Nature

This bright Monday morning I am sitting on the deck, drinking coffee, and watching the hummingbirds at their feeder. There are sparrows tending to their nest and feeding their babies, and across the yard bluebirds are doing the same. Swallows dart past me to their nest to feed the babies under the deck, while more bluebirds and house wrens tend to their young ones in the front of the house.
It's like we've got a freakin' avian nursery!

Feeding a nest full of babies is a full-time gig for the mama and papa birds. They alternately enter the birdhouses with small bugs or to regurgitate food into the wide open, waiting mouths. Watching them is interesting and entertaining. 
I am surprised at the number of birds that seem to find nesting areas near the house since we don't have any trees near us and the only feeders we tend to are for hummingbirds. I have a couple of other feeders out, but haven't kept them full for more than a year. Maybe I just fill them again, even if there seems to be plenty of food for our feathered friends.
Maybe our home is just a safe place from predators to build a nest and feed babies.

There is also a small family of crows that frequents the area. Two years ago there were three birds. Last year there were five. This year there are generally six. It's been a week or so since I've seen them in the morning, but I do hear them cawing in the distance and sometimes see them when I'm out driving to or from the house. 

Hmmm...
I don't know anything about the nesting habits of crows, nor hummingbirds. That's something I need to check into.

Because of the large open fields and no trees, we don't see many critters. Squirrels, rabbits, and rodents are just hawk food. They are smart enough to keep to the trees or areas of cover from the high flying predatory birds.

Obviously, my meditative time this morning is being spent appreciating the natural world that surrounds our little home in this rural neighborhood. There is something calming and comforting about observing nature. 

I hope you are able to find a moment in your day to appreciate the beauty of nature. 

John