I often sat on the front porch over the summer months. On quiet mornings, I would catch up with my husband over a cup of coffee. Late afternoons, I sometimes made the time to read in the wrought iron chairs underneath the shade of the towering pin oak.
Several times, a lone bird landed just above me or flew close overhead to grab my attention from printed words on the page. The hawk that nests in the towering pine across the street came to perch and hunt, keeping the burgeoning chipmunk and vole population on high alert. A pileated woodpecker of startling color and size fed off the dead branches above, long claws digging into the bark and longer beak pecking loudly.
Once a blue heron flew above with long legs outstretched behind, and I felt blessed as if brushed by the gods. I even saw a bald eagle circling above, enjoying the view from the heights of the gorges that tower over the glacial lake below where the water in the stream next to the house eventually arrives.
In the safety and leisure of the summer months, each bird traveled alone to feed or hunt or monitor territory likely with young nearby loud with demands. Now, the birds are gathering together to form flocks which swoop together on a canvas of blue sky, forming three-dimensional shapes to delight the imagination. They land in trees nearby with a ruckus, clearing berries from the bushes before moving on.
Suddenly, the need has become urgent as the line at the bird feeder attests. The cooling temperatures and dwindling light signal the need for all of us to gather like the birds. The leaves gently fall or shower down in shades of red and yellow and land in piles blown to the end of the drive or into the corners of the stone walls. The clouds are gathering and lingering to soak the ground all day long rather than race through with strong winds as the passing storms of summer are apt to do.
I find the same is true for me. All my efforts and endeavors these days revolve around gathering, preparing for the well-being of my family and the camaraderie of community when days are sure to be laden with harsher tones and a vulnerability not so easily denied as other times of the year. I can and freeze and store provisions. I pack up cooler clothes and linens and replace the drawers, closets, and shelves with warmer gear of all sorts required by a species whose "fur" evolution had never intended for temperatures below zero. I plan and make gifts for upcoming holiday celebrations and seek out entertainment in the form of books or movies or games to pass the time when nature forces us to slow down indoors.
No longer satisfied to pass an afternoon alone on the porch, flying solo with a bird above, I am looking forward to something I value among the most precious gifts of this abundant and undeserved life I lead: the gathering of community. Just as the birds flock together underneath the branches of the sugar maples, I love to bring together people, who may be family, the closest of friends, or a brand new acquaintance, under our roof to support in the midst of challenges, mark the passing of time and accomplishments, and enjoy the simplest of all human interactions in a story or experience, joke or debate, touch or look.to connect us in ways not possible otherwise.
So, I have come to the foundation of what a refurbished life must continue to uphold and expand for me, the gathering of community for a greater good. I had this realization on the porch over the summer by myself and know that in order to expand upon its inspiration and allow it to take flight with the flock, I will need to mull it over and discuss it deeply with my tribe in the coming months as we hunker down together in anticipation of the first signs of another spring and robin's return.
