Bulbs & Birdhouses

It is easy to become overwhelmed hearing all the terrible news today. But onward we must forge in positive directions as much as we can any way, no matter what, for the options otherwise are simply too terrible to contemplate.

We had snow here in central Pennsylvania this week end. Several inches. White wonderland, brilliant and sparkley- but only briefly...today it mostly all melted away.


Bulbs are starting to push through. My first sighting of real green this year. I took an exploratory tour of our back yard earlier today when the sun was up and it was relatively warm. There is storm damage from a mid winter ice storm that might have destroyed one of the lilacs. It is tipping over precariously, as if wanting to be ripped out. But we are waiting to see if maybe it comes back to life this spring.

And everywhere the early bulbs are beginning to push up through the leaf litter.

We are also being visited by a large flock of robins this week who carefully watch our every move from up in the trees. They quickly swoop back down to the ground to poke through the leaf litter every where when we go inside.

The bird bath needs to be scrubbed and made ready for spring. We keep it under a tree so in the summer its water won't evaporate quite so fast.

One year, during a severe August drought, my husband had the hose out to water the parched vegetables and a very thirsty little sparrow came right up to him and flitted in to drink from the hose in his hand. The little bird kept flitting in to drink- it was amazing- magical- to watch. My husband so big and so strong- and always so busy... and yet so able to freeze as still as a statue in a very awkward position for a very long time so that the shy little sparrow could flit back and forth drinking its fill.

Our bird bath is placed near the bird feeder, in line with the kitchen window so I can watch all the birds' antics as I wash dishes. You can see both bird bath and bird feeder from the large bay window too, which doubles as a window seat as well as a catch all as it is right next to our large kitchen table, where we usually eat and where the kids do their homework, and where everyone does various projects. It's a good solid table for a busy family.

But the big gardening news today from our household is we put up a new bird house. It's small and carefully suspended at just the right height, near the window in our Garden Room I tend to look out when at my desk. Its a folkarty piece, shaped like a bird and painted with bright flourishes.

It is high enough right now that it does not block my view of the birdhouse we have in the maple tree. Already birds are popping in and out of that one, trying to figure out if they want to nest there.

My husband had to go to the hardware store to get just the right hook for our new bird bird house. He drilled a hole in our house, up under the far eave, and then screwed in a sturdy hook. Then he suspended our bird bird house and I kept running inside to sit at my desk to eye ball the right height from every possible angle while he shifted it up and down. Heavens that man has patience sometimes! But now it is perfect and I am delighted. I like folk art- I also like fine art:

One of my favorite painters is Ismail Shammout. His paintings, filled with so much symbolism, intrigue and refresh me and fill me with hope. I like poking around the website http://www.shammout.com/ where much of his art can be found. In one section it is organized by decade http://www.shammout.com/oil-ism6.htm and you can really see how as he grows older both his talent as well as his idea of Palestine blooms- and becomes brighter- more optimistic- more meaningful- and more and more beautiful.

I've seen a real Palestine Sunbird. It's iridescent- becoming colorful in certain light. I like to watch birds where ever we might go. Every region has its own. Just as every region has its own artists.


And so in growing a personal private garden for Palestine today is a good day to think about birdhouses- making welcome all the feathered things that might want to visit your yard. Many birds can nest in trees and bushes. We never know where or what birds will be nesting where we live. But it is always a pleasure to watch them build their nest sand then tend their young... and to listen to their songs.

Birds are fascinating to watch- and they have inspired many a poem... world wide. As well as many a folk tale....

And in our public garden for Palestine, having walked through the key shaped entry, and stopped to admire the mosaic map of Palestine, and smelling the herbs, hearing splashing water, we can now add in swooping birds... for there will be places for birds to nest. And places for birds to eat- and drink... places for birds to simply be.

I want our garden to be a welcoming place- for all. A sanctuary to share with any who simply want to enjoy the day, savor peace, goodness, and a beautiful inspiring place.