Time out for a nature break

Life overwhelming? Take a nature break!

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed lately. With my sister sick and in the hospital and some other major issues I'm not sleeping very well and the temptations to anxiety are many and frequent. I spent yesterday on the road leaving home at 8:30 in teeming rain to make a 10:15 appointment in Chantilly, then on to Frederick Memorial Hospital an hour away to visit my sister, then back to Winchester to COSTCO, and finally home to make dinner. Whew!

I consider my car a little chapel and said two rosaries on the road as well as taking some silence breaks between finishing a book on CD and listening to talk radio. I can only stand so much noise.

Today, however, it's time for a nature break!

Praise God in His Creation

Time out for a nature break. I can't help it. I'm sitting at my computer but I'm totally distracted by a pair of bluebirds nesting in a birdhouse attached to a pole about thirty feet from my window. There are four little blue eggs in the nest (They resemble the picture below.) and my little granddaughter and I have been going out to check every day to see if the babies have arrived. The house is tiny and I was surprised the bluebirds chose it since there is a bigger one nearby. But I'm glad they did because the other is obscured by tree limbs, but this offers a clear view and a continuous source of entertainment.

Usually the momma is sitting in the nest with her head sticking out the door. I keep a pair of binoculars on the desk and often spend a few minutes watching her. As a matter of fact I can see her head right now peeping out and her mouth is open as if she's yawning. Maybe even momma birds get impatient for the big day. And she is such a good little mother. The daddy often perches outside as if talking to her. "How's it going in there, Hon? Any progress? How much longer?" But babies come when they are ready.

Every now and then a hawk perches in the pine tree overlooking the house. Once I saw him at the door of the birdhouse and ran out to chase him away. Hopefully he will not be back when the babies arrive. I know, I know, he has to eat...but let him catch a field mouse, not the bluebirds.

What did hawks eat before the fall when the world was fresh and new and perfect without sin? Did animals prey on one another then, or did all creatures eat from the fruit of the land? Did the lion truly lie down with the lamb in the garden of Eden?

When I reflect on our beautiful world, it lifts my mind and heart to the Creator and I spontaneously rejoice with the psalmist:

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights;

Praise him, all you his angels, praise him, all you his hosts.

Praise him, sun and moon; praise him all you shining stars.

Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens.

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created.

He established them forever and ever.

(Psalm 148:1-6)

And then I add my own words of praise:

Praise him, gentle bluebird as you sit upon your nest.

Praise him, robin redbreast in the peach tree.

Praise him, happy mocking bird, singing from the top of the flagpole.

Praise the Lord, tiny humming bird drinking at the feeder.

All you winged birds, praise the God who made you!

First Sign of Spring

For me, the first sign of spring isn't the robin bobbing along, but the bluebirds' arrival. I saw my first bluebird yesterday on the side of the house. He stopped to check out the cottage where he and his mate took up residence last year. Hopefully, he'll choose that for his seasonal lodging again.

My daffodils and lilies are also up about six inches and the forsythia buds are swelling and getting ready to pop. It gives my heart a real lift and we certainly need that after this long snowy winter.

We got a little bit of a head start on a three and a half week driving to Texas and back. The magnolias were blooming in Texas and Arkansas when we left to come home and in Athens, Texas we saw an early bird redbud in glorious full bloom. What a welcome sight! There were also some trees with small white blossoms in bloom, Bradford Pears maybe.

The weather was cold when we arrived in Houston. We were only able to shed our jackets the last few days there. Austin was better after it stopped raining and we had a few shirtsleeve days and even a hot two-mile walk the day before we left, a prelude to summer. It raised our anticipation for our beautiful Virginia spring and summer and I have itchy garden fingers.

What's the first sign of spring you look for?