{One year ago, give or take a day.}
Ah.....we've been watching...hoping...and waiting for this. On March 1st, we turned our bird calendar to a page full of robins - and we all wondered, "Really? This month, they'll return?"
We began preparing the bird book basket - which sits out all year long - with some new additions. The beautiful How To Paint The Portrait of A Bird - a magical tale of dreamy bird love (thank you for the recommend, Jennifer!). And of course, our treasured Bird Song purchased just last year - with the binding falling apart and already in need of duct tape from it's frequent and oh-so-loved use. And the requests to visit the photos in Birds of the World have been increasing each day. And then more waiting.
Then last week, in between the snowfall, we spied our first cardinal pair, frolicking amidst the piles of white, searching for the bits of food.
And just yesterday that we had our first real Spring "bird moment" of the season. Where our little family crowds around the windows or quietly opens the door and tiptoes onto a porch to stare, marvel and wonder at the magic we see. Robins, chickadees, cardinals, a woodpecker (it's type debated heavily amongst the Soule Birders - if only because we're all eager for a good bird debate), and a turkey vulture - all out there yesterday morning at the same time. There was running for the bird books, and the camera....but more than either of those things, there was a lot of watching. And hushed whispers of, "Do you see...?" and "It's a...!". And a lot of big eyes. 10, to be precise.
With big eyes and open windows, we found that silence within - silence that is so rarely found in this noisy house of five. Silence as we closed our mouths and opened our ears and hearts to hear them sing their bird songs.
Oh, I think it's magic. Simply magic.
