
I remember the first bird that piqued my interest in taking up the hobby of birding —it was the strangest thing I’d ever seen! It about thirty years ago, and this fellow was sitting as still as you please under a tree in my backyard. I was able to draw a terrible rendering of it and mailed it to a birder friend. After she finished laughing at my artistic skills, she wrote back and said it appeared to be a Northern Flicker, and it was a very good bird to see in the backyard. I went to the yellow pages to find a local bird store (did such things exist? yep, they did), marched in, bought a field guide and some binoculars, and signed up for classes. I was hooked.
Over the years, I became known as the bird mom at my children’s school — I would teach them about bird song (ask me sometime about the bird clock chorus lesson) and migration, about creating bird friendly habitats in their own backyards, and how to make their own bird feeders. I would take small groups of them out to a local lake and show them the beautiful spring warblers with their vibrant colors, the thrushes with their musical instrument-like songs, the tiny nests of the hummingbirds and the funny ground nests of the killdeer, and the raptors and other large birds that were always hanging around in the shadows, or way up in the sky.
One of the things I learned when I did my research for these lessons came from my great grandmother’s King James Bible, with its pages falling out. There was a section at the back entitled “Aids to the Student of the Holy Bible,” and in the section about animals and creation, it had this ponderous statement about birds: “The creation birds is placed in Genesis after that of fishes and reptiles, and before mammals, in exact accord with what paleontology has indicated.” The kids thought that was way cool! (So did I; this Bible had to have been printed well over 100 years ago.)
The grounds of the Church of the Holy Comforter offer a phenomenal habitat for our avian neighbors, especially now that we’ve begun to clear the non-native plants while leaving those that birds and insects depend on for food, nesting, and shelter. I’d encourage you to stop by the church early in the morning some day and sit on one of the benches by the labyrinth (or walk the labyrinth — just don’t put on your earphones and listen to music while walking!) Listen to the songs, to the chattering and chipping, to the skittering through the grass and the trees. Come again in the evening, at dusk, and you’ll hear all different songs and sounds (again, ask me about that bird clock chorus!) Close your eyes. Breathe.
Lots of folks at Holy Comforter like to talk about “thin spaces”, which to me means places where the distance between heaven and earth, between God and me, feels thinner, feels closer. I’ve just described to you what the everyday thin space is like to me — the grounds of the sacred space where my church family will someday come together again, in the company of those creatures that defy gravity and soar above us, singing their own praises to the same God. This is bliss.
This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members

My eighty-seven-year-old mother is an incredible gardener. Until she gave up her own home in rural Maryland and moved in with my husband and me in McLean (just on the edge of Tysons), she had an exceptionally large vegetable and flower garden that my siblings and I loved to raid each summer and the grandkids loved to explore. Once Mom moved to McLean, we just had to continue the tradition. Brothers were enlisted to help build several raised garden beds in our back yard. Since then, Mom and I have been successfully raising lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, kale, arugula, beets, tomatoes, peppers, green beans, jalapenos, apple mint, basil, parsley, and other herbs. Not only does it help with grocery bills, but the food is delicious. We both enjoy being out of doors and working in the yard. It can be a workout, and watching God’s amazing variety of vegetation grow is a real joy.
Not everyone lives in a situation where there is room for backyard beds, but there are other ways to garden for those who might be interested. You can start small – just a few pots. Also, the Fairfax County Park Authority rents more than 650 garden plots in nine county parks on an annual basis to Fairfax County residents. Information about this program can be found by visiting https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/green-spring/plots
If you think you, your family, friends, work colleagues or spiritual community are interested in starting your own community garden, Fairfax County also provides these resources: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/topics/community-gardening and https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/food-council/urban-agriculture/edible-gardens-resources.
Local non-profits, such as SHARE and Food for Others, are happy to receive donations from community gardens. Information about Food for Others’ Farm to Family program can be found at: https://www.foodforothers.org/farm-to-family-program. The link to SHARE’s produce donation program can be found at shareofmclean.org/community-garden (The SHARE program is on hiatus during the pandemic.)
For home gardeners who may be interested in sprucing up their landscape and learning about native plants, a great place to visit is Green Spring Gardens, a national historic site, museum, and outdoor classroom. https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/green-spring. Also, there is the nearby Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. https://www.novaparks.com/parks/meadowlark-botanical-gardens.
Finally, if you are looking for an opportunity to be out-of-doors and experience beautiful gardens, check out Virginia Historic Gardens Week. This is an annual event sponsored by the Garden Club of Virginia. This year it runs April 17 – 24. Tours of private landscapes, public gardens, and historic sites are offered by local member clubs throughout the Commonwealth. Tickets are required and available for purchase at https://www.vagardenweek.org/.
Happy gardening!
This blog post is the expressed opinion of its writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tysons Interfaith or its members

Photo courtesy of Tysons Partnership
There’s a new way to connect in Tysons: cycling.
From my neighborhood on the east side, pedal around the Safeway or take a left at the Kingston apartments through MITRE Corporation to the McLean Metro stop at Route 123. Despite the wait, the crossing is safe and better than the one at the Great Falls intersection. And though I’ve never tried it, you could take the elevators (escalator anyone?) and cross over the Metro bridge as well.
In the early morning, fog might settle on the new Jones Branch connector (Scotts Crossing) by Capital One and Wegman’s, but there’s usually bright sun and little traffic over the thrumming Beltway and hazy skyline. The bridge is pitched so you can make it up on most road bikes, and it has pristine cycle lanes.
Go left on Jones Branch past the Hilton or right past Valo Park and left up Westbranch, which I usually do, and turn right on Westpark for a climb that gets the heart pumping all the way to International Drive. A right at Greensboro across from the Boro and Whole Foods sends you sailing past the Rotunda down to the “T” at Spring Hill for a quick left past the Ascent to the Metro stop on Route 7. The new Vesper Trail on the southeast side pops into Vienna, where I have explored the back roads to find a safe route to the W and O & D trail. There’s even a way to Wolf Trap that avoids the narrow (and scary) parts of Old Courthouse Road. It’s an adventure to find these links between east and west.
Alternatively, the sidewalk past the old Sheraton leads to a trail and a bridge that crosses the Dulles Access Road to Jarrett Valley Drive and the McLean Islamic Center, one of our Tysons Interfaith Partners. Explore the MIC neighborhood and cut across a bit of grass along Route 7 to the service road leading to the traffic signal at Lewinsville, where three churches, including TI member St. Thomas Episcopal, are located. Loop back along Lewinsville or explore the back roads to the Spring Hill Recreation Center along the rolling hills of Brook Road. There’s a bridge/tunnel trail from Spring Hill on the north side of Route 7 as well, but it stops way short. Soon, hopefully, all will be smooth sailing on both sides!
Pedaling around the area this COVID-19 spring and fall, I was impressed by the energy and diversity of Tysons, where young and old of many different backgrounds come out to exercise, walk their dogs, and play. They should also cycle, run, or walk through the Vienna and McLean neighborhoods, where the flora and fauna provide a yin to the yang of the emerging urban space. I’m not sure I would use a Bike Share loaner to cross the connector bridge, but the Vesper Trail is doable, and hardier folks might try the steeper climbs or even the bridge. You can always push the bike, as I saw one construction worker do one morning crossing from west to east. Where did he begin his journey?
Here is an interactive map you can use to explore the possibilities. The Vesper Trail is the unmarked route that parallels Spring Hill and ends on Vesper and Higdon Streets in Vienna: https://fairfaxcountygis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Viewer/index.html?appid=8a7ac4884e9c4c9bb37acc69dfb237a4
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