This morning, finishing up a cup of coffee before heading out to my yoga class, I looked out the sliding glass door into the back yard and discovered the quail were back. There they were ~ eight fat, beautiful, waddling quail, perched on the back fence, and dropping down to the ground one by one to nibble bird seed.

For a few minutes they almost seemed to be feeding in pairs, a boy quail and a girl quail … at one point two couples marching along, together … boy, girl & another boy, girl … all in a row like little children, heading back to a school bus after a trip to a local park or even something exciting like a fire station. What mom who’s ever herded school children on a field trip wouldn’t love this scene?

As I watched the quail, mesmerized, I could feel tension in my body ease and knew blood pressure was also being lowered ~ those things that our doctors tell us are good for our health. It occurred to me that watching quail might be as good for me today as going to the yoga class.

But when the birds flitted away to my neighbor’s yard, it was as if they could sense my thoughts, and knew I really needed to go to yoga, so they left. After a big sigh I picked up my water bottle and headed out the door, and went through the paces in the yoga class. Now that I’m back home, finished with Downward Dog and other poses, I’m happy that I went, and even saw more quail on the hill by our house when I returned. It makes me smile even now as I remember the delight I felt at discovering my little friends visiting our back yard this morning.

Somehow it’s a fitting end to a beautiful Easter here in Spokane, with sunshine and temps that finally reached into the 60’s. I wore sandals to a friend’s birthday party, pulled out summer clothes, and put ‘finding the front porch rope swing’ on my list of things to do today.

It’s definitely spring here now, especially in my back yard. It’s threatening to rain this afternoon, and even that will be welcomed, watering all those new plants that have poked their heads through the soil. We have a friend’s bleeding hearts looking full and vibrant in a back flower bed, new buds on the lilacs, and wild geraniums springing back to life. All of our native grasses made it through the winter and five clematis vines are once again filled with new growth and the promise of flowers to come. A late sprig of ivy planted on the side of the house last summer is even beginning to grow up a trellis. The older I get, the more I appreciate the seasons of life.