A songbird journal

My favorite bird is the shy, ordinary (to some) brown thrush. I always look forward to this time of year because I know these songbirds will soon be flying in from South America to build summer nests, mate and raise their young.

This incredible bird spends the summer in our woods and backyards. They fly in and immediately begin serenading us from a hidden perch high in the trees. I think they are actually serenading a thrush of the opposite sex, but the up side is we get to listen in on the serenade as they do what nature intended.

They are hard to locate, usually heard but not seen. But sometimes at dusk you can look up in the trees and see the silhouette of the little brown thrush as his haunting refrain of "e-oh-lay" echoes either in the dusk of morning or the time before dark. Sometimes you can hear the warning tones that say, "You're getting too close." Otherwise you don't often see this little guy as he goes through his summer routine. Always busy, always singing.

What in the world does the pretty Vera Bradley journal have to do with my summer friend? The bird on the front of the journal looks just like a brown thrush, mouth open, singing his summer melody. I received this as a gift from my friend and co-worker, Angela and I think it is just the thing to use for my summer garden journal. The pattern is called "Sittin' in a Tree." The perfect description for my little friend and the perfect gift for me.

The only way it could have been a little better would be if the bird on the journal were brown with a white breast and brown spots. Sometimes you have to sacrifice reality for style. To me this is a picture of my dear summer friend. I will still have the journal to remind me of my little brown shy songbird after he flies away to spend winter in a warmer climate.