Pink Cloud

I woke up this morning and out the Eastern window of the cabin, I saw a pink cloud. There is an old saying that goes, “red in the morning, sailors take warning.” It refers to years of experience that have shown that red clouds in the morning usually mean storms in the afternoon.

When I got outside, I noticed lots of Hawk calls from the North. Almost immediately, I saw Coopers Hawk fly off to the Northeast, but the calls continued, as did the alarm calls from other birds and Chipmunk. Then I saw what looked like a young Coopers Hawk hopping from tree to tree, heading East. I noticed another Hawk in its path. When the two finally got close together the Hawk calls stopped, as did the alarm calls from the other creatures. It was silent for a moment. Then the bird song began again. The two hawks perched quietly in the tree close together until I had to head in to do other things.

What did it all mean? Why did the bird song start when the two predators were close together? Why were Coopers Hawks perching in the tree together in the first place.? Then I remembered that if I wanted to know, all I had to do was wait and watch. Eventually, the reasons would manifest in what they did next. The reasons why would become what happened. That's how it works out there. Nothing is hidden, you simply have to watch what is happening, and see what happens next. The sky is red in the morning, there is a storm in the afternoon. It's simple.

This gets me thinking that I can lament the loss of millions of years of wisdom sacrificed through our separation from the Natural World, or I can remember that it is all still available; Sometimes in old rhymes, and sometimes fresh and new and right in front of me, somewhere between what happens and what happens next.