A Joyful Surprise
Author: Ferida Wolff
The year was almost over. November had vacillated between holding onto autumn and allowing winter in, but winter finally came to stay. December brought a raw chill and the clouds delivered a mixture of ice and rain that was more mush than snow. The deciduous trees finally released the last of their leaves and the sky seemed exposed without their moderating cover. There was a sudden dreariness in the yard. Even the evergreens seemed to have lost their vigor. The needles of the black pine appeared sparse and joyless.
I went out bundled up in a sweater and jacket to feed the birds and scooted back inside instead of standing and watching the birds mass on the feeders as I like to do, welcoming them as they light on the sunflower seed-filled cylinders. Today they would have to find the meal without my encouragement.
The lit-up store windows, usually the harbinger of the holiday season, only pointed out the grayness of the weather. Where was the holiday spirit that traditionally energized the end of the year? I went about my December days shopping, working, cooking, and cleaning in the gray blandness. Nature tried to help me. The sun peeked through the clouds occasionally. The starlings were out in force layering first one tree, then another, with their speckled feathers and raucous cries. I laughed to see them take flight as if they were one huge bird. The house finches, too, swooped en masse onto the feeders. Their dusty red chests added tiny touches of color to the day.
My neighborhood cheered itself up with Christmas decorations. Some houses were subtle, with spots of white glowing softly in windows. Others had lawns decorated with reindeer and sleighs, blow-up Santas, and swirly light trees that were more like paintings than trees. One display had a snowstorm encapsulated in a plastic globe! Nothing much natural about it, but certainly a lot of fun.
The days got colder as the holiday approached. Clouds of white escaped with each breath. I took fast walks in the frigid air to keep my spirits energized. But day after day blended together and I longed for something to shake me out of my lethargy. Each day I wished for a joyful surprise, not even imaging what that might be.
Then it happened. I was going out to my car and heard a lot of squawking in my front yard. It came from the direction of the flowering plum tree I so loved. What I saw was incredible. Underneath the tree was a flock of iridescent grackles, thick as a blanket, pecking for seed. On all the branches were speckled starlings, masking the tree's bareness with dots of white as if a delicate snow had fallen. A blue jay here and another there stood out like a blue ornament. At the very top was a male cardinal lighting up the tree with his red brilliance as if he were a shining star. And each bird was singing in its own voice -- the starlings raucous as usual, the grackles loud and brash, the blue jays sounding like squeaky doors, and the cardinal chip-chipping away, all creating a cacophonous but beautiful carol.
I gasped and tried not to move, afraid that the spectacle would disappear. It was a Christmas tree decorated by Mother Nature herself. A joyful surprise indeed.I don't know how long I stood there transfixed by what I was seeing but when I finally edged toward my car to get out of the cold, the birds took off. In one whoosh, they were gone. The tree was barren once more, only not really, not to me. Whenever I looked that way I no longer saw bare branches; I recalled the birds, plumped against the cold, covering them. I could hear the uninhibited singing vibrating the frosty air. I sensed the limbs invigorated with vibrant, feathery life.I was rejuvenated, eager to set aside the gray doldrums. All I had to do was think of that incredible Christmas tree and remember that joy is a frame of one's mind, not a state of the weather.
Rebecca Lin 2010 Fall In USA |
