Yellowlegs! Just as I crossed the state line from Kansas into Nebraska on US 75, I spotted a large gray and white bird with yellow legs standing on a fence post. It seemed shaped like a shorebird. What fun, but what?!
Not again! My copy of John Janovy's A Keith County Journal is nowhere to be found. I must have given it away to someone I like, AGAIN. Since Dr. Janovy's book was published in 1978, I bet I've owned six copies. The only books I've read more times are Little Women, and Ron Hansen's Desperadoes.
A Keith County Journal made me the recycler I am today, and cemented my bird-watching relationship with my mother. It gave me permission to seek the divine through observation of the natural world each and every day. It made me want to pop the Doors' LA Woman in the car tape player.
I can't play a biologist, even on t.v. I can't pretend to be religious, but I savor the experiences that fill me with wonder. I'll never forget nor correctly remember Janovy's chat with God who has appeared in the form of a beautiful blonde driving a Mustang convertible. "I think I'll follow my yellowlegs this year," God tells Janovy.
In that brief exchange the cosmic cycles of migrations, seasons, and tire rotations are set forth in humbling priorities for humankind to ponder. To ponder, and to study the field guide to birds as a daily devotion. To consult the owners manual kept in the glove box as an act of penance. To keep watching for the surprise appearance on a fence post.
© 2007 Nancy L. Ruder
Not again! My copy of John Janovy's A Keith County Journal is nowhere to be found. I must have given it away to someone I like, AGAIN. Since Dr. Janovy's book was published in 1978, I bet I've owned six copies. The only books I've read more times are Little Women, and Ron Hansen's Desperadoes.
A Keith County Journal made me the recycler I am today, and cemented my bird-watching relationship with my mother. It gave me permission to seek the divine through observation of the natural world each and every day. It made me want to pop the Doors' LA Woman in the car tape player.
I can't play a biologist, even on t.v. I can't pretend to be religious, but I savor the experiences that fill me with wonder. I'll never forget nor correctly remember Janovy's chat with God who has appeared in the form of a beautiful blonde driving a Mustang convertible. "I think I'll follow my yellowlegs this year," God tells Janovy.
In that brief exchange the cosmic cycles of migrations, seasons, and tire rotations are set forth in humbling priorities for humankind to ponder. To ponder, and to study the field guide to birds as a daily devotion. To consult the owners manual kept in the glove box as an act of penance. To keep watching for the surprise appearance on a fence post.
© 2007 Nancy L. Ruder
1 comment:
I have A Keith County Journal, and I've read much of it, but I didn't finish the book due to interruptions. I should pick it up again.
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