Bringing Back our Buddies

Three of my friends and I have recently read a book about a mutiny on excess (specifically in the areas of waste, stress, clothing, food, media, clutter). It was a powerful book that spoke to each of us a bit differently, but we all decided to try some of the experiments as new year's resolutions... or new year's improvements. We chose to do a trial run on reducing stress in December.

Each of us are choosing slightly different ways of reducing stress, but it seems the one thing that all of us have in common is that we are pausing several times a day for prayer -- sometimes longer prayers, sometimes a quick "Thank you." Last week, in Bible study, I read a section about our hearts being like an untended garden; the weeds can choke out the pretty flowers if the gardener gets distracted for too long. I felt like I needed to clear my weedy REAL garden, as a way to clear my heart of the weeds, but also because I was ready to have the birds visiting regularly again.

This weekend, I made time to work in the garden while Will was playing his new Wii game with Allen and the others. It has been a huge weedy, grassy mess since about the end of July, but the mosquitoes kept me away. I finally cleared a bunch of the mess out, and found lots of healthy plants underneath. I cleaned and filled the birdbaths, refilled some of the birdfeeders, and spent a lot of time just talking to God about all my blessings, asking him to show me what the weeds are in my heart, which parts need nourishment, and which need to be pruned to grow stronger. It felt great to be outside on such a beautiful day, and it looked great when the job was done.

In October, we had nine of our trees taken down, and I was afraid we would lose a lot of our bird visitors, but with fresh water and seeds nearby, they started returning on Monday. Tuesday afternoon, Maddie noticed a small mouse in one of the suet cages. It scurried away when it saw me coming. I moved the feeder, but it returned to pick up some of the fallen seeds, and the kids giggled from the window. Last night, Maddie prayed at dinner: "God, please protect the bluebirds and please let all the birds come back to our garden for Mama." He must have heard her because we've seen many!

This morning, I spied the mouse again. It seemed frustrated that it couldn't get the seeds, but it creatively climbed one of the basil plants. As the stem bent over, the mouse grasped it and nibbled the stalk. The little fella took off with a stem of basil and seeds that was three times longer than it was. Then and there, I named it... I know I probably shouldn't, but I promise not to bring the cute brown fuzzy into the house. PROMISE!! But, I named him "Remy" after the rat in the Ratatouille movie. When this little one took off with basil, it just seemed like he was working on a recipe.

This afternoon, the birds were keeping the garden full of music. Though it was a cloudy, somewhat dreary day, the male cardinals and bluebirds added vibrant splashes of color. The goldfinches brought a bit of their sunshine, and the chickadees and nuthatches seemed like they were home again. The woodpecker, sparrows, and house finches all showed up for an afternoon snack. I love it!! Sometimes I wish I had a comfy chair next to the kitchen window, but then I'd probably spend the whole day watching the birds. I guess that would be a sure way for me to reduce stress, though.