Actually,
I am not qualified to be called a "bird watcher,"
but, I do enjoy sitting in my back yard and watching the
doves which eat, fly around and keep me entertained.
Most
of them are gray with a blue cast to their feathers
which almost have a purplish hue.
One
of them, however, is a large white bird. It fascinates
me because when I see movies on the life of Christ,
the dove that alights on His shoulder after His
baptism, is always depicted as being a white one.
What
other lessons do I learn from them? They gravitate
toward those of their kind; they fly and work in
clusters. Without human means of communication they
seem to instinctively know where to go and what
to do. When one dove goes sailing out, the others
follow.
When
the sun goes down, they all turn in and disappear
in the trees somewhere; I've never seen them at
sleep.
Due
to their large numbers, I know some must die but
I never have found a dead one on my premises. It
makes me wonder how they die. Surely some are eaten
by cats, but I do not see many felines in my neighborhood
and wonder.
The
overhang on my house has a number of bird holes.
These are homes for smaller birds. At first, I filled
the holes in and then had to repeat this annually.
Now, I leave them alone and they come back each
year to occupy a hole and build a nest in their
familiar roost. Soon, I hear little peeping sounds
which lets me know their eggs have hatched.
Afterwards,
I see baby birds venture out and attempt to fly
to the nearest telephone wire where they teeter
away as they become stronger. First thing you know,
they are fully grown and gone away to who knows
where?
One
of my favorite hymns has always been "Memories of
Galilee," found in an old hymnal on page 122. Here
are words of the first verse & chorus:
MEMORIES OF GALILEE
"Each cooing dove and sighing bough
That makes the eve so blest to me
Has something far diviner now
It bears me back to Galilee.
0 Galilee! Sweet Galilee!
Where Jesus loved so much to be;
O Galilee! blue Galilee!
Come, sing thy song again to me."
How wondrous are God's creations. Let us all look, listen,
and learn to appreciate what He has created for us to
enjoy, including beautiful birds!
