Nature’s Symphony



mocking-bird-in-flight

I went for a stroll this morning with my college girl before the heat of the day would have me cooped up inside with my window unit air conditioner behind the closed doors of my bedroom.  It was only 10:00 a.m., but the California sun had already burned away any lingering morning clouds and was scorching the sidewalk.  Even with my fingerless gloves I could feel the heat of my composite handrims against the urethane tires.  But it felt so good to be out of the house that we continued on, at least a little ways up the street.

mocking-bird-in-treetop-oval-feathered
Mockingbird photographs courtesy of my son Daniel.

All of our neighbors were long gone off to work and the express trucks had not yet begun their mad dash deliveries.  In the absence of human trespass, the cul d’sac was alive with music this morning.  I could easily discern the unique song of the whippoorwill coming from high above the tree tops that were providing a much needed respite of shade on our stroll.  Baby birds also sang a jubilant chorus as I imagined their parents where feeding them a mid-morning snack.  There was distant cry of a hawk and the coo of a mourning dove.  Without a doubt I could recognize the song of the rose finch that was so familiar to me from our backyard bird feeder.

Once we reached the end of the block, and the shade tree canopy, we turned around and headed slowly back to our home.  As I glanced up to the top of a towering birch tree, I saw a single bird sitting on the tallest branch.  Indeed as I looked around, I realized it was the ONLY bird in sight!   My daughter and I laughed as we listened to the mocking bird mimic the whippoorwill to perfection.  Next came the baby bird sounds and the mourning dove impersonation.   We listened to the resonance of a frog or perhaps a chorus of crickets.  Even the distant echo of the hawk in flight was merely the mocking bird singing her symphony of bird song that she had perfected.

What a lovely way to start the day in awareness that even what we believe to be true can all be an illusion.

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