It started when we noticed a higher than normal population of orange-breasted robins occupying the trees in our neighbourhood. We started counting them, I think the record was 27 in a single tree. I’d never seen this many robins before! They flitted to and fro as if looking for something, making an awesome raucous all the while.

Then there were the chickadees, the woodpecker, and the magpie. Actually, there was a casualty among the robin ranks at the claws of a magpie. Blood was shed. This heightened the drama.

We hate magpies.

Then we spotted a squirrel. This little critter hopped across the entire width of our yard, leaping from tree to tree, as if jumping stones over molten lava. I couldn’t help laughing at him.

Today I realized that this little postage stamp of land we call home has been dropped smack dab into the middle of a great flowing river of life. Critters and birds, bugs and leaves flow through it with the wind. It’s spectacular.

Even as we go about our lives, preoccupied with our own concerns and responsibilities, eyes glued to our screens and crying children, beauty, life and wonder are right under our very noses.

Regardless of where you call home, this same life is flowing through and around you, surprising you in the places you least expect it.

This Easter, may you see the life and beauty that’s teeming in your own backyard, and may you be filled with wonder.