by
Jean Hughes
July 1, 1996
They have flown! My bluebird nestlings have gone to the woods. I did not see them go, but the male and female make many trips from the roadside to the woods' edge across from my house.

Very early on the morning that they left, the male sang and sang. Did he sing the nestlings out of the nest? What an adventure it must be to come out of a dark box and fly!

From now on, I will feel that every bluebird along my roadside is kin. A bluebird box has given me a gift for a lifetime.

* * *
Our vegetable garden is finally planted and coming up. Everyone stands around with a hoe on his shoulder, admiring the green rows and waiting for the first weed. I hope enthusiasm does not wane when it is time for the real hoe down.

Weeds make some gardeners happy. Without them they would have no good excuse to be out in their gardens so much. Everything in nature works toward joy, even weeds.

* * *
Left to roam on their own, the children are discovering the fun of living day after day in the wild. Merry takes the dogs for long walks and goes on berrying sprees with me. She has taught her dog to go to the far end of the duck pen, bring an egg and lay it at her feet. A duck retriever!

Chris has found dozens of mouse nests and bird nests, but he does not disturb them. He is the one who thought of giving the ducks shower baths with the hose. They flap in and out of the water like children, quacking with joy.

Being with the wildlings gentles children. It makes them hum and sing a lot. I do not have a television set and so there is all day to discover that when they are by themselves they are not alone on the earth, but are a part of it.


I make "tomato flower" salads in summer by placing a large tomato partially cut into six wedges on a bed of lettuce. Rice Salad is one of the centers we like.

Rice Salad
Mix together: 3 cups cooked rice that has been prepared with 1 t. salt 
in the cooking water, 1/4 cup chopped pimentos, 2/3 cup sweet pickle relish, 
a small amount of pickle juice, 1/2 cup chopped onion and 4 chopped 
hard-cooked eggs.
Fold in a dressing made of: 1 t. prepared mustard, 1/2 t. salt, 1/4 t. 
pepper and 1 cup Miracle Whip.
Chill before serving.

Tonight, I drive home in the twilight. When it is dark, I walk my road. Fireflies twinkle up to the stars. Their love lights flash through the tree tops and over the fields. It looks like a celebration. Which it is.

* * *
This morning, I sit on a big rock in the middle of the little creek. The dogs lie quietly around me. A pair of bank swallows circle above, catching bugs to carry to their nest high up in the bank.

Downstream, a female cardinal watches from a bush while her bright mate takes a fluttering bath. A kingfisher shoots in front of me, like a blue rocket, and zips into the woods.

In a tree that hangs sideways from the bank and not 10 feet from me, a pair of phoebes feed and talk. My presence does not disturb them at all. For half an hour, I watch them fly back and forth in the small world they have chosen for their own. They do not call, but talk in harsh chucks. These birds are easy to identify because they bob their tails constantly.

This evening, the small miracle of the bluebirds continues. The male has been sitting on the grapevine and in the garden. He is now taking a shower in the birdbath. He has taken his family to the peace of the wild places, and I can understand that, but as he flies away, I call, "Come again, and next time bring the kids." I send the message by word and by heart. He sits on a tall pole at the corner of the yard and answers with his gentle song.

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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