Our life is usually not super busy. We live in a village of 300, 16 miles from the nearest 'town'. We are surrounded by trees and mountains and all that lives among them. We cannot see our neighbors' homes. We have no clock in our bedrooms.
But these past few weeks have been more intense, more filled, more busy. Lots of energy is flowing and lots of things are coming together all at the same time. This is good, this is exciting! And it makes life a little more busy. So when I woke up this morning and the kids were still asleep and there was nothing urgent on the agenda, I took the opportunity to do grab my yoga mat, put it on the front porch and do some gentle stretching. As I was sitting there, five channel-billed toucans flew into the yard and proceeded to fly from one tree to the next eating fruits and flowers. I wanted to wake up the kids, I wanted to share the moment with them, but I stayed and sat and watched and soaked it all in. And then I went for the camera.
The toucans were around in plane view for an hour and during that time they never once made a sound or a call and I realized that had I been cooking breakfast or preparing for the day or starting the laundry I would have never known I had such special guests in the yard. And the more I sat, the more I saw. Morning is the time for birds. It is their calls that wake me up and as I sat there I was blessed by brilliant yellow orioles, vibrant blue grey tanagers, deep ebony annis and the songs of many more. I am what a friend of ours calls a 'Zen Birder' - I love and appreciate birds but I do not keep lists of those I have seen - and I was truly in the Zen with those birds this morning!
In fact it is because of them that I am finally starting this blog. The idea has been around but the moment didn't flow until this morning. I am excited to record and share a piece of our lives through this blog.
But these past few weeks have been more intense, more filled, more busy. Lots of energy is flowing and lots of things are coming together all at the same time. This is good, this is exciting! And it makes life a little more busy. So when I woke up this morning and the kids were still asleep and there was nothing urgent on the agenda, I took the opportunity to do grab my yoga mat, put it on the front porch and do some gentle stretching. As I was sitting there, five channel-billed toucans flew into the yard and proceeded to fly from one tree to the next eating fruits and flowers. I wanted to wake up the kids, I wanted to share the moment with them, but I stayed and sat and watched and soaked it all in. And then I went for the camera.
The toucans were around in plane view for an hour and during that time they never once made a sound or a call and I realized that had I been cooking breakfast or preparing for the day or starting the laundry I would have never known I had such special guests in the yard. And the more I sat, the more I saw. Morning is the time for birds. It is their calls that wake me up and as I sat there I was blessed by brilliant yellow orioles, vibrant blue grey tanagers, deep ebony annis and the songs of many more. I am what a friend of ours calls a 'Zen Birder' - I love and appreciate birds but I do not keep lists of those I have seen - and I was truly in the Zen with those birds this morning!
In fact it is because of them that I am finally starting this blog. The idea has been around but the moment didn't flow until this morning. I am excited to record and share a piece of our lives through this blog.
