A couple of weeks ago I shared the invitation of a California pastor to "hear the bird of the Lord" during the six weeks of Lent. She suggested taking a few minutes each day to listen for birdsong as a spiritual discipline and needless to say I was delighted by this notion. In many urban settings it can be tough to hear birds, even when attempting to be attentive but its certainly possible where we are, including in our backyard.
This past Tuesday I was walking by the Bay of Quinte when I heard the first red-winged blackbirds of 2022, a raucous croak which is music to my ears after months of Winter. Hearing them tells me that other creatures may know something I don't know about the change of seasons. Ruth saw a red-winged blackbird on one of our feeders and I've heard them while working around the yard.
It seems too that the calls of the cardinals are becoming more urgent and the chickadees have changed their tune. Robins are back in our neighbourhood, both visibly and in chirp. I went out to the garage and was puzzled to see that leaves had been tossed out of the crack between the door and the paved driveway. I looked over to see a robin waiting for me to get out of the way so he/she could get back to foraging. The crows were noisy this morning and I was surprised to see the crowd of different species of birds at the feeders with the seed diminishing before their furious onslaught.
On this second Sunday of Lengthen (Lent) I encourage all you Groundlings to get outside and listen for our avian companions. They can be the source of hope as we limp our way toward Easter.
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