TALES FROM THE BOBBI LAMA

After my husband passed, I needed to keep busy to avoid the overwhelming sadness. After about a year, when most of the required business processing was about over, I began to come up with projects to keep my mind busy. But now, a year and a half later, I am getting used to the new normal. Even though I still miss him terribly, I get tired of running, filling my calendar, and keepinig myself distracted. I’m now learning how to simply slow down and get out of my busy, list-making mind. Meditation helps, but my favorite inactivity is to sit outside and observe nature.

So recently I’ve been sitting by a pond behind my house to just be present…not busy. It’s a pond with an island in the middle called a rookery, so there is plenty to watch and enjoy. The water all around the pond has a lot of fish, turtles, and oftentimes, really big alligators. As for the island, it’s wild and definitely not for people. However, the birds are in heaven to have their own undisturbed space so they can migrate to and from the island every day. Most of the year, they just sleep there (and make lots of bird sounds) at night. They fill the sky as they fly in every evening and make the island look absolutely white-capped since most of the bird species are white. And every morning, if I’m up early enough, I see the sky fill up as they fly away leaving the island all green once again… except for nesting season. That’s when it really turns into a show.

I never paid much attention before, but I’ve discovered more and more woodstorks and snowy egrets start flying in during February and March to make nests. They pick up all the twigs and small branches off of the backyards of all of us who live surrounding the pond. (It’s great to have a free yard clean-up crew.) The nesting birds get pretty noisy around the clock as their territorial squawking establishes their real estate. That’s when I start to hear the alligators’ low moans as they, too, go into mating season. Then they all get busy.

I understand that the males spend more time in the nest during the day during incubation than the females, but the females usually insist on being there when the chicks start cracking out of their eggs. It’s always so much fun to see the babies, mouths open and keeping their parents busy supplying the meals. Birdlings seem to grow up so fast just like my kids did! I am just amazed by the dedication of parenthood. I can watch those stay-at-home moms and dads on that crowded rookery, sitting on their nests day after day, week after week, and month after month. I think I’d have a nervous breakdown if I had to sit on a nest, day and night, from February to June! I often have fun imagining the scenarios of conversations between the “mom and dad” birds as if they were human. “Your turn to stay with the kids, honey. I’ve been sitting here all day!” I often notice that large groups of birds doing the group fly-in when I’m out there during the early evening. Many of them will collect along the banks of the backyards and just hang out for about a half hour before flying over the pond to their nests on the island for the night. ..almost like they don’t want to go home just yet…like stopping off for a drink with friends after work before they go home to the spouse and kids. (I can entertain myself very easily.)

I loved watching the baby birds get bigger and bigger during the month of April and eventually reach the tall, skinny teen-looking version getting too big for the nests by the end of May. Those older adolescent-looking birds began to fly over the pond to land in our back yards, and then back to their island nests like new drivers in their young adult world. All day the young adults make short, safe, practice flights, back and forth, strengthening their wings while the parents were still taking turns sitting vigilant. Most of the parents are getting ready to leave in June, as they sit outside their nests. By now they have dedicated months to get their babies to independence, and are ready to embrace their freedom once again. (Parenthood dedication is amazing!)

What was even more amazing was how much I enjoyed this slowing down, feeling contented and connected with our beautiful Universe… just observing…being present…enjoying nature…and finding peace.