Hallelujah by MaMuse

The Oak Tree

This graceful Oak lost a bough from the center of its being. The branches that sprouted from the trunk and roots each traced their own unique path against the sky, together forming a canopy. Now one of them is missing. A limb that grew and reached for the blue sky and danced in the wind under the stars has been torn away. It can't sprout green leaves or sway in the music of the breeze, it's forever gone. This beautiful oak will never be the same, but it will live on for many years, bearing the scar of what was lost.

The absence of Katie's presence in the canopy of our family has wounded us all. But we will live on, embracing her spirit with our memories, under blue skies and starry nights. She is a part of us all now.

Bidwell Park

I go to Bidwell Park several times a week to walk. I usually walk about 5 miles, focusing on the trees and birds and butterflies around me. The trees arch above the road framing a vault of blue sky that I never get tired of looking at. Red shouldered Hawks call and hunt and mate in this woodland, and Acorn Woodpeckers are everywhere. For a time there was an Owl living in a hollow half-way up a sycamore tree that I looked for each time I passed. Once I even saw a Ruby-Crowned Kinglet eating something red (tomato or pepper) that someone had dropped on the ground. Pipevine Swallowtails are everywhere with their black iridescence, and occasionally a Tiger Swallowtail flutters by. Hummingbirds and ducks and deer and squirrels also make their homes in the park.

the songbird

"A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song."
~Maya Angelou

Our 13 year-old dog Cosmo has decided to bark obnoxiously until we give him what he wants. What he wanted when Nola came over was a walk, and Cosmo barked so relentlessly that Nola and I gave in. I walked Baru and Nola walked Cosmo, and while the furry boys sniffed and peed on everything they could, Nola and I checked out the the landscaping in the yards we walked by and the clouds in the evening sky. The temperature was mild, not scalding like last week.

A bird flew over us, singing while it flew, and perched at the top of a small dead tree. We stopped near the barren tree and were treated to an incredible variety of calls and songs. It was a tiny, plump little bird, and it just kept singing. Nola thought it was lonely and looking for another little bird of its kind, but it sure seemed to enjoy giving us a concert. Once it even tilted it's head down as if to bow, letting me see it's dark little cap. It's colors were difficult to distinguish in the evening light, but it seemed pale underneath and grayer above. Then it flew away, and we continued our walk.

Small miracles remind me that life is still good. Small wonders like the little songbird giving us a concert, like the vibrant seashell rose blooming in the yard, or the clouds glowing with the setting sun. I don't know the answers, but I can still hear the song and enjoy the sunset.