Peace With Wings

We made ornaments this week...for the birds.

Because they ate all our cherries this year?

Because they pecked holes in the eaves

and made attic nests?

Heh.

 
But then we went birding.

A day's adventure into the wet, into the wind, 

unconnected 

from my technical world, 

no busy busy, no run arounds, no errand hopping, 

just listening.

 

Squinting into far off brambles.

Surprisingly, I connected. With the herons in the tree. 

With the brown-headed eagle, the sparrows, the finches.      

 

Like the time we stumbled on a barn owl and we lingered there, watching,

till the sky turned shadowy.

Or the day we pulled over the car to observe scores of starlings bathe in muddy puddles.

Maybe it's just the act of stopping 

in the midst of a life that whirls

-watching birds go about their day,

breathing in a piney forest, 

feeling rain pelt and pummel -

Maybe that's what slows me down. 

wakes me up. 

brings me peace.

And peace is what we all need this time of year.

So we made gifts for the birds.
 
I never thought I'd buy lard.  

 Or thistle seeds, for that matter.
Who needs more thistles? Birds, I guess.
So we squished together birdseed "cookies,"

threaded cheerios onto pipe cleaners  

and bent them into hearts.

Where did Birdy's cheerios go?

The big kids strung popcorn, nuts and apples into garlands.

I cut up felt and old jeans and t-shirts into bird-ish shapes

 for ornaments and pins.

 It was a good project for little sewists.

 

 And then we gathered our bounty
 
and strung it up

in the climbing tree.

 

 

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,

and wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom

Had rolled along

The unbroken song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,

A voice, a chime,

A chant sublime

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;

The Wrong shall fail,

The Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men."

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Peace to you, my friends...

peace that lifts, 

peace with wings.

And some beauteous books to warm your winter!

  

 

The Birds of Bethlehem - Tomie dePaola

Night Tree - Eve Bunting, Ted Rand

The Candle in the Forest - compiled by Joe L. Wheeler

Uncle Vova's Tree - Patricia Polacco

The Trees of the Dancing Goats - Patricia Polacco

The Birds' Christmas Carol - Kate Douglas Wiggin

The Mitten - Barbara McClintock

The Mitten - Jan Brett

The Money We'll Save - Brock Cole

Owl Babies - Martin Waddell, Patrick Benson

Owl Moon - Jane Yolen, John Schoenherr

No Two Alike - Keith Baker

Gifts for little bookworms

Upcycled book bags are all the rage in our house,

especially when paired with great books. 

In Pip's bag:

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback 

Fanny by Holly Hobbie

I have so much love for Joseph Had a Little Overcoat 

that I have nothing to say -

other than that it is utterly brilliant and wow-ing in all respects. 

In the spirit of such clever thriftiness,

Pip's owl bag was made from my favorite overalls.

I loved those overalls, but the nineties are over. 

My toothy six year-old will have more fun with them. 

Pip's bag has scrappy, feathered wings that spread out

or button in

with ric-rac and button eyes

and grandpa's old tie for the strap.

Winnie's panda bag

is made from old jeans,

a belt, buttons and more of those lovely scraps

(thank you, Sharon Clark!).

What Winnie found in her bag:

Fanny and Annabelle by Holly Hobbie

Chameleon's Colors by Chisato Tashiro

Holly Hobbie's books are at the top of our list because 

girls who read 

and make their own dolls

and write their own books? 

- well, we can't help liking those kinds of girls around here.

Read on, my friends!

Write happy!

Make things

and have joy!

Hoots

A wise old owl sat in an oak

 the more he saw, the less he spoke

the less he spoke, the more he heard.

Why aren't we all like that wise old bird?

Pip's owl costume.

Remember our birthday tree?

Well, it turns out birthday buntings 

double as owl suits. 

 

Whether she's recognizable as an owl, whoooo knows, 

but she's happy.  

After twenty costume scenarios, 

and dozen more cooking

in her imaginative mind,

Winnie was finally lassoed into being a cowgirl.

Cookie monster:

Sisters' fuzzy hat and sweater,

Ping pong ball eyes. 

Baby giraffe.   

"These notices had been written by Christopher Robin, who was the only one in the forest who could spell; for Owl, wise though he was in many ways, able to read and write and spell his own name WOL, yet somehow went all to pieces over delicate words like MEASLES and BUTTEREDTOAST."

- Winnie the Pooh, A.A.Milne

Some Owlish Book Love:

Owl Babies - Martin Waddell, illustrated by Patrick Benson

 

Owl at Home, by Arnold Lobel

Owl Moon - Jane Yolen, ill. by John Schoenherr

Whoo-oo Is It - Megan McDonald, ill. by S.D. Schindler

Peek a Who? - by Nina Laden