Byrd Days

It's bird mating season all over the East Coast of the U.S.A.! The birds are squawking and chasing each other around in droves. This morning, I dragged myself out of bed after a sleepless night. (One of those times when one cannot get comfortable with the temperature in the bedroom.)

It was 5:15 am, and I was folding towels and assorted clothing that were waiting for me out of the dryer. I opened the door to our deck, and found the slightly cool air refreshing. A few minutes later, I was being serenaded by various flocks of songbirds, making their ways threw the many trees that surround our home.

It was a symphony of sound, cheered my weary soul and drove our kitten, Mika, absolutely crazy. She was beside herself, and couldn't decide whether the kitchen window or the screen door was the best place to study her prey. I watched in awe and she leapt from the back of the sofa and attached herself to the top of the patio screen door. (Not a good thing, I may add.)

The birds continued their chaotic music for several hours. I even found our rather portly cat, Oliver, leering out of the French doors in the dining room, keeping a close watch on some tiny sparrows as they flitted around the ivy covered front porch.

This evening, I ended up outside of my daughter Rachel's elementary school, filming her running around for a film she is making for a class at school. I couldn't help stop and pull out my iPhone and snap a photo of the school sign and pretty flower bed that was planted there last year. Every year, the Senior Class does a Community Service Project, and many students go back to their first school and help beautify the grounds around the school.

It is hard for me to believe that a decade has gone by since my daughter started second grade at Byrd School. Many teachers are gone now, but a few still remain, and they will all grow tearful when they see how their little charges have grown up.

Today was a "birdie" kinda day. Birds in the morning, birds in the evening, and a trip down Memory Lane at Richard E. Byrd School. Too bad we missed pizza day. In case you wondered, in just 21 short days, Rachel will graduate from High School.

Tomorrow, she registers for her college classes.

This little bird has flown.