The Secret of Life: Look Up

I've seen some very cool things during my walks with Ado this week. 

The first cool thing: two bald eagles circling overhead. We had headed out around 2 pm, and just a block away from the house I heard a call I've never heard before. I started looking around, trying to find the bird making the call. When we reached the main street through our small town, I looked up. There they were. Two beautiful bald eagles gliding, circling right overhead, low enough I could clearly make out their white heads and white tail feathers. I stopped, wanting to watch for as long as they stayed around. For several minutes, both circled in the same area. 

As I stood there, I thought about how just the day before I'd watched Anne Lamott's TED talk. At one point, she brings up Emerson, how he believed that the happiest person on Earth is one who learns from nature the lessons of worship. She says, "So go outside a lot and look up. . . . Look up. Secret of life." I couldn't agree more.

The second cool thing: a band of pigeons landing on the top of a grain silo. Yeah, I know, doesn't sound all that cool, but seriously, it was. I see this band of pigeons everyday. They roost on a silo at the edge of town, and each morning on our walk, I see them perched on the top of the silo. This morning, there they were like usual. But as we neared, they took flight. They circled the silo twice then on the third time, each pigeon stopped flapping its wings, leaving them wide open. And like a carefully choreographed dance, all 20 or so pigeons floated in to land on the silo at the same time. It was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever seen. 

Before Ado and I left the house this morning I considered taking my camera with me. You know, just in case I see anything special. Then I thought, naaaa, there's no need for the camera. Ha! The joke was on me. As I stood there, awed by the dance of the pigeons, it occurred to me that if I'd had my camera, I could have captured it all on video. Another thought closely followed: maybe I wasn't supposed to video it. Maybe the pigeons created their little show just for me. A one-time special event. Yeah, I'm going to go with that. 


Harvest time is here. Some farmers are already in the fields. It seems to happen 
earlier and earlier every year.

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