Kay and I sat on the deck soaking up sun. It was one of those rare Nebraska days with no wind, and temperatures that make you believe spring might really have arrived.
“I think I hear your phone, my companion said.”
“No, that’s just a woodpecker,” I replied. “He’s been pretty busy lately.”
Busy is an understatement. That bird started his work when snowdrifts were still blocking the driveway. He must move on occasionally because we won’t hear him for some days, and then he’s almost constant for a week. It’s interesting how consistent he is. The rapping will continue for fifteen seconds or so, then a pause, and it comes again. Easy to mistake for a ringing phone.
Barn swallows swooped constantly that morning, after whatever insects are about. I’ve heard they have to eat their weight in bugs every day. They must not eat house flies though, because we had an abundance of them later that same day. “Rain coming,” I said, and not because of thunderheads building. The flies always know and seek to get indoors. Sure enough, we had a short shower about suppertime, and I spent the evening and next morning with a fly swatter close by.
This is the season of stepping out in the world, starting over, and exploring possibilities. Kildeer are trying to nest next to the county road, as always, putting on the broken wing act every time we drive to get the mail. The barn swallows nest in the same spots and no matter how we discourage the locations on the deck it doesn’t work, so we just give up and hose the deck often. Green has been late coming on this year and the plum brush is only starting to leaf out, never mind blooming. There is still plenty of snow in the windbreaks and since it has turned to ice, we will be lucky to see it gone by the 4th of July. But go it will. Nature’s cycles are relentless, even if not always on schedule.
Brandings happen almost daily, and the end of school activity frenzy is in full swing. Those time frames don’t vary much from year to year. We have another grandson graduating this year and it’s interesting that most of the young folks I know are pretty focused on plans after high school. I remember feeling lost and confused all my senior year, having no real focus or goals. But then, I graduated at sixteen so it’s no wonder. And nowadays there are many more career paths available, as well as opportunities for guidance in regard to one’s choices.
Listening to that woodpecker made me think of a plaque that one of my friends made for us some years ago. The message says, “Life is a study in tenacity.” My friend would know—she has overcome many challenges, but doesn’t focus on the negatives. She’s too busy helping others, making gifts, leading a support group and sending daily encouragement to people who are experiencing difficulties.
I think the one concept I’d most like to impart to graduating classes is tenacity. Be that woodpecker. Do your life with determination.
Meet me here next week and meanwhile, do your best. Somebody might like it.