Look
Some days life overwhelms.
One week an avalanche,
others, a nagging whisper of turmoil, a feeling of despair.
Be free of anxiety,
confident that life has meaning and hope.
Look…gaze…observe…watch.
Behold…consider…regard…examine…
our feathered neighbors.
Particularly, Black-capped Chickadees…
Weight: about 11-12 regular paper clips…
…less than half an ounce.
Length: almost 6 inches.
Wingspan: just over 8 inches.
An appropriate word for Chickadee…tiny…
another…tough…a third…amazing.
Surviving winter nights take 1/10 of its weight…
1/10 of half an ounce.
Look at the birds, lose your anxiety…
Gaze…observe…scrutinize…behold.
Consider…regard…examine…inspect.
God feeds them.
Take the time.
Look at the birds… entrust your fears to God.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26
Black-capped Chickadees are seldom still. The tiny bird furnace in the chickadee burns fuel quickly in winter. Chickadees are always on the hunt for more food.
With a eye on the bird feeder and the next sunflower, chickadee was a moment away from take off.
Black-capped Chickadees share feeder space with other birds. This male Downy Woodpecker paused to examine the top of the bird feeder where the suet is fastened. A moment later he was on the suet.
I think this one was watching the camera lens. Chickadees are exceptionally alert birds. Their watchful eyes do not miss anything. Life depends on alertness.
Does this limb seem to be a good chickadee perch? I’ve never seen on perch on this limb. It is too much in the open, too exposed. The Chickadees prefer the upper limbs of this Ash tree where there are many twigs to protect them from the neighborhood Cooper's Hawk. (A Chickadee predator.)