{this moment}

Following SouleMama's inspiration :
"A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

TAKE FLIGHT

 We have seen birds nests and eggs in nests and birds in nests but we have never ever seen a fledgling leave the nest for the very first time...until now ...and how perfect it happened during Earth School.

We were in the back of the house and noticed a bird, a Phoebe, fly up to the corner of the house. We were curious and noticed the bird heading to a nest built in the crook of the drainpipe and the house.

The Phoebe flew away as we came near but up in the nest we noticed TWO figures (two baby birds). One sat up higher then the other. Please forgive the blurry picture but it is the only one we had of both young birds in the nest.

 We stood watching, and all of a sudden, the *taller* birdie FLEDGED the nest. It flapped its wings and flew low through the air and landed on a nearby Pine tree. And look how he blended into the tree bark! Camouflage in action!

And do you see the tufts of hair on top of his head? Very sweet.

It hung onto the tree for a few minutes, then flew again and landed among the leaves of a young Pin Oak. It was peeping all the time and we were hoping it was alright.

The fledgling soon jumped to the ground, hopped among the pine needles and under a Beech tree and rested near a log still constantly peeping.

 Was it distress call ? Was it a call to mom and dad Phoebe? or Was it a sound of jubilation "Look what I just did!"?

 We were nervous that if it stayed too long on the ground a predator might get to it. But no worries because who should appear but mama and papa Phoebe! 

They flew near and stayed close by. It was then that we left the area so as not to disturb the whole process, letting nature take its course. I went back to the area later on in the day and no birds were in sight so I would like to believe all was well.

TODAY, 
after we went exploring down by the pond, we came back to the nest and could see the one baby bird still in there. 

                            Seriously, isn't this the cutest face you ever did see?

I looked around expecting to see at least one of the adult birds . They do not seem to venture too far from their nest. Sure enough, we looked up in the Pine tree and saw a bird on a branch. 

 We walked near but the bird did not fly away as the adult birds always do. We looked closer  and realized it wasn't the adult bird after all, it was the fledgling from yesterday!

We walked right underneath the branch and he didn't even fly away.

 He was just chilling on a branch in direct view of the nest. Was he waiting ever so patiently for his sibling to join him?

Whatever the reason, it was so very precious and magical to witness the first flight and to then see the fledgling again and so content on the branch.

It's days like this that touch our hearts and make us realize how glorious this world is in which we live.

ONE WORD WEDNESDAY

                      
             ~ connecting ~

(Feel free to join in One Word Wednesday. Just leave a comment with your link.)

TREE LOVE

It's nearly impossible to keep a child off a tree, but then again, why would you want to?

 And the more children get to be with trees and learn about them, the more connected they become and will care about them and the future.

Have you ever touched a tree blindfolded? 

Give it a try! It's a whole different experience using your other senses.

Did you know a medium size tree can move 25 gallons of water a day through their roots?

In Spring, you can often hear all that going on inside the tree. Have a listen!

What else do you notice about a tree?

Look at the bark, the branches, the buds, the flowers, the leaves, and the roots !

Make a bark rubbing:

Put paper to bark and rub a peeled crayon sideways across the paper.

Instant Tree Art !

Does the tree have any visitors?

What do you like best about trees?

Stay tuned for more Tree activities 

If you stood with your feet in the earth

Up to your ankles in grass

And your arms had leaves running over them

And every once in awhile one of your leafy fingers

Was nudged by a bird flying past,

If the skin that covers you from top to tip

Wasn’t skin at all, but bark

And you never moved your feet from their place

In the earth

But stood rooted in one spot come

Rain

Wind

Snow                         

Sleet

Thaw

Spring

Summer

Winter

Fall

Blight

Bug

Day

Dark

Then you would be me:

A tree.

    Kuskin, Karla. 1972     

WORDS

*WORDS* 

 my weekly posting of a poem, a quote and a passage from literature.

Winter is many months of the year

But now at last Maytime is here;
And birds sing from a leafy screen

In the trees and hedgerow freshly green;

And the wood-anemone is out in the shade,

With its blushing petals which too soon fade;

Once more the bracken is unfurling there,

And bluebells gently perfume the damp air."

  ~Veronica Ann Twells, Maytime

"To see a hillside white with dogwood bloom is to know a particular ecstasy of beauty, but to walk the gray Winter woods and find the buds which will resurrect that beauty in another May is to partake of continuity."

- Hal Borland

"But it was a jolly, busy, happy, swift-flying winter. School work was as interesting, class rivalry as absorbing, as of yore. New worlds of thought, feeling, and ambition, fresh, fascinating fields of unexplored knowledge seemed to be opening out before Anne's 

eager eyes. Hills peeped o'er hill and Alps on Alps arose. 

Much of all this was due to Miss Stacy's tactful, careful, broad-minded guidance. She led her class to think and explore and discover for themselves and encouraged straying from the old beaten paths to a degree that quite shocked Mrs. Lynde and the school trustees, who viewed all innovations on established methods quite dubiously.

~from Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

SUNDAY STROLL

 A delightful morning was had with my children and grandbabies on this Mother's Day. They brought love and gifts and made a delicious breakfast.

     We took a short drive to spend time with my mom on this brisk, windy yet sunny day.
I didn't think I would have time for a Sunday stroll today but I noticed new blooms as I passed by in the car and knew I just had to go exploring.

The Linden leaves looked beautiful against the sky

There's more Wisteria to move closer to the house

The pond has swirls of pollen

                                                   Irises are in bloom pondside

                                             The Dogwood tree is flowering

                                                       Pinecones are forming

                                                       New blooms are everywhere

       A Phoebe flew out from under the bridge, where her nest is, and waited until I passed by

The world is so green everywhere I look

With LOVE and thanks to Mother Nature

                                                              We are truly blessed.

MOTHERHOOD

"With the power of motherhood within her, a woman can influence the entire world. 

The love of awakened motherhood is a love and compassion felt not only toward one's own children, but towards all people, animals and plants, rocks and rivers--

a love extended to all beings.

It is not restricted to women who have given birth; it is a principle inherent in both women and men. It is an attitude of the mind. It is love--

and that love is the very breath of life." 

~Amma

Happy Mother's Day!

HAPPY

   Happy Mother's Day!

  Adorable Mother and Child Owl collage by Maple Shade Kids