Newsletter April 2026 Volume 196
Hi there, hope you are well.
Spring has arrived!
I’ve been trying to get out as much as I can to see the plants growing because so much can happen in a few days when the weather is suddenly warm.
My plum tree can go from blooming to green leaves in several days and I want to make sure I catch it and spend some time standing under the umbrella of flowers.
Not only is it a time of year for the beautiful visuals of buds flowering, and leaves unfurling – as well as the marvelous fragrances that come when the petals open – it is an abundant time for healing sound.
Bird song increases exponentially this time of year and the frogs down in the marsh are singing their little hearts out.
April
by Mary Oliver
I wanted to speak at length about
the happiness of my body and the
delight of my mind for it was
April, a night, a
full moon and –
but something in myself or maybe
from somewhere other said: not too
many words, please, in the
muddy shallows the
Frogs are singing.
Hearing bird song is calming for humans. We have to remember that we evolved for hundreds of thousands of years as prey and that bird song had great meaning. Birds warn one another about predators and intruders and also sing when they are feeling safe, so bird song makes us feel safe and decreases our stress response.
And we all need that right now as much as we can get it!
I’m not saying you have to wake up and hear the dawn chorus every morning, although it is pretty impressive, but just letting yourself stop and listen to birdsong engages you in the world around you. You can notice who is back from the Caribbean,from Mexico, from the southern states which also connects you to the bigger world and reminds us that boundaries and borders are human made.
I like to get outside at dusk for the frogs and at dawn for the birds and just let the sound overtake and surround me.
A bath of sound.
It feels enlivening, beautiful and connecting, especially if you imagine all the little creatures making the chorus of sounds.
Listen to the Dawn chorus by clicking on the link abover! There is a brown bat flying by and a Barred owl hooting!
“Scientists at the University of Surrey have been studying the “restorative benefits of birdsong”, testing whether it really does improve our mood. They discovered that, of all the natural sounds, bird songs and calls were those most often cited as helping people recover from stress, and allowing them to restore and refocus their attention.
In other words, birdsong is good for you” The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/04/birdsong-antidote-to-stressful-lives-dawn-chorus-day
Of course they’re calling to and communicating with each other, but we are part of that earth community. We are part of the world and sometimes doing whatever we can to remind ourselves of that – especially when the human world seems insane – is very therapeutic and grounding.
That is also a main goal of my online eight week class Flourish with the Moon. Just the act of connecting to the moon and the cycles makes you feel part of something bigger and more solid than the crazy comings and goings of politics, work life and family life. It reminds you and grounds you that you are part of something bigger.
I feel especially aware of the precious sweetness of hearing frogs, and the birds when I know how delicate your ecosystems are and how vulnerable they are as we move through each season where the environment becomes more and more treacherous for our beautiful sensitive singing creatures.
It feels like a combination of a tragedy and a blessing to be able to be immersed in their sound and to be able to enjoy the vibrant abundance of life on this earth when we know how vulnerable they are and we know that the possibility of them continuing is not guaranteed.
Yes, it makes it more painful to acknowledge its delicacy, but I feel like, as people alive in this time, the least we can do is notice and acknowledge the beauty around us that we are so lucky and blessed to experience.
It feels like a responsibility and a privilege to deeply appreciate the life flourishing around us, other creatures living their lives, even when there are so many challenges and so much is at stake.
So get out there and do whatever you are doing to make the world a better place and remember to stop and hear the birds and frogs singing their songs around you.
Love strength, flowers, bird song and frogs calls to you.
xoxo
Katherine
Come join us at the:
Full Moon Circle for the Full Flower Moon at Sanctuary on
Friday May 1st 7-8:30p
These are the only upcoming Full Moon Circles for the rest of 2026! (Sanctuary has us take off June and July and then the full moon falls very close to Thanksgiving and winter holidays so we won’t be meeting those nights either.)
- 5/1
- 6/26
- 9/25
- 10/23
So, if you want to join us put the dates on your calendar and come!
I’m not certain I will be continuing the Full Moon Circles in the coming year so make sure to join us if is something you are wanting to do!
xoxox
