October 2015 – Sandy Milczarek

The end of this week brought the first chilly weather we’ve had in Pittsburgh. Yesterday was grey and somber with the temperature in the 50’s and an occasional spit of rain. It was the kind of day where you rushed from car to work to car to home. I’m just not ready for winter’s approaching bite, and I miss spending my evening’s outside already.

Craving fresh air before I went to bed, I opened the front door to our house. Within seconds, I heard a stir of wind rouse the dry weeds in the empty lot across the street. How odd – it had not been a windy day. Then the breath of wind crossed our street and gently puffed at me. I felt a greeting in the air as it moved around me. The brief zephyr passed, and the neighborhood fell silent again. My spirits were uplifted as I closed our door to the chilled autumn night.

How Nature, God’s creation, yearns to commune with us. Pay attention and respond back.

Rebels from Olympus

Ever since three rebellious gods moved in next door, life has never been the same for Justus. His mom plays Twister with a goddess. The secret love of his life kisses him. His evil step-grandmother tries to kill him.

Rebels from Olympus by Sandy Milczarek | BookShop

Identity can be a killer in this Young Adult fantasy thriller. Destiny calls.…

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I so miss hearing the robin’s morning song. From early spring through just about mid-summer, I looked forward to rising out of bed to the sound of their musical accompaniment. Vitality. Joy. Here. Now. Their music added the necessary spice to the start of my day as a reminder to savor the moment.

The mornings have been so quiet all of August and half-way through September. This brings its own sort of somber, reflective peace as summer winds down. Yet I still yearned for the robin’s song.

A couple weeks ago, the heartfelt, varied song of a cardinal woke me up. I find its song a bit more musical than a robin’s with its change in rhythm and notes. It was a sweet surprise. That evening, while I was lounging in the backyard with my husband, I heard the gentle “chip, chip” of a cardinal as it settled in the apple tree for the night. This is the same apple tree that a mated pair of cardinals have raised a couple broods each summer for the past several years. This particular cardinal seems to be flying solo.

A pattern evolved. Every evening, the cardinal comes to roost in the apple tree to the sound of its sweet “chip, chip”. Then each morning, as the sky just begins to lighten, this little bird breaks out into full song. What a joyful treat that lifts my heart! When you live in the city, every manifestation of nature is magnified and becomes an event.

Where did this bird come from? I think it may have hatched in the apple tree from one of this past summer’s broods, that’s why it has no mate. This morning it was pecking around in the yard with the sparrows. I can tell it’s young by its smallness.

I thanked it profusely for satisfying my heart’s desire for a morning song. By the way, this is the same apple tree that’s growing fruit on its one branch this fall. See previous post.