Carolina wren

 A birthday in the time of the plague is not quite the celebration it might have been in more "normal" circumstances, and that contrast was heightened today, when I reached three score and ten. Achieving this milestone would have typically been cause for a major party, but, in the days of quarantine and social distancing, the new normal was going to keep us apart. That reality was more than a little sad, but one of our backyard Carolina wrens, engaged in gathering Fern moss to line its nest cavity and singing its heart out to attract a mate and intimidate potential rivals, cheered me up. There's something about continuity in the face of a monumental disruption that lifts the spirits and, of course, there's that wonderful voice, a signature of spring, that says, "We'll get through this." Later, we did... with a low key, in-house celebration that was small on numbers but rich with love.