Happy May 1st everyone!
I wrote in yesterday’s post that I was going to follow the example of Writing from the heart with Brian and list the many things I enjoy. I hesitate to use the word love. Years ago I heard about a young woman who was enthusing about loving some thing when an elderly lady encouraged her to “Love something that can love you back.” That thought has stuck with me.
So here are fifteen outdoor things that are a delight to my heart. If you are an avid fan of nature like me, many of these things will delight you, too. 🙂

– The first dandelions brightening the lawn, heralding spring. (But only the first!)
– Hearing the winnowing of a nighthawk when on an evening walk
– A wren in a nearby tree singing his merry song over and over
– The gentle coo coo of a mourning dove in the morning as it bobs along picking at seeds
“For, lo, the winter is past…the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle(dove) is heard in our land…” Eccl 2:11-12
– Seeing rhubarb nubs coming up and remembering Jane Kenyon’s “rhubarb leaf, like a mad red brain, thinks its way up through loam.”
– Seeing wrens moving into the birdhouses I’ve set up for them
such a wee bird
sir wren – yet how fiercely
you scold that cat
– Discovering a toad in my flowerbed. I actually like the little guys and I know they’re helpful.
embarrassed by light
they wait for darkness
good works in secret
– The setting sun tinting the clouds pin and mauve
– Colorful butterflies flitting around, lighting on blooms and folding their wings.
– The satiny softness of tulip petals
– Hummingbirds zipping around our feeders
– Humming bird moths nectaring among the flowers at night
— Seeing the birds taking baths in the water basins I’ve set out for them
– Vees of Canada geese winging their way northwards
– When the Youth group sings for the seniors at the Villa on summer evenings, with the windows open, hearing the robins singing along
(Some may say this is pure coincidence, but when the youth – who sing acappella – blend their voices in a hymn, the nearby robins do seem to join in, full voice.)