It was about 18 or so years ago.  We took a friend and her son to Heuston Woods for a nature hike.  We will call the mother Lulu and her son Dagwood, to protect the innocent.   At any rate… away we went… with a song in our hearts, a picnic basket in hand, and binoculars around our necks.

Our intention was to be in touch with nature, especially for young Dagwood. We enticed him with stories of how absolutely cool it would be to spot animals in their natural environment.  Well, a couple of hours in, we had not seen anything.  We had not heard a single bird sing. There was scarcely a squirrel in sight, let alone all the lions, and tigers and bears we had promised.

Dagwood wanted to know why we were striking out…. and Lulu shrugged her shoulders.    Mary explained that sometimes you see them, and sometimes you don’t.  But that is was important to stand silent, and watch, and listen.  Well… clearly this was out of Dagwood’s capabilities.  He was a raucous boy.  So as we tried to stand in silence, Dagwood leaned back, his little chubby belly thrust toward the sky, and in his loudest booming voice, he howled…. “Yoooooooooooooo.  Wiiiiillllllldllllliiiiifffffffe.”    Of course, there were no nature sightings in Heuston Woods for three weeks to follow….after that demonstration.

Nonetheless.  We had a great day.

These days, I am still interested in seeing wildlife.  So here at home, we feed the things of the wild.  We put out ungodly amounts of bird seed on a weekly basis.   And now, that cold weather is approaching, my corn-to-deer regime begins. (We have honed this with a corn trough for our pallies.)  Not to mention a few red apples here and there.

As a result, we see a lot of “Yo Wildlife”  Part of the reason we are so popular with all the four legged creatures are the No Hunting Signs everywhere.  They can read… you know.

Yet.  Looking back to that day 18 years ago, and right up through today…. I think that I have learned a lesson in all of this.

Sometimes, you have to stand very still, and listen.  Patiently waiting, can at times, bring you exactly what you need.  Yet there are times when you need to take action.   You need to do something to attract what you want in life.  Moving forward, seeking out, and giving energy to find what is in your heart.

Yes.  Sometimes we have to sit and listen for the next sweet song.  And other times we need to give the bird another seed.

Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. – John Wooden

 It is never too late to be what you might have been. – George Eliot

 If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way. – Napoleon Hill

(Mary Bullen took photographs #2 and #3.  Our two sets of photos are about a week apart!)