Al's Musings

Bluebirds Bring Spring on their Wings

It was March in Minnesota.
A good time for bad weather.
A storm dumped over 20 inches of snow on what I call home.

The storm was reminiscent of the blizzards I experienced when I was a boy. March was like living in a snow globe in those days of yore.

This storm caused every hotel in the area to become filled. Those who could not find a hotel room found shelter in the National Guard Armory.

I joined the Shovel Olympics early in the morning after the storm had subsided. I shoveled with as much gusto as I could muster. I was outdoors and it was exercise. It was fun.

For a while.

The shovel became heavier with each scoop.

I soon grew weary of the chore and began dreaming of being marooned on Gilligan's Island with the fearless crew, the millionaire and his wife, the professor, Ginger, and Mary Ann. Especially with Ginger.

It was then that I saw it. It was a male eastern bluebird on a snow bank. The blue of the bird highlighted against the white of the snow took my breath away.

Shoveling became easier.
We don't always get what we want. We are given what we need.
I needed to see a bluebird.
It was so good to see him.
Not all blessings are in disguise.

James Matthew Barrie wrote that we are given memories that we might have roses in December.

Perhaps I was given a glimpse of blue so that I might make it until the snow melted.

I saw the bluebird because I looked. Yogi Berra said, “You can see a lot just be observing.” I am a birder. For years, I have been unable to look friends in the eyes. Oh, I’ve tried, but my vision keeps shifting to a bird flying overhead. I drive my spousal unit crazy by identifying the birds calling during a romantic movie or telling her that some of the birds couldn’t possibly be calling in the area where the film is supposedly taking place. I’ve watched televised golf just to hear the singing birds. I have changed the Man’s Prayer from the Red Green Show to suit my purpose. “I’m a birder, but I can change, if I have to, I guess.”

I loved seeing the bluebird and I wished him traveling mercies. Seeing the bluebird brought a song featuring bluebirds to my mind. There are many songs featuring this beautiful creature.

Although the song that occurred to me was a huge hit during World War II, “There’ll Be Bluebirds Over The White Cliffs of Dover” was a fantasy.

There are no bluebirds in Dover. Dover is in the county of Kent in England and bluebirds are indigenous only to North America.

“There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover. Tomorrow, just you wait and see. There'll be love and laughter and peace ever after, Tomorrow, when the world is free. The shepherd will tend his sheep, The valley will bloom again, And Jimmy will go to sleep, In his own little room again. There'll be bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover. Tomorrow, just you wait and see. There'll be love and laughter and peace ever after, Tomorrow, when the world is free.”

I've always known that a bluebird is a symbol of happiness--even when it is not there.

It didn’t bother me that the song was not factual. I was just happy that there are bluebirds where I am.

When my parents moved to Minnesota, they bought an old farmhouse with door locks that they never used. There was a key that would have locked and unlocked each of that old house’s doors if my parents had chosen to utilize it. This key was called a skeleton key.

It opened every door.

To me, a bluebird is like a skeleton key.
If you want to see and enjoy nature, a bluebird will open the door for you.

©Al Batt 2009