Birds of Spring

We live in town, but at the edge of town, with a cornfield in our backyard.  Luckily, we still get quite a few birds on our feeders.  With our early spring like weather, I have been enjoying the windows being open and hearing the birds singing.  One of my favorites is the Cardinal's song. 

We have both a male and female cardinal who are hanging out at our feeders and it is so fun to watch them and listen to them sing to each other. 

I enjoy watching the Robins dig up worms and bugs from the yard.  I am hoping for another nest in our yard this year!

Our feeders are also full of house sparrows.  They aren't the prettiest bird, but they are so much fun to watch as they play and eat at the feeders.

I don't know if I will ever attract the birds that my parents have at their farm.....bluebirds, blue jays, wrens, orioles, woodpeckers, indigo buntings, scarlet tanagers, and finches.  But, I will definitely keep the ones that visit with full bellies!


Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away, all the same, knowing she has wings.   
Victor Hugo



Counting My Blessings In November

November is the time to count our many blessings - name them one by one.


I want to look at each day and name at least one blessing from that day. Something that happened or affected me on that day and not just in general. It can be so easy to igore those little blessings in our day, but sometimes it is the little blessings that can make the biggest impact.




November 16 - Thankful for Customer Service
Today I had several errands to run in a very short amount of time.  One of my stops was to Carlos O'Kelly's for a gift card.  I didn't want to have to drive back to the west side of town after other errands, so I stopped there at 10:30 AM and they were still closed.  The manager was thankfully picking up outside and even though they were still closed, he let me in.  He turned on the cash register and computers early and allowed me to purchase the gift card.  I was very appreciative and grateful for him taking a few moments to make my time flow a little easier.  As someone who used to work in customer service and has found some very disheartening customer service acts lately, this is one that I will remember.  Carlos has always gotten a lot of business from us and they will continue to get more from us in the future!

November 17 - Thankful for Birds
The birds have returned to our feeder.  As a child, my parents always had several feeders all around our yard and I loved watching them.  Some of my favorites were the blue jays, hummingbirds, wrens, chickadees, and gold finches.  Our bird feeder is right outside our living room window and as I am typing this, the birds are so happy, flying around, playing with each other and snacking on the suet cake and bird seed.  It just makes me happy. 

Return of the Junco

Every winter I eagerly await the arrival of the Junco to my bird feeder.  Thursday, as I was sitting on the couch, I noticed something move in the corner of my eye.  I looked out the living room window and noticed a junco happily eating from our feeder and then hopping over to the suet feeder beside it. 

It is such a simple thing, but it makes me happy to see my Junco friends coming back each winter to enjoy the food we provide for them. 

Hummingbirds

I have always loved hummingbirds.  This photo reminds me of the dozens of hummingbirds that would come to the feeders that were hanging outside our kitchen window when I was growing up.  I have gotten a few hummingbirds at our place, but nothing like my mom always has at her feeders.

Legends say that hummingbirds float free of time, carrying our hopes for love, joy and celebration.  The hummingbird's delicate grace reminds us that life is rich, beauty is everywhere, every personal connection has meaning and that laughter is life's sweetest creation.

The birds

Today I have a sick child at home, so have been spending a lot of time on our couch. This gives me a perfect view of our bird feeders out our front window. If I had been away from home today, as planned, I would have missed many enjoyable visits to our feeder. The most exciting for me was a visit from a Baltimore Oriole at my hummingbird feeder! I am honored that this beautiful bird decided to pay my feeder a visit. Even as I sit here, she is back having another sip of my sugary treat. My parents have always been able to attract numerous birds to their feeders, but they also live in the country. Now for the last 4 years I have been trying to entice them to mine in our little town. This spring I also seem to have a male and female cardinal team that enjoy my feeder. Today I watched as the male seemed to be kissing and feeding the female as they visited my feeder.

I was blessed today by an unexpected day at home with 2 of our children and the opportunity to just sit and enjoy God's gifts to us.