This morning dawned cold and gray in mid Missouri, not a hint of spring in the air. Yet, as I walked to work, I was serenaded by a host of resident and wintering birds. Northern cardinals dominated the show, with a background chorus from robins, white-throated sparrows and Carolina wrens. Even the soft, sad tune of the mourning dove, so remniscent of balmy, April mornings, drifted through the neighborhood.
Of course, these birds are responding to the lengthening daylight and will soon initiate their breeding cycle, regardless of the conditions. Unlike humans, they pay little attention to the fickle nature of our Midwestern weather and are more confident than we are that the verdant spring will soon arrive. They are subject to neither impatience nor skepticism; we would do well to adopt their attitude.
