From my archives of December, 2023…

Sat in the swing briefly this morning to enjoy the flock of goldfinches who have checked into my bird hotel. Could not ponder long, the wind was bitter, biting the wind chime pipes and my hands and cheeks. The gold finches are so pretty, little piggy round and fat, dressed in their yellow-green vests and striped coats of black and white. They are an odd color, maybe olive would describe them best. They won’t dress in their bright yellow sport coats till spring and early summer. They are very congenial, flying around in their little flocks. They always seem so happy to be alive, chattering and flitting around. Mr. Downy Woodpecker did not drop in for his suet breakfast this morning. He must be in the coffee club down the street. The goldfinches mingled with the other yard guests, the faithful cardinals, the timid titmice, and the cussing chickadees. Lots of bird solos in the yard symphony this morning.

Turned a chair around in the lady den late afternoon and sat down to enjoy the pageant of sunset. Mother Nature chose a peach and watermelon palette today, painting the horizon in a beautiful watercolor wash of pure color. The sun walked down the horizon, dressed in a gown of golden light, dragging her train along the skyline. Father Sky, tucking the sun in her watermelon cloud covers as she turned the day to night, closed the pageant of sunset as he hung the moon and pinned the sparkling diamonds to the navy sky canvas. The day’s symphony ended and the night’s music began.

There is so much music in nature. I love to sit on the porch and listen to the different symphonies Mother Nature plays. Guess we humans have been communicating through songs for thousands of years. Nature’s music is different in different landscapes. When I went to the Blue Ridge Mountains I could hear the wind stroke the leaves on the tall trees off the cabin’s deck, a soft lonely serenade. The birds had a deeper toned voice and the sunsets and sunrises played their symphonies high over the mountain tops, singing silently in the beautiful colors of a rainbow spectrum.

In the summer with the windows open in my bedroom, I’m comforted and lulled to sleep listening to the crickets and the soft bird songs. The beach has the wonderful heartbeat of the waves slapping the sand softly, then beating a loud drum when the tides rushes back to shore. My bird friends serenade me all year with their love songs to their mates, their thankful symphonies to God, their loud squawks of alarm to warn of intruders in the yard and sky.

Guess we are music, too. Born screaming a symphony of life, growing up through happy childlike melodies, changing to heavy drum beats as we transform into adults. Our life symphony grows and grows with a loud crescendo and when we reach middle age the music changes to a beautiful soft even toned melody of life. That melody stays with us till we leave this earth and join the harps of heaven.

“Be music always. Keep changing the key, tone, pitch and volume of each of the songs you create along life’s journey and play on.” — Suzy Kasseum