Tag Archives: birds
Showing off
“I’m lying in my room listening to the birds outside. I used to think they sang because they were happy. But then I learned on a nature show they’re really showing off.” — Jo Knowles So much for our romantic anthropomorphism. But for a bird, maybe showing off is a cheerful sort of thing to …
Fascinating to watch
“The common animals, birds and insects that are found in a little yard in the city are as fascinating to watch, and as fruitful in affording the careful observer a glimpse into some of the mysteries of nature, as are the rare and uncommon creatures of some far-off land.” – Leonard Dubkin While our tour …
Delicious
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” — George Eliot The scene pictured above is one of my favorite places in our neighborhood. There is a pond just to the left, where you can’t see it in …
A morning inside you
“There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into Light.” — Rumi One recent morning, when I was up early, I stepped out onto our deck and was surrounded by the beautiful song of birds and the sound of the nearby creek flowing. Since I had the time, I grabbed my camera to …
The ideal of calm
“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” ― Jules Renard A year ago today, my post was about the exotic and mostly unknown world of undersea creatures. Today I’m thinking of the wonders that are often hiding in plain sight, among animals we see so often that we scarcely notice them. Dogs, cats, …
Part of the silence
“In order to see birds it is necessary to become part of the silence.” – Robert Lynd Today’s photos are NOT mine, as much as I’d like to take credit for them. I’m re-blogging some amazing photos by Michael of talainsphotographyblog. Michael is a talented and prolific photographer who gives us a closeup view of …
The singing of birds
“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come…” — Song of Solomon 2:11-12 Let’s hope the winter is mostly past by now, and the rain, while not over and gone, will surely give way to more …
Ten thousand truths
“There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.” — Henry Ward Beecher A year ago my post …
On his darkest day
You have to believe in happiness, Or happiness never comes … Ah, that’s the reason a bird can sing – On his darkest day he believes in Spring. — Douglas Malloch I’ve done a lot of walking through snow and ice the past few days, and already there’s a part of me that is eager …
The world’s best teachers
“Children and animals are the world’s best teachers– but very few adults really want to be educated.” — Ashleigh Brilliant Educators have long known that learning is optimal when the lessons are engaging and fun. What better teachers, then, than animals and children? I hope there are more adults wanting this sort of education than …
Enter this wild wood
Stranger, if thou hast learned a truth which needs No school of long experience, that the world Is full of guilt and misery, and hast seen Enough of all its sorrows, crimes, and cares, To tire thee of it, enter this wild wood And view the haunts of nature… — William Cullen Bryant The poem from …
Joy untroubled
“Love the animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled.” — Fyodor Dostoyevsky I don’t know of anything that can lighten the mood as much as a cute or playful animal. I realize many situations make it impossible to have a pet in the home, but I hope everyone has the …
Start again
The birds they sang at the break of day Start again I heard them say — Leonard Cohen I can’t recall a single time when hearing the birds singing did not lift my spirits. Sometimes they sound cheerful and perky, sometimes insistent, almost alarmed, but they never sound depressing. Birdsong goes perfectly with the other …
Not quite refined
“She was not quite what you would call refined. She was not quite what you would call unrefined. She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.” — Mark Twain There is nothing profound, instructive or inspirational about this quote. It made me laugh, so I wanted to share it. Twain’s whimsical description somehow hits …
A book of holy teaching
“If thy heart were right, then every creature would be a mirror of life and a book of holy teaching. There is no creature so small and abject, but it reflects the goodness of God.” — Thomas à Kempis Our backyard borders on a wooded lot that is part of the property, protected wetlands that cannot …
A certain free margin
“You must not know too much, or be too precise or scientific about birds and trees and flowers and water-craft; a certain free margin, and even vagueness – perhaps ignorance, credulity – helps your enjoyment of these things…” — Walt Whitman I think Whitman just explained why I get such a kick out of nature. …
Showing off
“I’m lying in my room listening to the birds outside. I used to think they sang because they were happy. But then I learned on a nature show they’re really showing off.” — Jo Knowles So much for our romantic anthropomorphism. But for a bird, maybe showing off is a cheerful sort of thing to …
Fascinating to watch
“The common animals, birds and insects that are found in a little yard in the city are as fascinating to watch, and as fruitful in affording the careful observer a glimpse into some of the mysteries of nature, as are the rare and uncommon creatures of some far-off land.” – Leonard Dubkin While our tour …
Delicious
“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” — George Eliot The scene pictured above is one of my favorite places in our neighborhood. There is a pond just to the left, where you can’t see it in …
A morning inside you
“There is a morning inside you waiting to burst open into Light.” — Rumi One recent morning, when I was up early, I stepped out onto our deck and was surrounded by the beautiful song of birds and the sound of the nearby creek flowing. Since I had the time, I grabbed my camera to …
The ideal of calm
“The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.” ― Jules Renard A year ago today, my post was about the exotic and mostly unknown world of undersea creatures. Today I’m thinking of the wonders that are often hiding in plain sight, among animals we see so often that we scarcely notice them. Dogs, cats, …
Part of the silence
“In order to see birds it is necessary to become part of the silence.” – Robert Lynd Today’s photos are NOT mine, as much as I’d like to take credit for them. I’m re-blogging some amazing photos by Michael of talainsphotographyblog. Michael is a talented and prolific photographer who gives us a closeup view of …
The singing of birds
“For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come…” — Song of Solomon 2:11-12 Let’s hope the winter is mostly past by now, and the rain, while not over and gone, will surely give way to more …
Ten thousand truths
“There are joys which long to be ours. God sends ten thousands truths, which come about us like birds seeking inlet; but we are shut up to them, and so they bring us nothing, but sit and sing awhile upon the roof, and then fly away.” — Henry Ward Beecher A year ago my post …
On his darkest day
You have to believe in happiness, Or happiness never comes … Ah, that’s the reason a bird can sing – On his darkest day he believes in Spring. — Douglas Malloch I’ve done a lot of walking through snow and ice the past few days, and already there’s a part of me that is eager …
Defeat Despair 