Backyard watching

If I don't answer the phone, chances are we're out back. The kids are likely covered head to toe from the sandbox. Tyler is likely pushing around the pink doll stroller, after repeatedly pulling a pretend string on it's side like a manly lawnmower. The girls have likely claimed to be bored, and are returning yet again to the shed in hopes of discovering something new.

So goes Summer around here.
The kids are outside.
I am "watching" the kids outside.

I am watching them pretend play,
splash into the inflatable pool,
investigate roly-poly potato bugs by the handful,
and inhale Popsicles at an alarming rate,
among other things!

Knowing our majority of time would be spent in the backyard, I recently moved my birdfeeders among the back lilies rather than the front roses. Something else to watch. The two feeders full of a random wild bird seed mix have been found and are covered with feathered friends. By covered, I mean constantly bombarded with petite chickadees and sparrows that dart down at alarming rates. The common brown birds seen everywhere here. At nearly any given time there are a half dozen perched on the feeders' ledge, others waiting within the chain link fence, others picking up from the discard pile on the ground. The feeder remains covered until the pesky jay flies in...or the kids run to close with their screaming tones turned on...or the dog scrambles by while chasing down the thrown tennis ball.

But, once the noise passes and the coast again appears clear, the crowd of birds is back.

We've gotten some good backyard watching in. I from my lawn chair, or from the kitchen window looking out. The girls from army-crawling position on the grass, as they inch slower closer.

I know some people think birds are creepy. Part of me does too. Afraid that they'll peck me, I never get close to them at the pet-store. I'd never want a cage indoors taking up a big chunk of my house. And, a mimicking parrot would likely start repeating what it shouldn't! But, wild birds that only require a bag of seed and a perch are doable. Interesting from a distance. I enjoy trying to identify them and watching their mannerisms. A new hobby, I think!

That being said, we've have been watching the birds for the past few weeks. Me, far more than the occupied kids. One night when Matt got home for dinner I began telling him of this bright blue headed bird that I'd seen earlier that day. "Sure," he doubted. The kids hadn't seen it, so they offered no backup.

Stubbornly wanting to prove my point (and also wanting alone time after a LONG day), I shooed the kids out front with Matt and I headed out back with camera in hand (Yes! This "watching" offers a great reason to be silently alone!). I plopped myself into the kids' red wagon to wait. The crowd of brown birds came. They flew away. They returned. They flew away...

Then I saw it! A splash of blue flew into the nearby tree. Ah-ha! The exotic bird I had been waiting for. Camera up. I zoomed in and caught him on the fence. Evidence A. Then he perched on the feeder. Proof B. Then, what?!? I caught the last picture...

My lens caught TWO! Two have been joining the feast.

Knowing I had my story documented, I continued watching. I wondered if they came just by themselves. Up to that point, I had not ever seen them share space with the common house sparrow. But a minute later, I caught both brown and blue side by side on ground-level. No segregation here!

A few days have past since this sighting. I have researched and found the official name - "Lazuli Bunting." Sounds tropical. However, I was disappointed to see that they are ranked as "common" for our area. Nothing really exotic here. But, I'm not going to let that label diminish their beauty, nor their difference from my ordinary sightings.

Which, gets me thinking (AGAIN) about the "ordinary" verses the "exciting" that seems to be a repeating learning for me.

Because I took time to slow down and wait, I was able to see something different among the everyday. I was able to see something amazing without having to travel past my backyard. And, even at the times when there was no blue head in sight, I was still taking the time to appreciate the simple. I found joy in watching the regular visitors. Even their common color added excitement to the day.

Hmmm...applicable back to my kids in the same backyard. Slowing down allows me to not miss their small moments of doing something different. And, still enjoying the regular moments - the predictable questions, actions, fights - lets me recognize each as a blessing. The "boring" moments of just running around proves to still be a crowd of darting miracles.