The Call of the Cuckoo!
I have lived in my house for decades now. About 29 years ago I spend some time with my camera on a tripod looking out into my garden, armed with a book on birds to see which ones came into my garden. I also had a Tit Box that regularly housed a family of Great Tits.
I saw a variety of birds visiting and their birdsong was beautiful. The years rolled on and we still have a variety of birds visiting us such as Blackbirds, Chaffinches, Great Tits, Robins, Sparrows, Thrushes, and of course those pesky Pigeons!. Some neighbours encourage the birds by feeding them. Sadly, however, this then becomes a great feeding ground for a street full of our feline friends. Nature seems cruel sometimes, but that's just the way it is; the circle of life.
One bird I have never seen but used to hear early in the mornings was the voice of the Cuckoo. The Cuckoo isn't a very nice bird really in that it lays it's eggs in other bird's nests, leaving them with the responsiblity of bringing up the young Cuckoo's alongside their own babies. The adult Cuckoo's journey off leaving their young to find their own way to Africa! It doesn't seem a great deal for the foster parents or the young Cuckoos, but as I said, nature can be cruel.
Two days this week, I have heard the Cuckoo again after many years of silence. Hearing the call reminded me that I used to hear them. I'd not absorbed the fact that I'd not heard them for some time until I heard them again this week. My how the years have vanished.
I was also reminded that getting up early has great benefits and is good for the soul. You can achieve so much more with the day and appreciate the beauty of creation.
I always used to be an early riser, however, over the years my lack of sleep at night has resulted in me not wanting to rush to get up in the mornings. I'm trying to get back into that early rising again so that I don't miss out on life and all it's fullness.
I thank God for such delights He has bestowed on us to behold!
Jeany Pavett, Author of, Life After Death: A Mother's Story
