In February we spotted an American robin foraging on the vibrant red berries of sumac shrubs which were growing in a colony along the roadside. The fruit of the sumac lasts throughout the winter and provides sustenance to our feathered friends that spend the winter here.
… Growing at field edges and in waste
places, most of us don’t notice the ruby glow.
Bluebirds, robins, and squirrels
know better, plucking at the jeweled lights
to keep their own fires burning.
~David K. Leff
Late on a cold, crisp afternoon, I stepped outside to get a breath of fresh air and take in some of nature’s sights and sounds before nighttime fell on our little part of the world.
A small flock of cedar waxwings, with their high-pitched whistles, flitted about in the sky before temporarily settling in the top of one of our maple trees.
A group of grackles shared an adjoining maple tree, the males puffing out their feathers and bellowing out raspy squeaks in an attempt to outdo each other.
A robin peered down at me from its perch in the top of a neighbor’s tree.
Then I heard them — the faint and familiar sound of a bird that I have been looking forward to seeing since they returned to their wintering grounds at a nearby refuge. Flying high above, they slowly came into sight — my first seasonal glimpse of the Sandhill Cranes.
“Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” ~Maya Angelou
A small flock of robins showed up last week to harvest the berries from the holly bushes in my yard. As the sun began to set, they gathered on the high branches of a nearby tree to soak in the last rays of the day.
“When you rise in the morning, give thanks for the light, for your life, for your strength. Give thanks for your food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason to give thanks, the fault lies in yourself.” ~Tecumseh
walking on a country road 