My Mystery Bird

This morning I heard birds chirping desperately and incessantly in our large mango tree. It went on long enough that I sneaked onto the porch to see what was being eaten alive or who was so distressed. The noisemakers were two, small beauties being bothered by a bird much larger than themselves. The antagonist kept slowly moving one branch closer to the distraught twosome, reminding me of a naughty child deliberately annoying someone. When I went outside, the larger bird flew (of course, for "the wicked flee when no man pursueth") and the other two settled down. I ran inside for my camera and spent some time trying to get a good picture of the prettiest birds I've seen in a long time. For once in my life I wished I could identify birds; I had to thank God "for sending these pretty birds as my Sunday morning blessing" instead of intelligently thanking Him in Latin.

And if you can identify these for me, kindly let me know (in English, of course, of course). 

A child's perspective

It has been hot. Very hot. Add humidity to that (91 degrees F and 84% humidity) and you get the idea of what our weather has been these days. On one of these hot days, I was hanging up laundry, willing myself to get the job done so I could get out of the sun when my three-year-old bounced out to join me.

“These are all the children swinging on the swings.” She pointed to the towels pinned to the wash line. I looked over to see them moving in the breeze. “All the big mommies and daddies are pushing them and all the children are swinging. Do you know which one is me? This one is!” And she gave the towel of her choice an extra push on the “swing.”

I smiled, refreshed by her view.

“And this is the slide.” She straddled the metal bar that supports the wash line post and laughed her happy, little-girl laugh.

At a park in the States last fall.
Haven't found a park here.

Suddenly I felt like I was thousands of miles away, playing at a pretty park with my children. The heat didn’t feel quite as intense. The sweat trickling down my face was forgotten. Hanging up laundry was no longer a chore.

Thank God for the imagination of a child.