Cedar Waxwing

This week a large flock of cedar waxwing have arrived and are spending their days in a tree in the corner of our front yard enjoying the frozen berries they're finding there. They are quite beautiful. Our novice told me yesterday that she can't remember ever hearing so many birds in the winter--and she's just from nearby Buffalo. Maybe that's an abbreviated way to describe the novitiate year: a time of listening, seeing and being in a way that everyday routines and commitments don't allow.