Sprouts and Singers

Chirp! Chirp! Chirp! Bluebirds, cardinals, black-capped chickadees, and finches are visiting the bird feeder hanging on the tree in the front yard. Spring will be arriving in the Lowcountry of South Carolina in a few weeks.

The sunshine is baking on the brown grass and sending sprouts of green here and there. The cold air of the night gives way to the warm rays of the sun that comfort the body and soul. Standing on the sidewalk of the front yard, I close my eyes and thank God for His provisions. The mercies and love of God are fresh every day.

My parents taught me the love of growing flowers and vegetables. As a young girl, I never thought about how much time we spent working in the yard. Mowing the grass, raking leaves, planting seeds, trimming bushes, and pulling weeds was part of the daily routine. Each season brought new activities to ensure the flowers and vegetables would grow.

Over the years, I have learned to appreciate the hard and sometimes back-hurting work of tending the garden. There are special tools for certain projects. Shovels, trowels, rakes of different kinds, knee pads, bags for collecting leaves, and more items aid in gardening.

A harvest of cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon, squash, peas, and potatoes is some of the foods grown in our family garden. As a young girl, I marveled when Daddy would move aside a patch of dirt and pull out potatoes. We would fill a bucket and take those dirty things to be washed, cooked, and eaten.

While enjoying the work of the garden, I also noticed the birds. Red cardinals like particular kinds of seeds. Bluebirds like mealworms, but will eat most anything in the feeder. A few sunflower seeds from the feeder fall on the ground and in a day or two, sprouts of green shoot up through the soil.

One of my favorite birds is the hummingbird. Those fast-moving flyers enjoy drinking nectar from sweet peas, snapdragons, petunias, and any flower that is bright and colorful.

Although those hummingbirds don’t sing a loud song, they do make interesting sounds with their wings and their voices. The whirring of moving wings can be heard as they fly from flower to flower. Listening carefully, I can hear the sounds of “communication” from one hummingbird to another.

Hummingbirds like bright colors and are known for being attracted to anything red. My Daddy wore a red baseball cap as he sat on the front steps of the house. He learned to sit still while the hummingbirds flew around his head and then, went to the petunias in the flower bed. Daddy would smile as he allowed the creatures to fly around him.

In the Spring there are sprouts of new grass and plants. Some birds who have migrated back from warmer areas are ready to announce their arrival through song.

Spring is a time of renewal. A time to reflect, renew, and refresh. Let the sprouts of new growth and the singers of returning birds open your eyes and ears to thank God for His many blessings.

How are you thanking God?

“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” (Song of Songs 2:11-12 NIV)

Have a blessed day,
Melissa Henderson