You Will See What You Feel

While looking up at a tree that had been struck by lightning, I am now feeling a daily lingering fascination to hoist myself up and look into the hole of this tree. 

I remember the tree standing so big and strong, as we approached the front yard from the back door of our home. 

Now, after a storm last summer, the tree stands less than half of its original broad size, and I am fascinated by its subtle so unassuming character that has taken on a life of its own.  Maybe because I am the youngest in my family and therefore the shortest, perhaps I feel like the tree and I have more in common size wise.  Whatever the reason, I am very curious about what the inside of a tree might look like.  Is it solid throughout?  Is it just a big empty hole?  Is it big enough for a playhouse?  As I stand looking up, the top of the tree seems so close to me.  I walk up closer and stretch my arms up standing on tippy toes and I find that I still have a long way to go before I can touch the top of the tree.  I see some ants crawling around so I quickly move my hands away to imagine another way of reaching my desired goal of seeing inside of the tree.  I  spot the stepping stool that my mother keeps at the cellar door only a few feet away.  I put it up against the tree. Before no time I am about to have all of my questions answered about what is on the inside of this tree.  As I climb up the four step stool, I lean forward, put my hands on the tree trunk and what amazing thing do I see?  I see a shallow hole in the top of the tree that isn’t very deep or wide.  For several days the tree hole is. ..Just a tree with a seemingly non functional hole.  A hole with an occasional flying or crawling insect passing through or by on its way to another destination.

Then one day, I see that there are twigs and leaves coming out of the top of the tree.  My thoughts are that perhaps the wind is stirring up unusual activity. 

A few days later is one of my most memorable of many days this spring.  As my mind flashes back, 

I draw myself up to the top of what is left of this maple tree that once stood with three other beautiful trees bordering the front yard, with many branches and leaves shading the house from direct sunlight in the summer and covering the grass with leaves in the fall to be raked and jumped in and standing barren when the snow was falling on a cold winter day. 

But on this notable day, as I pull myself up to peek into the hole, I see a bird sitting in a nest that looks as though it could have been there forever.   As I peer in, the bird looks up at me and merely blinks as I lower myself to the ground. 

I run like the wind to tell my mother what I had seen.

 Mom is an animal lover. She gives special attention to the chickens, pigs, horses and cows and their babies at feeding and bedding time.

She says, “be very careful not to disturb her, it’s spring you know, she is most likely a mother bird sitting on eggs.”

The spring is a wonderful time of the year. The grass is turning green and those tiny blue wild flowers that peppers the yard are starting to bloom, leaves are coming out on the trees, many different kinds of insects are out and about. Everything is coming alive again. 

Everyday I look in on the mother bird, as I am waiting impatiently for the little babies to arrive. 

After breakfast as I run to the tree that houses the mom to be, I slowly pull myself up.  The top of the tree seems easier and easier to get to.  I have the illusion that I must be growing since my first look into the hole of the tree. 

Finally!!! 

“Mom, mom”, I yell as I jump down from the tree running into the house.  “Mom, the babies are here, come see them, hurry mom”.  As I pull mom by her apron, she has me to quiet myself before she peeks into the hole. I can see that she is delighted to see the sight of those little babies.  As we move away from the tree we notice the mother bird flying back. 

I would  love to watch her feed her babies, but mom encourages me to leave them alone for today. 

Everyday the babies seem to change. I didn’t know that they would grow so fast.  Already I can hear them chirping  before I get to the tree. 

 The yard feels so lively with the baby birds. I always wonder, how many other baby birds just hatched this spring in our yard high up into the trees far from my eyesight. 

Everything is as though it could not be better in Mother Nature. This morning is especially nice, the sun is shining just right through the three trees now standing.

 As I hoist myself up to look in at the growth of the four babies I am greeted by a most undesirable sight.  I see a  black snake that is curled up in the hole of the tree.  In this moment, I fear for the babies. I panic and scream.

Running into the house I call for my father.  Daddy is always so good at these things.  He comes out and gets the snake out of the tree and lies it out in the grass away from the tree. 

Daddy tells me to check on the birds.  As I do, he takes the snake away to the barn. He says they aren’t harmful to us and they help out around the barn.  

As I imagine with all that is in me that I hear the birds singing and chirping waiting for their mother, I pull myself up to look into the hole.

 Any other sight other than what I see, would have thrown me out of the tree.  But what I see is four baby birds under an upside down nest a little shook up.  I don’t know how it happened as it did, but mom told me that with the image I have of the babies one day flying away that there is no other way anything else can happen.  She says, “Mary, you bring forth what you feel, imagine and believe in.”  She told me that when I speak of the birds, I speak of their future and it is always positive and the outcome that I see for them has no choice but to come about. 

Unbeknownst to me, a wonderful life learning experience was being created that spring and all stemming from what appeared to be a haphazard misfortune of a beautiful tree being struck by lightning to half its size and in a most humble state becoming the home of a deserving family of birds with four babies that grew up, left the nest, and could be seen and heard that summer from time to time adding peace and harmony to our wonderful life on the farm.

The End

I have been most fortunate to have many experiences since that day to bear witness to what mom was saying. 

A seed that is planted will last forever in the minds of those that hear.

~MaryEvelyn