January and Robins

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes and can range from small to big.  They can appear at unexpected times in a quiet or in a dynamic way.  They are usually signs of encouragement meant to give hope and joy to the recipient.  We need to notice our miracles that surround us daily.  There was one such miracle in my life recently.   I first heard the noise of chattering birds causing me to look out the kitchen window to see what was going on.  To my surprise, there were dozens of robins having a great time checking out the winter lawn in search of food.  They seemed to know where the worms were hiding!!  It was a delight to watch so many of them enjoying themselves in the back yard seemingly unafraid and industrious in purpose.  This scene has continued with afternoon visits from the robins on a daily basis.  This is pretty amazing to me since they arrived in early January.  Such a promise of spring, although we have had quite a mild winter in eastern Oregon so far.
I was able to get a few photos, particularly of this one little robin who was not eager to fly away and seemingly posed for me for profile shots....

The symbolic meaning of robins is renewal and new birth.  Not surprising that they are associated with spring.

Here are a few facts about the robin
                      - they fly at 17 to 32 mph 
                      - have about 2.900 feathers
                      - have an average life span of 1 year and 2 months, although in captivity, robins have     survived longer than 17 years.
                      - robins are omnivorous, eating everything from fruit to spiders but given a choice of any food, most robins like meal-worms best of all.


A saying by R. Tagore...  "Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark."   Until we meet again at The Turn-Up Patch on Monday, February 12th....