Sunday, January 16

Early morning on the Little Darby

Downy woodpecker.

White-throated sparrow

One of my favorite birds of winter, the song sparrow.

This morning, like clockwork, my 19+ year old cat woke me at 6 a.m. demanding to be fed. I complied against my will, with eyes only partly open and then found my way back to bed. Five minutes later the meowing began, loudly as she is 19 and deaf, evidently not happy with my choice of shredded tuna and egg. I got up, but on principle, I refused to feed her again. I instead decided I would watch the day begin from the comforts of our hot tub overlooking the Little Darby. This morning was especially still outside. Cold and still. Most mornings the sounds from the interstate drift upstream, but not this morning. The first audible sound was the clear thin 2 note fee bee of a Carolina Chickadee. The sun was just peeking above the horizon and lighting the morning sky. A squirrel was chattering in a tree and the rustling beneath the tree suggested that another gray squirrel was getting a little too close to his cache of nuts. The birds, that until now had been silent and invisible, were flying in one by one, snatching a sunflower seed and retreating into the early morning opaqueness. First a tufted titmouse, then the chickadee followed by a downy woodpecker. Soon our blue spruce was edged by the outlines of house finches, brilliant cardinals and song sparrows. The feeding picked up in pace before settling into a steady fly in and fly out pattern. By now the warmth of the sun has roused the sleepiest of creatures. All are going about their day as they usually do. They fly, they sing, they scamper and scoot. They do not worry about what tomorrow will bring. Their only concern is to live today and in that reality, whether it be harsh or serene, they find happiness. (Luke 12:24-28)

This morning was brought to you by a loving God.