We currently have Carolina Wrens, Blue Birds, and Cardinals nesting in our front yard, all within about 40 feet from each other and our front door. This is the first time I have ever seen or found a Cardinal nest. Although I am a bit rusty now, looking back, I am grateful that several people over the years taught me plant and animal identification. By the time I left college (the first time), I was actually pretty good at it. In fact, when I was in SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) School in the Army, one of my best friends referred to me as ‘a bit of an odd duck‘ because during the evasion phase, I was able to identify most of the plants and birds we ran across. As the years have passed, like any skill not used, these abilities have atrophied, and I have not taken the time to pass along the knowledge I have left to the kids. There is still time, I guess, but as currently construed, our daily lives are not built for the stillness required for bird watching. However, the feeders are full, and there will be moments, in the meantime, two big games tonight for Numbers 2 and 3. Wish them luck.
As a reminder, Lunch Box Quotes are notes I include in the kids’ lunches every day. Number 1 gets a text, and 2-4 get handwritten napkins.
Visual credits to, Featured Image: @ACC_National
Quotes: @arealmofwonder @HermannHessed @Gentleman_Ways @KnowledgeArchiv
Quotes:
1. “This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, sunset, dawn & gloaming, on sea & continents & islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” – John Muir
2. “We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.” – C.S. Lewis
3. “The distance between dreams and reality is called discipline.” – Paulo Coelho
4. “If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren’t willing to do.” – Steve Prefontaine
Bonus Quote: “The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.” – G.K. Chesterton
Sources:
“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, sunset, dawn & gloaming, on sea & continents & islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.”
~ John Muir pic.twitter.com/g0XjQlXEel— Cian McCarthy (@arealmofwonder) April 23, 2026
“The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.”
— G.K. Chesterton pic.twitter.com/j9s5hJ9Thr
— The Knowledge Archivist (@KnowledgeArchiv) April 23, 2026
“The distance between dreams and reality is called discipline.”
— Paulo Coelho pic.twitter.com/qPHuwfNsdF
— Reads with Ravi (@readswithravi) April 3, 2026
“If you want to be the best, you have to do things that other people aren’t willing to do.”
– Steve Prefontaine pic.twitter.com/5LVg2wW6xc
— The Ways of A Gentleman (@Gentleman_Ways) April 21, 2026
“We make men without chests and expect from them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst.”
― C.S. Lewis pic.twitter.com/EMNvXeLUNA
— Hesse Philosophy (@HermannHessed) April 23, 2026
Leave no trace. pic.twitter.com/MX64XTd8UX
— American Conservation Coalition (@ACC_National) April 22, 2026