An Epiphany

Last night, I had an epiphany – and it came from, of all places, the movie “Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium.”

Now I admit to having seen this movie before, and truly not thinking much of it. As a refresher, the movie is about one Mr. Magorium, the owner of a magical toy shop, and the way he goes about passing that toy shop on to his chosen heir, Molly Mahoney. At one point, Magorium gives Molly a “Congreve cube” – a wooden block – telling her as he does so: “Just think what it could do if someone believed in it.”

And therein lays the moral behind this story. You see, Molly doesn’t believe she has the ability to run the magical toy shop, and it’s not enough for her that other people continue to affirm their belief that she can. It isn’t until the accountant, Henry (nicknamed “Mutant”) points out that she needs to believe in herself that the toy shop comes gloriously alive for Molly.

And that was my epiphanic moment. You see, as a writer, it is important to have people who believe in my ability, just as Molly had people who believed in hers. But even more important, perhaps most important, for a writer, is the need to believe in yourself. Yes, it can be a struggle to maintain that belief. Boy, have I ever been there. But, when all is said and done, I’ve now come to understand that it is faith in myself and my abilities more than anything else that will keep me scribbling away for a long, long time.

Spring Serenades, Too

Waldo has been very quiet lately - but I can't blame him with the stress of impending fatherhood upon him. Waldo is an Eastern Phoebe bird who first built his nest on the joists supporting our deck/sunroom 2 years, now 3 springs, ago. When I first heard him squeaking away, I'd find myself looking out the kitchen window and saying: "Where is that little bird?" Thus, "Where's Waldo?" started, and Waldo got his name.

Anyway, Wanda (what other name could you give to Waldo's mate?) and Waldo have been sharing brooding duties for a couple of weeks now. Another week or so, and downy little heads should be peeking up over the rim of their nest. And then, the REAL stress will begin for Waldo and Wanda.

For more info on Waldo, just click on the title. It's a link to page telling you all about Easter Phoebes.

Morning Musings

Tap dancing to the sun. Those were the first words that sprung into my sleepy brain as I awoke this morning. Was my subconcious fantasizing about a common backyard avian which, instead of joining the dawn chorus, decided to perform the watusi instead? Or was it instead mulling over some pyro-resistant extraterrestrial, boogeying across the cosmos? I doubt that I'll ever know.

Spring Serenades

Was out cleaning last year's debris from the gardens today (yes, I am a bit behind in my yard work). As I labored, a little Eastern Bluebird was busy hunting down bugs and filling the world with his gentle song. Don't know if it means that good luck is arround the corner, but this little guy, and the glorious sunshine, sure did lift my spirits.

To learn more about Eastern Bluebirds, click on the title of this installment. You'll be directed to an information filled web-page.