Palm Sunday, #aBirdFromTheLord Tonight, at bedtime, a screech from an American Barn Owl. And, thus, Lent concludes. So grateful for God's teaching me to be still more often and allowing me to feel waves of grief in His loving presence, and among His birds of the air. In so much loss, God finds.

Day 39, #aBirdFromTheLord Yep, I've caught the bug that's going around. From my bedroom window, while scarfing down potato chips, I watched the Lesser goldfinches, who visit the lavender bush daily. They, too, were ravenously eating their afternoon snack of seeds from the lavender buds. Grateful.

Day 38, #aBirdFromTheLord Hot again today, and I'm languishing in the heat. Probably coming down with something. Today's birds were European starlings, quite a few, and also--a plethora of squirrels. Lizards. Mountain Ebony blossoms. Being a birder means I notice everything in nature, most days.

Day 37, #aBirdFromTheLord Went for an afternoon walk and it was hot! Summer, apparently, is here. I heard and saw acorn woodpeckers. Their chatter mingled with the call of mourning doves. Halfway to home, I heard my friend, the mockingbird. Welcomed the opportunity to sit in the shade and listen.

Day 36, #aBirdFromTheLord While eating an early lunch at my favorite restaurant, movement from the sky out the window caught my eye. I saw a hawk fly into the top of a palm tree. It was lovely. A pleasant surprise in my day. God does give us these joyful moments to keep us in hopeful anticipation.

Day 35, #aBirdFromTheLord Yesterday, I was in a new part of town for a new job! Saw and heard birds I hadn't before in my neck of the woods. Hammond's Flycatcher! Brewer's Blackbird! House Sparrow, and finally, a Song Sparrow! And a Red-winged Blackbird; wish I could have seen it. Merlin heard it.

Day 34, #aBirdFromTheLord I went out first thing this morning to have time with birds and the Lord. Merlin recorded so many! Myriad voices soloing and overlapping one another in the dawn chorus. Like an assortment of Dickens characters or the polyvocality in Shakespeare, the birds of the air.

Fifth Sunday in Lent, #aBirdFromTheLord I spend longer than 10 minutes with the birds. I have time, and these long stretches soothe my spirit. I'm like a bird, with ruffled feathers and racing heart. Then, gradually and almost imperceptibly, I become still. The sparrows become bold to approach.

Day 32, #aBirdFromTheLord I'm finding a rhythm now in my life to make room for birds...and God...and silence. It's getting easier to remember to meet God with the birds and also to settle my spirit as I wait. The Merlin app helps; I can just press "record" and sit and anticipate, in a soft way.

Day 31, #aBirdFromTheLord I saw a red-whiskered bulbul for the first time (or at least, the first time of which I'm aware). I heard it first and Merlin identified it. Then, I saw it. It's a cool-looking bird! And, it's got a great reputation for being an escape artist. Inspiring!

Day 30, #aBirdFromTheLord Towhees and crickets overlapping. Cares from the day still "chipping" as night falls. It's time for rest.

Day 29, #aBirdFromTheLord Today's bird was a lesser goldfinch. (We are blessed to have lots of these birds visit every day!) He was balanced beautifully on a stem of my beloved and hardy cosmos, under the canopy of the flower itself. Cheered my heart instantly.

Day 28, #aBirdFromTheLord Today, at the tail end of Lent, was maybe the first time I truly just sat and relaxed and waited. Birdsong in the background, identifiable as house finch. Wind blowing through the trees, and rustling away cobwebs inside me. New month. We're heading properly into spring.

Day 27, #aBirdFromTheLord Before drifting off to sleep, I heard #aBirdFromTheLord. An owl screeching, probably winging into the night. Owls are some of my favorites, and when I hear them before sleep, it's like a hug from God.

Fourth Sunday in Lent, #aBirdFromTheLord At church, we sang the song "This Good Day," by Fernando Ortega. I was struck by the bird-y lyrics: "Noisy sparrows fill the oak trees Swallows can't stay still And in the glad commotion Lord, You speak to me" A joyful noise. With the birds. With the Lord.

Day 25, #aBirdFromTheLord I'm a birder for the connections I feel with the commonest of winged friends. I love seeing my little brown birds, the sparrows, every day. They are reassuring to me, in their ubiquity and predictability. There is such peace in witnessing ordinary loveliness.

Day 24, #aBirdFromTheLord I enjoy evenings waiting for the birds. I hung up a replacement feeder with nutcake this late afternoon and was treated to a white-crowned sparrow and California towhee once more. I feel like Sara Crewe these days, a lonely heart, who is lightened by winged Melchisedecs.

Day 23, #aBirdFromTheLord At our Bird Fest taxidermy table, kids met "real" birds: woodpeckers, an owl, the feet and wing of a red-tailed hawk, and the skull of a raven. Gentle hands, reverencing beauty, even after death. I held the wing to measure their own arms. "Rest in pieces," one said. Amen.

Day 22, #aBirdFromTheLord A parliament of crows against a gray sky at evening. Earlier at lunchtime, I found my flock at the counter of the local diner. Conversing with people, new friends and old, makes me think we're a bit like crows, congregating for a bit before we fly to our separate roosts.

Day 21, #aBirdFromTheLord I steal away to my backyard with a book and hear birdsong. I don't have my feeder up anymore so I haven't been seeing the white-crowned sparrows or towhees. I miss them. I was rewarded with a regular afternoon visitor, a mockingbird. Its song is like water from a well.

Day 20, #aBirdFromTheLord Sat on my rock in the backyard, with a cheery novel about flowers, and waited. A crow hung out for awhile atop the power line. Caw-caw! Caw-caw! I called to him in imitation, and then felt a bit funny. He cocked his head and listened. Wonder what he thought I said.

Third Sunday in Lent, #aBirdFromTheLord I spent time with our Cooper's hawks. Their call sounds oddly like laughter to me, but is an alarm to protect the nest. Hawk's mate was transporting a twig. Crow caused an altercation. Met neighbor who admires the hawks, too--and prays for them.

Day 18, #aBirdFromTheLord A plethora of birds today with the local Audubon society. My favorite was the Northern flicker. (I saw this bird for the first time today--and through a scope!) Nice red feathers and long, dark beak. A participant said, "When you hear the birds, you're at peace." Truth.

Day 17, #aBirdFromTheLord Anxious in my spirit, I plunked down on a rock in the yard. My heart began to quieten. I had no desire to identify birds (or feelings), but just to rest and receive. Two birds carrying material--a little one with either a worm or a stick and a crow with many sticks!

Day 16, #aBirdFromTheLord I rushed through today without stopping for #aBirdFromTheLord. On my way into the house with groceries for dinner, I saw two sparrows, but I don't know what kind they were. My heart was pulling me to sit and wait and watch, but I hurried inside, instead. Sad to miss today.

Day 15, #aBirdFromTheLord A sparrow perched on a sign, singing. A hummingbird in a bush. An owl's hoot at bedtime. Snippets of the holy.

Day 14, continued, #aBirdFromTheLord Went back outside, saw the mourning dove in the same place, but this time, wonderfully, it did fly away in mighty fright. I think the bird's okay.

Day 14, #aBirdFromTheLord I saw a mourning dove on the ground, standing rigidly still, as a statue. I worried the bird was injured and said a prayer. The dove moved to the brick wall after a time. I've never seen a mourning dove not immediately panic-flap away. I will keep an eye out.

Day 13, #aBirdFromTheLord Today's birds were two white-crowned sparrows. The first was atop a fence post and the second was perched in the butterfly bush I have had for decades, a gift from a friend in college. I stood to watch them, having no dry place to sit. And standing underscored the moment.

Second Sunday in Lent, #aBirdFromTheLord With my nephew outside today. Companioned by the backyard hummingbirds, their zooming whistling around us, we enjoy the day.

Day 11, #aBirdFromTheLord We saw hummers from the window. Later, my nephew showed me a hummingbird nest. With the help of Sound ID in the Merlin app, the budding birder and I were elated to discover that the hummingbirds are Allen's. Joy of family, joy of hummingbirds. Sun is out. What a gift.

Day 10, #aBirdFromTheLord Settling on the porch step, I await my #aBirdFromTheLord. First, a black phoebe. Next, a crow. He is carrying a stick--and drops it midair. Of what do I need to let go? Finally, a finch. A trinity of surrender and rest.

Day 9, #aBirdFromTheLord I replaced the nutcake in the feeder this morning. Sitting on the storm-soaked cushion I forgot to bring in the evening before, I prayed, "I wait for the LORD, and in his word I put my hope." My towhee appeared, scooped a seed from the deck, and flew away. Hope renewed.

Day 8, #aBirdFromTheLord The time change means it's dark in the mornings. Mockingbird singing in it. The tink-tink-tink of the towhee. It's comforting to identify birds I can't see but are always there. We walk by faith, not by sight. We sing in the dark, waiting for Him to enlighten it.

Day 7, #aBirdFromTheLord Watched and listened to an exuberantly vocal mockingbird again. His exit from stage included an up-close flourish of black and white as he flew past me to the adjacent yard. Wings and tail before me brought me to the present moment in the same way as a flick of holy water.

First Sunday in Lent, #aBirdFromTheLord This morning, my wildlife photographer neighbor introduced me to our resident Cooper's Hawk, who is busy nest building. Core of the nest is in formation! He told me if I stand under the tree four or five days after the babies hatch, I can become a human pet!

Day 5, #aBirdFromTheLord Clearly, I've been missing some birds from the Lord! I came out this afternoon to find the nutcake in my feeder nearly completely obliterated. Bugs and seeds litter the deck. But, that means the California towhee I met two days ago will have a feast in a couple hours!

Day 4, #aBirdFromTheLord A little brown bird greets me first thing. A pair of croaking crows and a pair of mourning doves. Overlapping birdsong, but subdued, muted. My toes are cold. My back is warm. I've learned that's "apricity." It's a simple, slow Saturday and I'm thanking God.

Day 3, #aBirdFromTheLord Hummingbird zooming ahead. Persistent peeping from the neighbor's yard. A single mourning dove on power line. I hear a mockingbird. It is bitingly cold. Maybe some kind of warbler flying? A crow! My favorite visitor. The mourning dove is now a pair. It's all beautiful.

Day 2, #aBirdFromTheLord I have returned from my walk with hands numbed from the cold but heart warmed by hummingbirds--serenading a coyote licking some dredgy liquid from a cracked plastic cup. If God "considers the ravens" (and hummingbirds), surely he provides for the "little wolves," too.

#aBirdFromTheLord I heard it before I saw it and it stopped me in my tracks. The most lovely little tune. Northern Mockingbird, singin' in the rain. After vocalizing for a short interval, the bird sat in silence. And so did I. Remembering we are dust today, while still living out our songs.