That bird

When I was leading nature tours about 12-14 years ago, I discovered this bird. This bird, the White Rumped Shama, lives in low forest areas, the foothills, so we would see it a lot when leading hikes into the foothills. This is the bird that the Chinese would put in cages and have singing contests with. This bird is an amazing singer. As you walk through the forest you will hear, what seems to be, 3 or 4 different birds. They are all this bird. It can sing many different songs and it's just amazing to listen to. Well, I fell in love with this bird. I got so I would look for this bird every hike and 9 times out of 10 I found one. This bird became a symbol to me. I love this bird.

When we bought this house, I heard one of these birds outside on one of our visits here. On our first morning here I woke to find one sitting on the wire out my kitchen window. I took this as a sign things were right and as they should be. Over time I stopped looking for them but every once in a while, usually when things were going bad, I would notice one. I always took it as a sign things were going to get better. And they did.

Well, things have been tough around here lately. There is all kinds of things going on, money problems, neighbor problems, etc. But on Thursday when I was walking Bella, for the first time in a long time I saw one. It was sitting on a wire singing away and I know it was an omen that things are going to be okay. Because they are. So, call me crazy, but that bird always symbolizes hope to me.

Now, what will the new year bring? Who knows. Hopefully it will bring peace and tranquility. With any luck it will bring prosperity and stability. Hopefully Charlie and I will get decent raises this year. I'm hoping that my niece will find Licensed Nurse Jobs in her area. She graduates in a couple of weeks. According to the Mayans it may well bring the end of the world. I don't think so. It's possible something large and possibly catastrophic may occur but I doubt it will be the end of the world. Or even civilization. I'm holding out hope that it will be a good year and even be kind of boring. I can live with boring if it means things are going smoothly.