backyard birdwatching
The April Love List: I watched, read, saw, and experienced this month
It’s the last day of April, and here’s the list of things I loved this month. (This post is long, so if you’re reading in your email, you’ll have to click through to the website to read the whole thing.)
As you probably know, I am dedicated to forming a friendship with a crow this year. On April 1st, Tracy and I set up our crow feeding station. Right away, we attracted bluejays. The crows watched for a while and started coming to the feeder about three weeks later.
One night, we were sitting out to watch for crows when a great horned owl visited us. We stood in awe; the owl turned to gaze at us, the tufts of horn feathers moving in the breeze. We started to notice the owl almost every night in the same tree. The crows show up and call a warning about it and bang their beaks on the tree limbs. We’re wondering now if the owl is nested in that tree.
We’ve had a red-bellied woodpecker at the peanut tray, and we are a popular dining spot for goldfinches.
Backyard birding is going really well.
We planted an Indigo bush, which was gifted to us.
I made a cardboard crescent moon.
We went to a full moon sound bath.
We took pictures of Eli and their friends before Prom.
We celebrated Easter with both sides of our family.
We went to a birding festival.
We did these things, the things of living a life, amid the death and suffering of this moment, not ignoring it, but existing alongside it. I’m keeping a list of things I can do instead of worrying about the things I cannot do:
Donate to a food pantry
Support independent journalism
Support the Public Library
Use people’s correct names and pronouns
Attend community meetings
Find beauty and joy every day
Support small local businesses
Menopause, Misinformation, and the Oprah Effect
I listened to Moon Zappa’s book Earth to Moon. I loved it SO MUCH. I adore her.
I’m also enjoying a daily golden milk.
I watched Celeste Mott tell her story about her experience with The Looking Glass on TikTok and was riveted by this podcast episode.
Incense Perfumes on the Eve of Conclave
When I smell incense I wonder what the ancients thought when they burned it, thousands of years ago. Why did it smell so precious to them in the past? Why does it smell so special to us now? - Miccaeli
If you are open to hearing a sermon, please listen to this one.
…and love isn’t transactional. It’s not conditional. You either love or you don’t, and perfect love casts out fear. - The Right Reverand Mariann Edgar Budde
Stay Human: 80 Tiny Moves for Everyday Resistance in the Authoritarian Harm Complex
How to Care About the World Without Drowning in Despair
Self-awareness is a political act
I hope you are finding ways to care for yourself as you care for those you love and the world.
I love you. You’re beautiful. Thank you for reading.
I’m Lori-Lyn - a writer and artist who believes in living creatively, dreaming intuitively, and rooting into the cosmic dance of energy, nature, and story. I write Creative Living Diaries and my in-progress memoir, Cosmic Heart.
Paid subscribers are also invited to join me in the Cosmic Cafe. ✨
(The most recent Cosmic Cafe didn’t post correctly to Substack, but you can watch it here, if you’re interested.)
In case you missed them, this month’s posts:
