Watching the Birds

Before the day arrived this morning, I stepped outside to get firewood. The last stars were still out. Earlier in the week, Joe and I spent two afternoons stacking wood in preparation for a couple coming for a yoga and nature retreat. This morning I needed firewood to warm the house so the visiting yogi and I could practice next to the fire  with a view of the forest through the big sliding door windows.

To my surprise, the wood that was so carefully stacked had fallen over in the night. I don't know if it was from a strong wind or a fox chasing a rodent, but the wood was toppled into a pleasing pattern of neat disarray. Life is like that; we think that something has been solved, organized, or fixed, and then things change. Conditions are uncertain, and sometimes we need to start again.

While I was doing yoga with the visiting yogi, her partner was outside doing his own type of nature mindfulness - watching the birds. It turns out that even though it feels like winter here, there are still many birds! He also saw a weasel, a fox, and a buck. This is what he saw:

Anna’s Hummingbird 

Hairy Woodpecker 

Northern Flicker

Canada Jay

Steller’s Jay

Common Raven

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee

Ruby-Crowned Kinglet

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

Brown Creeper

Pygmy Nuthatch

Cedar Waxwing

Varied Thrush

Hermit Thrush

American Robin

Pine Siskin

Fox Sparrow

Dark-Eyed Junco

Song Sparrow

Lincoln’s Sparrow 

Yellow Rumped Warbler

Townsend’s Warbler