I had been contemplating going inside when the hawk flew by. It was so close, it could have grazed the branches of my apple tree. It also could have been an eagle, or a vulture, it was that big. Later, it circled the sky while I watched in wonder.

Instead of brining my writing inside, where it was warmer, I let my head fall against the edge of the couch, my eyes blurring into reverie as I wondered where the former inhabitants of the fallen forest had gone. You can come here, the thought passed through my heart and I let it go before I held onto it.

The truth is, I have been riddled with the guilt of what ifs. Yet, in that quiet moment of surrender, the unexpected occurred. As I gazed out the window, Noah’s Ark in feathered form arrived, along with more than a few squirrels. For the next half hour I watched in wonderment as my backyard filled with winged life. There are no pictures to tell the tale, as I watched transfixed and filled with gratitude. Peace replaced anger and the pervading sense of futility I had so long been feeling.

Most of them are gone now, perhaps because I don’t have feeders to keep them around for too long. But, in that glorious half hour or so, I was graced with the presence of several woodpeckers, flickers, nuthatches, chickadees, blue jays, mourning doves and more, while the hawk flew sentinel through the skies, which parted their clouds to the sun.