Jenny Wren

Wrens are hopping around the tall flowering plants of August--phlox, vernonia, low shrubs. Wrens mostly eat small insects, so i assume they are cleaning my tall perennials. I hope they "clean" my houseplants (of aphids, scale, white fly) before i bring them indoors in October.
My grandmother called her middle daughter Jenny Wren, so i have a deep, affectionate feeling for all the busy wrens in my gardens. These brave little birds sing loudly and beautifully, and they are not skittish around people.
In these times, we may be called on to be brave even though we feel small. We may be called upon to speak up or speak out, even around big bullies.
Open your heart and sing your very own song--like the wren.

It Looks Like Winter

Even though it's five degrees outdoors right now, the sun is shining. It feels like winter, but winter is being eroded by the sun, drop by drop.

Birds are arriving from the south, silently and invisibly. Suddenly, there's a robin despite the dusting of snow last night. Next week, the bluebirds arrive. The week after that, the great blue herons. And the last week of March, the phoebes.

The practice of meditation erodes our bad habits, bit by bit, as we bring mindfulness into our daily lives. We zip our lips instead of zinging off an opinion, and we speak up, truthfully and helpfully in all heartfulness, when we need to.

It looks like winter outdoors, but the heart of spring is arriving drop by drop.



Photo by scubadive67