Bird Watching at the Little Shack

by Jack Correu

My wife and I take our dog Hobo for a walk around the property every morning…I love this dog. We named him Hobo—as a stray he snuck up and downed two pecan pies cooling on our outdoor table—can’t get much more Hobo than that! Needless to say, he stuck around, but that's another story…While taking our morning stroll  last week, we came upon seven vultures standing on fence posts with their wings spread out catching the wind. They seemed to be in ecstasy, instantly reminding me of the film, "The City of Angels”. In the movie, there are angels all over Los Angeles, doing the merciful as angels do, totally unseen by the "mortals". Every morning they get together on the beach and they too stand in ecstasy, worshiping the rising Sun. (Haven’t you ever just stopped and felt the breeze, the splendid warmth of the Sun, the peace and communion of one worship in your single space, while gathered together with your friends or family?) As I witnessed the vultures in their morning salute, I couldn’t help but feel their very feathers were worshiping the wind and that, it seems to me, is why all birds fly: They and their feathers worship the wind and the boundless freedom of the sky. As we respectfully passed the birds, I looked up and saw a very large bald eagle, flying above a pine. Made me wonder—which came first, the feathers or the bird? …The ecstasy or the freedom?

I looked down at Hobo's knowing, smiling face that said: "Neither one! Just a Wordless Being and a Soundless AWE.....