Time in the morning with Max, is always a beautiful time!  I mutter under my breath as I pour out of my warm bed, especially when it’s freezing cold outside or we’ve just had a dump of snow, but in the end, I am always blessed to have made it out into the dark or light of it, because there is always some sort of magic to observe in nature. 

I often find myself marvelling at the achievements or the extraordinary accomplishments of people I know OR don’t know.  I think that they take nature on in such an extreme way and they see such exceptional wonders in the sky, the mountains or on the ocean.  But no less marvelous are the wonders of every morning as they reveal themselves to you on an ordinary walk in the neighbourhood or by a local pond.

Just this morning I saw a whole battalion of magpies trying to fight off a crow.  The crow was obviously trying to create destruction to eggs/a nest/ wee hatched-birds or some such vulnerable life set deep in the arms of an evergreen tree.  Twice, the crow successfully entered into the dark cave of the evergreen, but those adult magpies came, like dive-bombers, from all directions.  What a cacophonus exhibition of will and natural behaviour in defence of some unseen treasure!  Finally, as the crow abandoned the tree, a single brave soldier took flight behind the crow in wild pursuit and the others, equidistant from the target, sat like sentinels on guard until certain that the crow would not return.  In a matter of minutes, all returned to normal and the adults dismantled their army, each returning to a different part of the park.  I was amazed by this ten minute show of wills and determination and wondered about the loss that such small beings must endure as a course of nature.  The world can be a frightening place.