My roommate hung wind chimes this last weekend, just in time for some of the windier storms we’ve had this week. I keep my window in my upstairs bedroom/office cracked a bit so that I can hear their gentle sound, interspersed with the songs of the cardinals, finches, and occasional red-winged blackbird. The geese have been migrating north, and it’s a real treat to watch a few flying past my window, honking, looking for a place to set down for the evening.
New leaves are peeking out of the furry buds of my favorite bird and squirrel tree, a pussy willow that’s across the street and in good view of my window.
Do you know the legend of the pussy willow tree? There are variations but the central theme is that a group of kittens were tossed into or fell into a river and started drowning. The mother cat ran to the riverbank and began to cry for her lost babies. The willows on the shores of the river felt pity for her, so they dropped their branches low enough to touch the water and scooped the tiny little kittens to safety.
According to legend, the spirits of the kittens so saved became transformed as tiny, furry buds, appearing on the willow tree every spring — a gift to the willows for their kindness.
