Blue birds, Highlands and relaxation

A whole week to relax up in the mountains, here we go!

One of the many things I fell in love going to our cabin were the blue birds we spotted on our way up the mountains. I had never seen so many blue birds in my life! Ranchers encourage nesting by placing blue bird nest boxes along the road (sometime I think just for my benefit - I count them as we travel along the one and only road up the canyon).

Native Americans believe the Blue Bird to be a great spirit in the shape of an animal and associate it with the Sun rising.

It is said that Navajos sings the Blue Bird song to remind tribal members to wake up at dawn and rise to greet the Sun:

Bluebird said to me,

"Get up, my grandchild.

It is dawn," it said to me.

The Blue Bird, a most revered song, is still used in social settings and in events such as the nine day winter Nightway ceremony closing act, performed just before the sun rise on the final day.

There is such a wealth of history and folklore in this country to be discovered!

And since it has finally stopped raining we have a chance to load our car without dodging the downpour! Highlands, here we come!

And for an extra tidbit of excitement, we were notified a rather large cougar was seen in the vicinity of our property and warned to be on the lookout...

Guess who is taking her knitting and will stay quietly on the porch... Not taking any chance!