A Fresh Start

The birds, the bees, the wind in the trees; a few flakes of snow, some tiny, yellow- green leaves and sunny days to pop out apple, cherry, forsythia, crabapple and red bud blossoms. It is all new every Spring, and it just about takes your breath away. Spring has its beauty but it also has its labor, a labor of love and wonder; it invites the members of the EarthCare Committee to gather, plan and execute a series of tasks like weeding, trimming, pruning and hauling the debris away to make way for new growth under the colorful umbrella of blooming trees.

New birds arrive following the path of the Atlantic Flyway and visit carefully tended birdfeeders. With delight we sit and watch and check our Audubon and Merlin Bird ID apps. We identify form and song, and count the number of birds, and record what we have seen and enjoyed. Before our eyes, we behold the almost constant flow of birds along the Atlantic Flyway, a major north-south flyway for migratory birds. Beginning in Greenland, it follows the Atlantic coast of Canada, and then turns south down the Atlantic Coast of the United States to the tropical areas of South America and the Caribbean. Such tiny, beautiful creatures focused on their long, arduous journey and their zest for new life bless us in the shadow of their wings. Robins, nuthatches, blue birds, red-winged blackbirds, tree swallows, and crows and thousands more stream through the air on their mission of life.

Birds that nest in the Northern Hemisphere tend to migrate northward in the spring to take advantage of the growing insect populations, budding plants and an abundance of nesting locations. As the availability of food drops, the birds move south. Escaping the cold is another motivating factor for many species. The movement of birds is all about fostering and preserving life. Even their songs intensify as they find good new nesting places and begin to raise a family. During the winter, many of you have been following with interest our series called Bird Buddies. Take a look again at our native birds.

In the spring, the energy of the birds moves us out of our chairs and into the workhouse to dig out our tools and pallets and seed boxes and raised beds. Time to get to work burying tiny seeds in fresh soil in yogurt cups to distribute to our sister seed tenders, volunteers from OLP and the IHM Center. They feed and water the seeds and tend them as they make their way to the surface, shed their shells and reach for the sun. In four to six weeks, members of the EarthCare Committee will collect them and lovingly plant them in the Friendship Garden and wait for them to bloom in a chaos of color in mid-summer. Last summer, many of you also followed the EarthCare series on recognition of native plants that are protected and preserved in our own land restoration.

On the Earth Day, April 22, Sister Donna, Jan Novotka, and the EarthCare Committee hosted a beautiful evening prayer in praise and thanksgiving for our earth. It featured songs and prayers and readings in profound gratitude for the beauty and wonder of our planet, Earth.

Just like the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection we celebrate every spring, we embrace a chance for a fresh start at living in gratitude and simplicity in the light of our God and creator, and we celebrate that opportunity in joy.