A song is heard in the shadow of Mt. Pisgah...or was that a screech?

This morning, I awoke late to the sounds of an avian cacophony. As I listen, I often find myself mentally transcribing the bird calls onto a musical staff, with my best guess of pitch and approximated rhythm. Pretty cerebral stuff for a self-described nature-lover. I guess you can take the girl out the music conservatory but you can't take the conservatory out of the girl. This propensity towards listening too closely and analytically is the same reason I can't just play background music like "normal" people.

There are pros and cons to this compulsive musical behavior but one of the pros is that I can listen...really listen. Which brings us back to the birds, the ones who woke me up this morning. "What kind are they?," you may ask. Well, that's a damned good question. I don't have the foggiest idea. I mean, here I am, a wannabe country girl direct from the land of Starbucks and pho (amazing Vietnamese noodle soup quickly becoming as ubiquitous as lattes), sitting in a leaky, musty log cabin , within sight of Mt. Pisgah, listening to birds. What the hell do I know about birds? Oh, hey, I know that one - its a crow "caw, caw, caw." Yes, I know what eagles, geese, ducks & red-tailed hawks sound like. I know what robins & cardinals LOOK like. But, can I identify their calls while lying supine. Well, by now, you can guess my answer.

Those poor birds, their efforts are wasted on me. Not that I don't appreciate them for I surely do. I just can't identify them. In the slightest. I know that this area of North Carolina represents a joining of two zones, the northern temperate zone and the southern sub-tropical zone. As a result, there is a huge diversity of life here, not just in birds but in plants, salamanders, bacteria and other living stuff (not the least of which are the freaky, "half-back" people - just take a stroll in downtown Asheville). My ignorance makes me feel guilty, a feeling which defeats the simple joy I am aspiring to today. So, with some finger flicks of the keyboard, I hereby toss that feeling aside and promise to just enjoy my feathered friends who joyfully surround my home in the woods with song. Lucky, lucky me! I am smiling contentedly...at last.