Our new hobby - birding

One of my New Year's resolutions was to read "Mind Character and Personality" by Ellen White. The first section is about the importance of the mind. A good teacher will never be satisfied with dull thoughts, an indolent (lazy) mind, or a loose memory. One of the ways to train and discipline the mind is by study, by observation, and by reflection. One thing I admire about David is that he is very attentive. He hears and sees things that I would have never observed. And he takes the time to understand its significance. This is one reason he's a great Bible teacher. His observation skills have been honed. That is also why he is a great farmer. This year I'm endeavoring to become a better observer.

So, recently there was an event in town called "Wings Over Willcox" where they took tourists to view the migratory cranes in the area. They also had live falcons, owls, hawks and a bald eagle at the community center. We listened to a seminar about bats and at the end the speaker had a real bat that she showed us. She has had it since it was born and it's now 15 years old.

All this inspired us to buy a bird book with full color illustrations and now we are actively trying to identify the birds we see.This morning we identified our first bird. We saw a male and female house finch.

We even got David's binoculars out and looked out the sliding glass window and whispered to each other as we looked through so we wouldn't scare them away (not like they can hear us but it was good practice). I really hope to instill in my children (and myself) the habit of observing things attentively, being patient and appreciating the beauty all around.