The music of the birds.

After awaking to a beautiful, sunny, breezy day,  I decided after breakfast to take the children to a nearby recreation trail for a nature walk.

The breeze was so fresh, the sun was so vibrant--it was truly a beautiful morning and we all enjoyed ourselves.

 

What I really noticed this morning was the music of the birds. The air was filled with the beautiful calls of chickadees, robins, red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, and a host of others whose calls I did not recognize. It was truly lovely, and I reveled in it.

But what else struck me, was that of the dozens of other people we saw on the trail this morning, walking, jogging, biking, or rollerblading--not one person, literally not one, did not have earbuds plugging their ears. Not one person could hear the music of the birds. I found this sad. This wonderful world we live in offers so much beauty and enjoyment to us, at no cost--all we have to do is pay attention. But so few people today do pay attention to the beauty that surrounds them--they are too busy, I suppose, or too distracted, or maybe it never even occured to them that there was beauty there.

I truly hope that this weekend, all of you out there will take a moment to enjoy one of life's simplest (and probably oldest) pleasures--the music of the birds. :)

Tomorrow I'll be back with a book review!

Comments

[Missus @ Escape to the Farm]

Too bad that others missed/ignored the beautiful songs that you enjoyed.

I particularly like to hear birdsong in the early morning, as it's a lot nicer than an alarm clock buzzing!

[Luisa]

I just came across your blog from soulemama. I really like your blog the nature and simplicity of
it all. I know it's hard to try to live in a techie world because it feels like we are the only ones moving towards nature. Fortunately there are many people who are living for a simple life with nature.
I also love the clipboards. My friend got me into those for my children and it's the best investment. We even give the mini memo clipboard with paper, crayon molds and a pencil as a gift.
Love the nature

[Laura Jeanne]

I agree. I'm happy that there is a large maple tree right outside our bedroom window--as long as the window is opened, the birds never let me sleep in too late! :)

[Laura Jeanne]

Thank you for the compliment, Luisa! :)

I got the idea for the clipboards for nature study from the book Pocketful of Pinecones. I find them indispensable now. If the children took their actual nature journals outside and drew directly in them on our walks, they would be destroyed in no time! Instead we come home, cut out the pictures that they like (and that aren't wet) and glue them into their journals.

[Angie Wright/Pebblekeeper]

I have noticed the same thing about earbuds, especially at the beach. I am one for listening to music, beautifully orchestrated worship, while walking at the beach, but I have found that the cadence of the waves, and the sound of the gulls, and pelicans and other birds are more majestic than any composition. I am thankful that we are not an earbud family. :) I have really enjoyed learning the new birds this spring as well. I LOVE your blog top photos. How amazing! (and all the blog photos too). Adding you to my reader! oh - and thanks for the book review, I'll look for it.

[Laura Jeanne]

Thanks, Angie--I really like the photo at the top of my blog too. It's from a trip we took to a cottage in the woods, north of Toronto, about three years ago. Our family has very warm memories of that trip we took together, which is also why I chose that particular photo. :)

[Amy]

I love your blog Laura. I will have to find the time to explore a little more around here ;) As far as the ear buds, I've also seen it more and more lately with children. I saw a very young girl with them at a picnic yesterday. On Friday night my family and I stopped for dinner at a restaurant. Both my husband and I noticed a child watching a movie with a DVD player or video game player with ear buds while walking out of the restaurant. His father had a hold of the back of his neck "guiding" him out of the restaurant because his eyes and ears were obviously being used for the movie. We then talked about how this child will grow up to be an adult one day, and we wondered how these kids will turn out. Anyway, thanks for bringing this up! Now to browse :)