While watching this video, be sure to have your sound on. The song in the background is a perfect companion piece to the video.

I still remember my brother, way back in the 1950s, finding an egg fallen from a nest and incubating it in a shoebox under a warm lamp. To our amazement, the egg hatched one day to reveal a tiny baby bluejay! My brother, then a boy of 8, fed the tiny bird through an eyedropper and raised it in our living room. He helped it learn to fly, just like in the video here, by raising and lowering his arm while the little bird practiced flapping his wings. Eventually the big day arrived and the bird was released outdoors. For months, the bird returned to the house, pecking on my sister’s bedroom window until it was let in and fed a treat of bread dipped in milk. Then it would fly off again.

These connections with nature are more than just momentary wonders. They draw us in to deeper thoughts about our own place and purpose within the web of life. The miracle of nature is embodied in every creature large and small, and our natural fascination feeds our connection to something larger than ourselves.