The Elm and The Scissor-tail

Oh, warbling one with dainty wings and graceful scissor-tail,

Come rest among my leafy den away from April’s gale.

And if by chance you like it here I hope you’ll feel inclined,

To make your home within my bows veiled by the timberline.

Four scissor-tailed flycatchers chased each other around my elm tree this morning. They were easy to spot with their soft melon colored bellies and uniquely split tails. Hearing their beautiful songs to each other was a gentle reminder of how quickly seasons change. The stillness of winter is gone, and the liveliness of spring has arrived.

There’s something hopeful about the perpetual cycle of life—the setbacks we experience that we eventually overcome, the generations before us that handed us a baton to pass to those who will come after us, the victories we celebrate along the way as we press forward and move ahead. In the grand scheme of things, I feel very small. Thankfully none of us are without purpose.