Birds Trees Life. And Pencils.

“Someone has put cries of birds on the air like jewels.” — Anne Carson

The book Birds Art Life opens with this quote. It’s a fantastic book, gifted to me by a friend a few years ago. In it, the weary and overwhelmed author, Kyo Maclear, finds escape and peace watching the urban birds in the busy city of Toronto. Her father’s health was declining just as my own father’s was. When I read the following paragraph, I felt so much less alone.

“Even though the worst of the crisis passed quickly, I was afraid to go off duty. I feared that if I looked away, I would not be prepared for the loss-to-come and it would flatten me. I had inherited from my father (a former war reporter/professional pessimist) the belief that an expectancy of the worst could provide in its own way a ring of protection. We followed the creed of preventative anxiety.“

I’m not really giving anything away when I tell you that birds rescued her. Nature has a way of rescuing us all, doesn’t it?

I’m no Kyo Maclear, but I do find myself both fascinated and comforted by birds. “Hope is the thing with feathers…” and all that. Every spring, I try to teach myself the neighborhood birdsong, with the Merlin app as my tutor, then forget what I’ve learned over winter. Except for the cardinals. I can always pick out a cardinal’s song.

When I’m too much in my own head (an off-switch, please!), I focus on the birds announcing the day in chatters and chirps and melodies. A real mood-lifter/shifter.

I very much enjoy feeding the birds.

And watching the birds.

And laughing with the birds.

And sharing birds with my friends.

Which is why I was wowed by the set of colored pencils the same friend sent me for my birthday last month. Holy crow! Birds on colored pencils! I’ve never seen such a thing!

But wait…there’s more!

Flip the pack over and there are…

TREES! My other happy place.

Another friend and I walk through the glens at work as often as we can. In that sanctuary of trees we’re able to decompress, laugh, and exhale. Tensions ease and we move into the afternoon feeling restored and relaxed. Someday, some of my ashes will be scattered in this sacred space that means so much to me.

(Well, that took a turn, didn’t it?!)

All this to say that I love these pencils, and they’ve inspired me to get back to drawing in my journal again, like I did a couple summers ago. Remember these little gems?

Maybe I’ll attempt to draw some birds. And trees. Stay tuned.

Respite

So…life keeps happening. My mom was recently diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm and will need surgery in the (hopefully) near future. My sister and I are taking turns getting our parents groceries, driving them to doctor’s appointments and tests, and trying to keep the mood light. Tricky stuff.

We’re all feeling the stress and strain of the unknown. We’re all stretched a little too thin. We all need a little relief.

This coloring book, Tessellations by Creative Haven, picked up on sale at Barnes & Noble, is the perfect thing for a little mental respite. It’s full of geometric drawings that are detailed enough to be fun, but not SO detailed that coloring becomes stressful. Settling down with a page and my colored pencils keeps my mental gears from grinding on unpleasant thoughts. The toughest decision is which shade of blue to use. The other day, coloring even took my headache away.

The page above is a work in progress.

Just like life.