Weekend exhale slowdown….

In America, an industrial action in which employees still perform their duties and responsibilities but seriously reduce productivity often as prelude to a strike, is called a slowdown. The deliberate performance disruption is also called a go-slow in other parts of the world.

It wouldn’t be hard for me to do nothing at all for a day or two. This past week whooshed by me at warp speed and I think I may have experienced  time travel. I may not be able to prove it, but I can clearly remember being in two places at once–it’s the third demand that I haven’t quite mastered.

I’m reclaiming my calm…and I’m here to formally state my slowdown has begun.

My work stoppage includes plenty of outdoor time. I’m hoping to possibly spy one or more of the beautiful small migratory birds passing through. We know our locals very well, but this time of year we welcome orioles and other colorful visitors. We’ve caught a few flashes of crimson or bright orange tentatively hanging around the bird feeder. So far, though, they’ve proven to be camera-shy.

I never showed you the photos from the Heron and Cormorant Rookery in Morro Bay, did I? Since I’m thinking about spring birds and migratory patterns…

The photos aren’t very pretty, but there was a lot of action in those dead trees. Portions of Morro Bay are designated as a state and national bird sanctuary.

Great Blue Herons and Great and Snowy Egrets, as well as other magnificent birds roost all year at this coastal rookery. During our March visit Cormorants were nesting by the thousands. The Eucalyptus trees, virtually dead from years of suffocating guano, were teeming with activity as mothers cared for their young.

The smell was a little strong, but I could have watched for hours.

And so maybe that’s what I’ll do today at home. I could easily sit and “watch” for hours.

We have had such high summer temperatures it’s sometimes hard to believe it’s only spring, but the birds have a different internal clock–they don’t seem to be affected by the weather. They have things to do!

This Black Phoebe couple has been scouting for nesting privacy up under the eaves of our house. He sits on the fence as look-out, and she hovers around the eaves. So far I can’t determine that they’ve officially moved in.

But I can hear little “cheeps and peeps” coming from another section of the attic eaves. There are multiple nests in one area of the roofline, and I like to think it’s the same bird family returning year after year. They’ve chosen us!

These baby doves aren’t as gloriously plumaged as Snowy Egrets or even the rookery Cormorants, but they are sweet and fascinating in their own way. They stayed very close together, exhibiting a bonding I don’t always see in backyard birding.

My slowdown won’t be idle. Just quiet. And s-l-o-w.

This is my chance to just BE. Poet Mary Oliver says it best, “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

I can get onboard with that thought.

If you’ve been going at warp speed, too, it’s time for our weekend exhale.  Please join me, won’t you? All together now…”Ahhhhh.”