A local column by Dan Hayes

There is nothing like an early morning in spring to realize that Mother Nature has her priorities straight.

It is hard to feel disappointed and depressed when seeing life seemingly bursting with energy and potential. Aside from seeing an excessive amount of bird seed being gobbled up — particularly by the obnoxious scrub jays who apparently have some value in the scheme of things — the antics of our avian friends keep my spirit refreshed.

The other morning I walked into my shed to be greeted by a chorus of tweets. Noticing a nest of twigs stuffed up in a corner of the rafters, I can only guess that some hungry babies were impatient with hunger and irritated with my distracting them.

Spring is all about new life. It is almost miraculous to begin seeing sprouts of life from bulbs.

Even better is how their growth reminds me where I had planted these bulbs last fall.

Attention to the future

With graduation ceremonies just around the corner, the potentiality of spring bulbs is an excellent reminder as to the value of preparing for the future.

One of the sad realities of life is that we all too often do not understand how much we could have done in the past to prepare ourselves for the future.

It seems that it is the nature of youth to ignore the future and live for the moment.

Who wants to spend time practicing musical instruments when it is more fun to watch TV?

Who wants to spend time on homework when there are things that do not require mental discomfort?

Who wants to save precious dollars for the future when there are items that can be bought today?

I know I did not make the best investment of my time as a youth.

I do know the bulbs I plant, the soil I till, and the blackberry roots I remove will be a great investment.

As Ben Franklin noted, “A stitch in time saves nine.”

Doing a little today might mean we won’t have to do as much tomorrow.

Virginia Price once “educated” me on this concept when she explained how she maintained her beautiful garden. Every time she would walk outside she would make it a point to pick up a twig here or pull a weed there.

It does not take much to make a difference, especially if one does a little all along.

Help flows in

Finally, don’t forget to drop by Wren’s “Let It Flow V” this Saturday between 4 and 11p.m.

This annual fundraiser for the Wren Community Hall just seems to get better and better every year.

All are welcome to come to this event which involves food, music and friendly banter, not to mention the ever-popular silent auction.

This year’s event will be raising funds to build a porch onto the back of the building as well as replace the woodstove and piping in the main hall.

Thanks to a grant courtesy of the Ford Family Foundation, the woodstove project has become quite doable.

For the out-of-towners who want to experience the flavor of rural America, the Wren Community Hall is on Highway 223, 1.2 miles north of Highway 20.

In the guise of investing toward the future, this is a classic example how the efforts from today will benefit us in the future.

Just as the original Wren Community Club held Friday night barn dances to build and maintain the Wren Community Hall, as well as build community, so too today the Wren Hall continues to maintain itself and build community.

Keeping tradition alive is not a bad thing. Preparing for the future is even better.

In all things, remember that life is to be lived and not regretted.

Dan Hayes reports on news in the Hoskins-Kings Valley community and can be reached at 929-2356 or travelor54@peak.org.