What looks to be a common martin house in our back yard is actually more of a love shack, where sparrows court, mate, build nests and raise their little ones til they fly the coop. I could hang a "No Vacancies" sign; families have taken up residence in every cubbyhole. From the kitchen sink I watch them flirt, exchange vows (even if they are just for the season), then mating commences. God was very efficient in his design, not much time is wasted! The strings and strands of straw hanging from the ledges are signs of success. Soon busy feathered parents will fly to and from our feeder, only a few feet away, as they try to keep little beaks full. There's no rest for weary sparrows this time of year.

Great examples of a solid work ethic surround me. The squirrels, turkeys, and even momma does are all busy getting ready to raise their young. On a human level, lawn treatment trucks are starting to run up and down our streets. Neighbors are venturing out more, raking up leaves left over from last fall, shaking rugs, sprucing up their nests too.

The past few months I've spent concentrating on 'making progress every day'. The job we decided to chew on was so daunting we needed to see encouragement often, just to keep us going. Now it's time to be done with it! So we've taken on a new motto - "Get 'Er Done!" No more babying egos, or pampering tired arms and feet. It's time to finish up this inside work and get outdoors where Spring is beginning to show her face more and more by the day.

We're going to finish off March with a flurry of featherin' the nest: paint the storage room floor, the storage room walls, put the finishing touches on my sewing/craft room (so I can actually sew!), paint the stairs to the basement, then since the week doesn't hold quite enough we'll also take a meal to someone at church, get haircuts, go to a concert, celebrate our anniversary, and finish off the week with Don's knee surgery. By the time the door is closed on cold, blustery, grey March, we'll be saying 'Good Riddance!'

April - I've christened it 'white month'. Anything white in this house will get a fresh new coat of paint - baseboards and doors mostly. Then after a week of fun in the Mexican sun we'll come home to glorious late Spring/early Summer. It'll be pure pleasure to wash windows, paint the outside of the house, buy a new rug for the front porch, plant some pansies, wash down the deck furniture and fire up the grill.

If God designed birds, and squirrels, and deer, and all the other creatures of nature to be so busy this time of year, surely he didn't intend for us to be inside, just sitting on the sofa. No strings and strands of straw, but there's a nest with my name on it, just waiting for some featherin', and I plan to Get 'Er Done. Photos of gloriously finished projects to follow soon!

Labels: Busy Buzz