this protected little shell I've built around myself and step back into the world. Would you like to join me? Please do. I do believe a better way of living life is out there if we simply open our eyes, ears and door so we can meet life half way.

Remembering When...

When I was a child, I dreamed simple dreams. I lived in a world of make believe, playing house, pretending and acting out what I imagined to become my future. 

Playing house utilized a lot of imagination when I was growing up. Pretend stoves, fridges, TV's and numerous household belongings were made from cardboard boxes or whatever one could find at hand. I dreamed of child sized furniture, miniature kitchens and doll furnishings and was grateful for anything that could be imagined into reality.

During my daycare days, I created my idyllic childhood dream for my daycare family. We had a Little Tykes kitchen, doll furniture and accessories galore, a little playhouse for the deck and a building, most would call a shed, that was dubbed "playhouse". Thanks to garage sales and second hand shopping, I created my dream come true for the little ones in my care.

As I grew out of playing house, my interest in TV was my second most favorite place to imagine myself. I wished I could be a witch like Samantha on Bewitched. I remember the elation of watching Bewitched, a favorite show of mine, and wishing another episode would play immediately. To have to wait one long week for a new episode felt like forever. 

Now, thanks to the multitude of streaming services and the vast amount of syndicated television programs, one can go back and watch old favorites. Just as I had dreamed - one show after another, no need to wait a week for the next episode. 

I am quite literally living the life of my childhood dreams. Child sized furniture has been replaced with real life furnishings and appliances. Live, breathing children replaced dolls and pretend babies. I can sit still and watch a favorite show as long as I can stay awake (never, in my wildest childhood dreams, did I ever think I would fall asleep at the speed I do in adulthood).

My life has become everything I dreamed. Minus a husband - I'm not quite sure why I never imagined that into my reality. I tried. It just didn't work out the way of my dreams ...

I sit here within my quiet, simple little life and am simply amazed. Life has become everything I had ever dreamed it could be.

Should I have dreamed of something bigger? Perhaps. But that would be someone else's dream. Not my own. I am content with what I have, what is real and the day I wake up to each morning.

As the world events of the day dominate the news and serve as a reminder to be grateful for the peaceful existence within our country, community and homes we have created ... I have slipped back into my childhood memories and am simply grateful.

Remember your dreams. Forget other people's expectations. Strive to create the world you hoped to live in when you were a child. 

Let there be peace. Within our hearts, minds and souls. And let that peacefulness embrace our family, friends and community. One peaceful heart at a time, may harmony dominate.

Please? 

The Gift of Choice

Ahhh, one of my most favorite long weekends of the year has arrived. There is nothing better than an extra day off during what, usually by now, feels like the longest winter. Ever. 

That long span of holiday-less-ness between New Year's Day and whenever Easter happened to fall in the spring always felt endless. A February long weekend still feels like a surprise gift bestowed upon me every year.

What to do? What to do?

Oh, to have a choice of how to spend one's time. Where? With whom? What activity of choice?

I am so very fortunate to have the gift of "choice". I have easy options. The decision will most likely be made by whatever feels right when I wake up in the morning.

To stay at home, a place that embraces me with every cat hair and welcoming favorite spot? Or to travel a little over an hour away to spend time in my little oasis on the prairie - my happy place, my potential retirement goal, my place to "just be" ...

What to do? I could opt to work. I could opt to play. Whatever feels best in the moment I'm in will rule the day. I have one extra day at my disposal. I could use it wisely or I could fritter it away.

There is a contentment within my little home so I don't feel the need to distance myself from where I am at. 

It is truly a gift to feel at peace anywhere. To have an option of where to "spend" that bliss? Priceless.

Finding your bliss where you may be is my February wish for you. 💕