Fifteen birds and a blanket

It’s one of those Saturdays when my grandson isn’t suddenly dropped off.
The funny thing is: the unexpected has become so regular that I almost count on it. Saturdays are usually my “doing” days — tidying up, cooking, washing my car Marcel. But when he comes, I drop everything and my world revolves around him.

Today, he doesn’t come.

I miss him terribly — but secretly, I’m also a little pleased. A whole day ahead of me to finally get things done. And so I dive in. Full speed.

It’s only when I sit down for lunch that I notice the sun.
Late January, and yet it’s already standing a little higher in the sky. Just for a brief moment, it reaches over the trees and touches my terrace. I feel it immediately. It pulls at me.

I put a cushion on the garden bench. Take a warm blanket. I lie down for what I tell myself will be a short siesta. My face absorbs the sunlight, but it feels as if it travels through my entire body. As if everything inside me starts to gently vibrate.

How wonderful the winter sun is.
Soft energy. No burning, no sweating. Just warmth.

I close my eyes. Birds!
It sounds like a quiet conversation. Birds calling, answering, pausing. Some sharp and clear, others soft and low. Nothing rushed, nothing loud. Just sounds passing back and forth, filling the air.

For a moment it feels like spring already — are the birds confused too? I open my bird recognition app… and fall asleep.

The expected fifteen minutes turn into an hour and a half.

An hour and a half.

I wake up not groggy, but fresh as can be. The sun has already slipped back behind the trees. My bird app tells me there are fifteen different bird species in the forest. I take a screenshot, because I know no one will believe me.

Better yet — I barely believe it myself.
So many birds I didn’t even know.

I rush back to my to-do list, full of energy. It feels wonderful.
I love storms and bad weather — truly — but I’ll admit it with a full heart: this is pure bliss.

A small ray of sun in the heart of winter.
Energised.

Smile, a delight.
image is AI generated