Thursday, February 10, 2011

Singing

The wind is blowing hard. 
But from the trees, the sweetest song is coming forth.

A tree sparrow? A song sparrow?
 
 Or not a sparrow at all?

Elsa's favorite hymn has always been 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'. When I was a child, she would play a live version recorded by Mahalia Jackson. The recording was from an outdoor concert that was held on a dark, rainy day.  In the pauses of the songs, you could hear the rain splatting all around Mahalia. But still, she sang on. 

And in this wind? 
The branches bob and twist
And still, the birds sing on.

10 comments:

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

So, of course, I am headed to YouTube and google to see if I can find Mahalia Jackson.

I don't very often get to enjoy songbirds, here, in dirtville, but when one passes through I am a captive audience!

Cyndi and Stumpy said...

DUH! No wonder the name rang a bell!

RoeH said...

I love that song! And all the little sparrows.

Banjo52 said...

I remember loving Mahalia when I was a kid, but I don't recall which songs.

One peril of the half-serious birder: too often I find myself thinking, "Oh, just a sparrow. Oh, just a chickadee." If I catch myself doing that, I take a two-by-four to my forehead.

So I've learned to be quite sneaky.

Brenda's Arizona said...

Banjomyn, I 'snuck' a look into my Sibley's Guide. Now I think it is a house finch.
Hand me that 2x4, ok?

Barb said...

Nice story and great sparrow shots!

MadSnapper said...

i love that old song and am headed to Youtube to listen to it. i am smiling really big over the toby photo on the side bar. adorable. and so are your sweet little song birds.

Anonymous said...

And hang on. How do they do that? And how do they let you get so up close and personal?

Unknown said...

Beautiful little birds, and good detail, I to like the song "His eye is on the Sparrow"

Thanks for sharing.

Pat MacKenzie said...

I love your little birds. I managed to get a picture of a hummingbird today but really need to get a telescopic lens for my camera. Your pictures are beautiful!