What wind was made for

I'm not sure who was more frightened this morning, the osprey or me.

He was not in his normal perch high in the tree in front of the church.

And he was only the second bird I had seen all morning.

I wasn't even looking and so missed my chance as he shrieked, and took off, a piece of fish hanging from his mouth as he launched himself from the Memorial Garden.

By the time I made it around the Memorial Garden and headed back to church, the wind was so strong, it was beginning to howl, to make that unmistakable whistling noise that, for so many in Florida, triggers memories of hurricanes past.

It was nearly an impossible picture-taking day.

But I stopped at these trees.  I had been watching these seedlings grow for days now.  They're so thick and so soft, they make the trees look like they're covered in fur.

And I thought, as I stared at them, ah, this is what wind was made for.

On a day that left me frigid and irritable, nature was at work, sending a fierce wind just when the seeds were ready to fly.