Amazing April

This blog is a fun one.

    It is April and nothing compares to it because no other month has the excitement, the awaking, and the thrill of watching Mother Nature call for rebirth.  Leaves on trees burst forth from their buds; grasses come alive with a healthy vivid green color; laughter of children playing outside creates gleeful noises; and there is the urge to be outside.

    Tulips with their bright colors are among the first flowers to joyfully announce spring.  You will notice the row of colorful tulips on the upper left hand corner of this blog, which I mentioned in my earlier blog stating these colorful flowers are my motto..."Aim High and Shoot Straight."  The motto has inspired me to reach for new adventures and strive to give my best efforts to the challenges.

Another impressive flower of spring is the daffodil.

William Wordsworth, one of my favorite poets, penned delightful 

words honoring these yellow, prolific flowers. 

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they 

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed-and gazed-but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bless of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

*****

Now for a fun activity:

FEEDING THE SEAGULLS

I had been out for my morning walk when I saw three seagulls circling about the park's pavilion;

across the street from my home.  I stood and watched the grace of the California gulls that are prevalent in our area. They made their circles, dives, and ascends heavenward.  I pondered the times I have seen them. Do you remember how they follow farmers plowing in fields, eating the insects stirred up by the machinery working the earth?  Perhaps you have seen them at boat docks, picnic grounds, parking lots, or garbage dumps.  Where ever they are, it is intriguing to listen to their squawking sounds. Did you know they actually have difference calls?  One to warn of danger and be ready to fly off, another to yell, "Pay attention to me!" Among their calls come the invitation for a romantic courtship, nest selection, and another to warn of territory disputes saying something like, "Here I am, I'm not moving!"

      As I watched these graceful birds, the urge came...yep, I wanted to play with them.  I hurried into the kitchen of my home grabbed slices of bread and hurried back to the park. When I returned, instead of the three Seagulls there were two; however, I knew with my offering of sweet smelling chucks of bread others would arrive shortly.  Gulls seem to exist in masses. What fun to tease the scavengers as I tossed my offering as high as I could.  I remember many years back playing the same game at Liberty park in Salt Lake City with my father.  He had brought prepared hard boiled eggs, peeled off the shells, and tossed them high into the air like he aimed for the North Star.  My goodness, he had a strong arm. Today all I could do was give it my pathetic best, but the chunks of broken bread seemed to be a fine offering.  It was fun seeing them haggle over the small morsels, as if they were fighting a serious battle on Bunker Hill.  Seagulls are not ones to share, in fact they are quite selfish, their main instinct is "MINE."  

     During our play time I counted twelve birds. The whirling of the bird's white flapping wings, flying close over head, caused the sensation of moving air about me.  During the feeding festivity, I truly enjoyed the intriguing flavor of a hoopla and look forward to another time I can play with Seagulls.  

      Just a note:  Many people consider the gull to be a nuisance, but they actually perform a very valuable service. They are garbage men, you might say sanitation engineers, with wings. They scavenge up great numbers of dead animals and organic litter, which could pose a health threat to our society.

This is my story for our amazing April.

Take care of yourself and know the Lord loves you.