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"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Sunday, April 19, 2015

In the midst...

I wake up now very early to the songs of robins.
They are the first birds up and the last to go home.
The light creeps in around 5:30 or 6 am and if the weather shows promise,
I am up and ready for tea....
The sun is waiting for me in the kitchen and streams through the window by the sink...
 
It's still a difficult thing to get used to the quiet void...the space that was Griffin...
But I'm getting through it and starting new routines...
I have my big mug of tea and venture out for a bike ride.
This morning I took some time to admire those beautiful blossoms on the apple trees...
And the little olive green warbler in the budding maple tree
announcing himself to the world this morning!
Down behind the trees in a little swamp, I stop to marvel at the back lit shapes
of last years cattails...no doubt nesting material for this years broods...
I know these are favourite haunts of the red winged blackbirds who
hunker down below the reeds to shape beautiful nests of grasses.
They blend in so well with their environment that it's easy to miss them...
...but if you look very closely and be aware of the chipping warning calls of the male bird...
...you may catch a glimpse...
I only stay a moment or two and use my zoom lens to have a peak from a safe distance...
The female has gone off to have a break or a drink so she's not there for the time being.
I spot another nest in the brush, built of the usual moss, mud, lichen and twigs and just
for something extra special...some blue bits from an old tarp!
After I take a few shots I carry on and as I look back I see the female blackbird come back to the area
to resume her duty as a patient mother, warming her eggs in preparation for hatching.
And I resume my morning as a girl who misses her walks with her dog.
I ride along the paths we used to walk finding a different way to greet the day.


(It's been a month now since Griffs been gone so a little reprise of his lovely face is in order.)

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Good for you, for recognizing the beauty ever available around you. And, for enjoying new routines, new lessons in loving the present moments. Love your photos!

kjsutcliffe said...

When they go, they leave such a big hole in your heart. I've only recently lost a border collie and for such a quiet little girl she made a big impact on our lives - I know how you feel xx

Kerry O'Gorman said...

Thanks Nancy, kind words as always.

Kerry O'Gorman said...

Hello Spellweaver...yes they do leave such a gap. Our Griff was the same...super mellow and quiet but I never knew what the meaning of empty was until now.
Sorry for your loss as well...hope you are getting through it ok. I seem to be struggling quite a because he was such a big part of my days.

Katherine Dunn/Apifera Farm said...

Oh the face of Griff! What a soul. I remember missing my old terrier so much, when he was still alive, but failing and could no longer do a daily walk. SO, it is so brave and good you are out riding and seeing beauty [I just got my bike out]