Celebration of the world !!!

It was around 7:15 on Saturday morning. No need for me to be awake, but something stirred me from my dreams. In hazy waking, I tried to make sense of the sound - from every direction squeaks, squawks, rusty sounds - almost the sound that thousands of rusty toy soldiers would make walking down the streets.... Was that a calliope in the background?

I lay there and listen as my brain tried to make sense of this. Then I got up and went to the balcony to listen. I finally found it - the large oak tree just outside the window had changed from a late summer green to green and black.

Thousands of celebrating, nervous, planning, calling European Starlings, announcing the world is indeed alive, and the seasons were changing!!!

I listened for perhaps 30 seconds, which is more than any single human deserves, and sure enough, somewhere in this racous communication came agreement - in a whirr of wings the flock moved on, and, once again, all was silent.