So far, so good with my New Year’s resolution to be more “in the moment.” As I sit and eat, I often gaze out the window and enjoy watching the birds come to our bird feeder. The other day, a beautiful young, male cardinal stopped by for a meal. I was mesmerized watching him; he sat and ate for a good long time. He must have been hungry!
This put me in a pensive mood and I got to thinking about how something so seemingly simple like watching birds, can be a metaphor for life. Some lessons I pondered are:
1. Slow down and look around!
I just happened to glance out the window at the exact moment the cardinal was eating and I am so glad I did.
2. A seemingly simple gesture can mean a lot.
It didn’t take much effort for Mr. Ken to put up the bird feeder. And now, lots of birds have come to rely on this for their food. What about other simple gestures? A friendly smile at a stranger? A kind word. These little things can mean more than you can know.
3. There is beauty everywhere, you just have to look.
Winter in New England is not the prettiest season, especially when there is no snow on the ground. Everything is brown and dull. But the sight of that bright red cardinal certainly brightened my day.
What can you see when you slow down and look around?
Photo is courtesy of watts_photos under Creative Commons licensing 2.0.
P.S. I didn’t move fast enough to get my camera and take a picture of “our” cardinal. 🙂
Nancy Loderick's Blog 
Ken Loderick
February 13, 2020
I hope that the birds are very hungry as I have a large 40 lb. bag of birdseed for them! 🙂
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Nancy Loderick
February 15, 2020
Dear Mr. Ken,
Well, if the birds don’t eat all the birdseed, I think our chipmunks will! 🙂
Nancy
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Kathi Brydon Ryan
February 13, 2020
Bob is a great birder. He goes out a few times a week and is rated on the Rochester Birding Association. We have many bird feeders in the front yard so we can enjoy them on a daily basis. I even know the difference between the yard birds now. They are interesting. Enjoy them.
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Nancy Loderick
February 15, 2020
Hi Kathi – thanks for your comment. Right now, we only put out one feeder at a time. In the winter, it’s one for bigger birds. In the summer, we put out a feeder for hummingbirds.
Nancy
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