Always try to see through eyes wide open.

Bird Droppings September 24, 2026
Always try to see through eyes wide open.

“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.” Dolly Parton

It has been nearly twenty years since we last moved, and it seems we might stay here a while. I recall back when we made several quick moves, and one time, as I removed the last bits and pieces from our then house and bagged up the trash, putting it on the pile, sort of like saying goodbye. As I drove over to our new house, I wondered where and when and why. I remember several emails about our move; they were sorry we had to move, or sorry because moving is so hard.

Moving is hard, always hard, I am finding as I get older. We raised our three kids in a house for nearly 23 years that I built in the middle of several hundred acres. Since then, we have moved four times, and each move brought a hard-to-explain temporary feeling; then we moved here, and something felt a bit different as I planted my herb garden: a sense of permanency. I was thinking of expanding my garden this spring, maybe planting tomatoes, squash, and a few beans; I have some Anaiza bean seeds from a heritage seed collection. Maybe I will plant that garden this spring after all. Tomatoes, squash, beans, herbs, and whatever else catches my eye. I hope my grandchildren walk through it with me. And if one of them sees a color in a flower that I don’t see, I hope I have enough sense not to tell them what color the flower is supposed to be. It’s the first time in years I’ve even considered that. I am still stiff in my old age from the little yard work I currently do, but the thought of a garden somehow made the day brighter and took my mind off more pressing issues.

“Uncertainty and mystery are energies of life. Don’t let them scare you unduly, for they keep boredom at bay and spark creativity.” R. I. Fitzhenry

“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.” Hal Borland

So often during the day I check the weather, pull up the internet, and look at radar pictures from the southeast to see what the projections are. Will it be rain or cold, or a combination of both? I check tomorrow’s weather predictions so I can plan my gardening. Yesterday on Channel 2, a weather person commented that a cold front was pushing from the Midwest and that this mass of Arctic air high pressure was the highest at 30.99 inches he had ever seen. This week, I checked my wife’s location at Pawleys Island, where she is with her high school friends hoping for sunny, warm days.

As I came home yesterday, a small bird flew into the open screen door of the back porch and, puzzled by the space it was confined to, flitted about, clinging to a wire, back to a closed-door thud, back to the wire. I walked carefully to where the bird kept going and opened the door. I talked to the little bird for several minutes, calmly reassuring it several times that all was fine, as it kept looking out, reminding me of my past students eyeing the door for escape and freedom. The bird flew to the windowsill and out the door. I apologized to the bird for leaving the door open and said, “Come back any time.” I will need birdseed tomorrow to refill feeders, just in case my new friend understands English.

But as I wonder, we have forgotten an aspect of our world that we once knew. In a disaster in Asia several years ago, the stories tell of a tribe of fishermen who listened to their elders and safely moved to the mountains. The elders had read the sea and knew what was coming. Today we count on radar and air pressure, but in days gone by a small bird’s antics may have been enough. Does a squirrel gathering more food mean a hard winter? Why in Asia did so many animals move away from the impending disaster?

“Man shapes himself through decisions that shape his environment.” Rene Dubes

Within certain parameters, we alter and manipulate what is around us, yet we also find ourselves at the mercy of our environment. Snowstorms paralyze cities, and rainfall devastates other areas. Yet we think we control our environment. I keep thinking back to the first quote today and the simplicity of Dolly Parton’s words. It has been several years since Matthew, my youngest son, and I were driving back to college when the sky lit up after the rain; the entire landscape was gold from the brilliant rainbow, and soon a second joined it. The road and countryside were bathed in light; literally, I understood the search for gold at the ends of rainbows. It was so brilliant. But we drove through rain to get there.

I have wandered through so much today; it is how we look at what we see that matters, and what we see. We have lost so much in our ability to see and to understand. After listening to James Taylor Sunday night, I thought back to many years ago; my wife and I attended several concerts by Harry Chapin, a very active and avid environmentalist, outspoken in that regard. But he was an extraordinary storyteller and songwriter. A song came to mind today as I wandered through my thoughts and finished my errands this morning. It is a song of rainbows, of seeing the world with different eyes, and of understanding. The song is entitled “Flowers Are Red”; Harry Chapin wrote the words and music. Please, if you get a chance, pull up the YouTube version and listen to this song. It is a powerful song in its simplicity.

Flowers are red
By Harry Chapin

The little boy went to his first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. What you doin’ young man
I’m paintin’ flowers he said
She said… It’s not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There’s a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You’ve got to show concern for everyone else
For you’re not the only one
And she said…
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There’s no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen
But the little boy said…
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one
Well the teacher said.. You’re sassy
There’s ways that things should be
And you’ll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me…..
And she said…
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There’s no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen
But the little boy said…
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one
The teacher put him in a corner
She said.. It’s for your own good..
And you won’t come out ’til you get it right
And are responding like you should
Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There’s no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have bee
Time went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found
The teacher there was smilin’
She said…Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let’s use every one
But that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There’s no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen.

What a powerful voice we have as teachers. Perhaps somewhere along the way, education began teaching children to trust what could be measured and reported while paying less attention to knowledge passed through generations, watching animals, reading weather, knowing seasons, and listening to elders, but to listen to the news and weather stations because science knows all. Children stopped watching squirrels gather nuts, and children altered our environment with new ideas, changing all the flowers to red and the leaves to green. The sad part is that some will say that is what we are to do as teachers. That is what the Common Core or QCC’s or whatever curriculum we are doing is about: uniformity. So, I write each morning for the teachers who like rain because rainbows follow, who watch leaves changing colors, and who see flowers in many colors and can share that enthusiasm with students, inspire them, and change our world. Please keep all in harm’s way on your mind and in your heart and always give thanks. Namaste.

My family and friends, I do not say this lightly,
Mitakuye Oyasin
(We are all related)
docbird