And Then Came Summer

Spring has glided by after staying almost unnoticeably. Its telltale signs were not as striking and sweeping as they should be. It snowed for the most part of the season, hindering the vegetation from budding and the buds from popping out. ( check out Crazy May to see how spring looked like) As it inched closer to its end, all the leaves and flowers suddenly burst forth.

And then came summer. ( Summer solstice this year was June 21) . With all the warmth and sunshine, the young greens of spring rushed to deeper, mature greens as the summer flowers broke out. The succeeding days came to be mottled with the vibrantly colorful blooms of both spring and summer, like two generations in juxtaposition.

Then out of the blue, most of the blooming bushes and trees that I'm fond of became wrapped up in a plethora of blossoms in sundry colors. Their deliciously sweet scents floating in the air invigorate me as I walk around with a spring in my steps.

At this time too, the air reverberates with the songs and calls of birds in a delightful choral crescendo. Sometimes when hubby and I take a little walk in the woods in search of new birds, although we can't see the birds due to the denseness of the foliage, we can actually hear the whole forests singing in a pleasant ensemble of  assorted birds.

Of course, our birding activities keep in stride with the heightening bustle in the ornithological sphere. We keep moving about, mostly in the evenings, to the woods, lakes, ponds and riversides to see about the new birds around our city. (I'm going to write about the development of my birding endeavors in my future blog.)

Needless to say, but I say it once more, that summer nights are awash with the light of the sun that doesn't sink below the horizon. Oh, yes, it's bright all night long! No sky luminaries are visible during this season except the sun by night and the moon by day. The other way around, huh? If sleep were not necessary, we would have 24-hour outdoor activities to take full advantage of all the lights that this short season spills out.

Midsummer's eve, June 23, came charmingly with this fringed sun halo looming steadily in the sky from around 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The following day was Midsummer, which was ironically a gloomy and rainy day. That was supposed to be a day full of sunshine and colorful flowers and all the lovely things that are quintessential of a true summer, but it didn't go well this year. The weather remained unaltered the day after. And then the following days came round to the real spirit of summer.

And so marches the summer on. And so goes my summer watching on as I march with the season. And I respond wholeheartedly to its pleasant call. And I believe that these gifts in nature that our loving Creator lavishes on us are a nourishment for the soul.

My life is still and will always be at one with the marvels of creation. My life story keeps being written mystically by the constant changes of the natural world. My love for our Creator, my appreciation and gratitude for his daily gifts that abound all over us define who I am.

"The day belongs to you, also the night.

You made the light and the sun.

You set up all the boundaries of the earth;

You made SUMMER and winter." 

- Psalm 74:16,17

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Floral Bliss

The Thrill of Birding

I used to wonder what's the big thing about birding. Enthusiasts and obsessive birders travel far and wide to find rare birds and expand their bird lists, invest a fortune in birding equipment and spend much time out in the wild almost everyday. I came to understand that words fail to bring out the deeper significance of this pursuit. It's only by experience that one can get to the core of its true essence, of that inscrutable feeling of elation and tranquility that washes over one's whole being while immersed in this activity.

I've been following birding blogs, watched films such as The Big Year, yet couldn't fathom the force that drives the birders to pursue that passion to such a degree that seems insane, or obsessive for that matter.

Now I get it. I came to understand what birding can do to one's being. I've been out to the wild myself, with my hubby who was also smitten with the birding fever. With the help of a couple, Gunnar and Nina, who have the mutual passion for birding, we got to know the popular birding locations.  We met out there in the field with our "fika" made up of coffee and sandwiches, and we became friends in the process.

I've seen seasoned birders lined up with their expensive powerful scopes and cameras, scanning the fields for birds of prey through their lenses and waiting for the perfect moment to capture them in the act of depredation. I've seen amateur birders from other countries, young and middle-aged alike, come and go in search of newly arrived birds. I've seen their enthusiasm, their devotion.

It all started this spring, particularly in April, when the birds came back from their long migration during the winter season. Our male friend told us the best place to see them first. I was thrilled to see flocks of swans, ducks and geese going about their business over the withered fields and marshes. Those were the first ones I took notice of as a novice who has never seen such huge flocks of birds before. While the advanced birders watched out for predatory birds, I busied myself watching and shooting the swans and geese. At the same time, I took in the surrounding and luxuriated in the wildness of those marshland and prairie habitats.

I was hooked. Even hubby purchased several binoculars for this hobby. We became a team.

 As we embarked on this new field of activity, we found ourselves frequently jaunting the same bird habitats and watching for new birds, most of which became our lifers. Sometimes, hubby would search the field's edge through his binoculars, and when he would spot an interesting bird, he would instruct me where to aim my camera for a shot. That's our teamwork.

Watching the behaviors of these winged creatures fascinated me. For the first time, I've seen the swans' mating display live. I was then engrossed in photographing  the other birds when a synchronized honking or "singing" caught my attention and I saw just in time a group of swans performing that boisterous dance. The act went too fast and my camera wasn't really focused yet when I had to take the shot.

lapwing

In the subsequent visits to the marsh, I aimed at the predator birds and tried to capture them in mid-flight and in the act of preying. It was quite hard to see them from our viewing deck which lies at the opposite edge of the marsh. But thanks to the kind birders who easily spotted them with their powerful scopes and told us the precise spots where the birds were. I tried to capture an eagle with its prey whisking across the field to a spot where it nibbled at its food, but it was too far I couldn't get clear shots. But this was just a first attempt. I'm still learning.

crane

Right from the start, I've felt the waves of the therapeutic effects that many birders wrote about. Birding in itself affects our health positively in more ways than one could imagine. That I came to realize too. I don't need to enumerate the beneficial effects of birding here in my blog since they're already overpopulating the web.  I'm just linking to this website for a good read: Bird Therapy.

This is just the start. A thrilling start. And with it came the initial cognizance that "Birding really is the 'perfect tonic' on so many different levels." (quoted from Bird Therapy)

chaffinch

Here's an appealing article about birding based on one of my favorite Scriptures - Matthew 6:26:
Observe Intently the Birds

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