by
Jean Hughes
June 3, 1996
Four eggs, spring blue and not much bigger than butter beans, rest in the bluebird nest. The children and I give ourselves the gift of one look inside while the birds are away.

I have never seen anything more beautiful than this slight, grassy indenture containing four small capsules of life. All of the mystery of life is in this box. How can an egg takes wings and fly? Here, in this box in my dooryard, lies the true meaning of creativity.

According to my calculations, the eggs could hatch any time after the ninth of June, but I have been listening every day for the first peep.

This morning, I am down by the little creek that runs through towhee meadow. I am looking for nesting warblers, but all I see are three goldfinches. I hear a bird song, but I cannot find the bird. I understand that some people have the ability to zero-in on where a bird song is coming from, but that is not one of my gifts. However, I do have the universal gift of persistence. Though it is seldom considered a gift, persistence surmounts all shortcomings and serendipity is its offspring.

A call drifts down to me from high up in the blue. It is the chirr of a red-tailed hawk. Two circle above me. One wings out of sight, but the other winds closer and closer, and then swoops through the meadow in front of me, lower than the tree tops.

The bird's tail glows in the sunlight. What a tail! He maneuvers both sides of it as though he were lifting and dropping rudders. As I watch him, I realize that it was the wind that taught him to fly. His wind-wisdom is what he uses every moment he is in the air.

The sky is no more his natural habitat than it is mine. He is a land creature, as I am. Because of his body construction he can learn to fly without a plane, but his home is in the bushes and trees and he is earth-bound

We each fly by the means that we are given. Man needs a little mechanical help and has been given the brain to create it. The gifts to man are limitless.


Whenever I heat my oven, I like to make several dishes and freeze some for later use. These meatballs freeze well.

Pizza Meatballs
In a bowl, mix together: 1 lb. hamburger, 1 cup dried bread crumbs, 
1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup diced onion, 1 t. oregano, 1 t. salt and 1/8 t. pepper.
Cut: 4 oz. mozzarella cheese into 12 cubes and shape meatball 
mixture around each cube.
Coat each meatball with flour and brown in: 2 T. oil, until done.
Spoon off fat and add: 1 - 12 to 15 oz. jar pizza sauce.
Heat to boiling. Simmer 10 minutes. Allow to sit until serving time.
Reheat and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Serve over: 4 cups cooked rice, if desire

This evening, I watch the swifts come to nest in my chimney. Miracles of life must happen every year to keep this species going. Their nests are made of twigs plastered together with a special saliva that is secreted only at nesting time. How has nature synchronized all her little clocks?

Swifts cannot stand on their feet because they are weak, but their toes are made for clinging and they balance against their tails when resting. When they come to their forest or chimney homes, they hover for a moment, then drop in head up.

The facts of nature are more unbelievable than any fiction man has devised. Every creature on earth has its natural idiosyncrasies. The observation of wild life gives the knowledge that all things are possible. The wild is filled with hope, and with beauty. Zip, zip, the swifts drop into the chimney.

* * *
This is the week of rose blossoms. I stand surrounded by color and perfume. Three wood thrushes sing and sing, and suddenly, as if a conductor had lowered his baton, they stop. Out of the silence comes the singing of a woodcock. He swings round and round, then lands in the roadway near me. From far away, through the humid, perfume-laden air, I hear a whip-poor-will begin his churning music. This is a night to sing about!
Copyright 1996, Jean Hughes.

Jean's book of ramblings and recipes "A Country Mile of Winter" and her book of poetry "The Earth's My Home" are available for $4.95 each plus $1.30 for postage and handling. Ten of Jean's favorite recipes will be included free with each book ordered. Order from...

Country Mile Publications
616 E. Monroe
Delphi, IN 46923

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