Today’s photo features a male American redstart, who was flitting around in the leaves in the Bog Garden off Hobbs Road. Since November 2017, volunteers have planted 1,427 native plants in the Bog Garden. The funding for the new plants has been provided by Greensboro Beautiful and also the Piedmont Bird Club. These native plants attract birds and other wildlife. The American redstart is a warbler that likes open wooded habitat with deciduous trees. They are active birds that seem to never stand still.

In Psalms XI, the soul is compared to a bird. “Flee as a bird to your mountain.” This week, Greensboro lost Phil Segal III, who was the founder and owner of Havana Phil’s Cigar Company. We featured his business yesterday, not knowing that he passed away on Wednesday. On Friday, David Tyler, a young college student who grew up is Greensboro, was buried. So, today’s moment of spirituality is in memory of Phil and David. Life is short, precious, and, before we know it, we flee as a bird to our mountain. The Greensboro community is grateful for our time with Phil and David. Both men left this earth too soon. We are thankful for public places like the Bog Garden that give us a chance to sit and reflect on life and the beauty all around us, especially in times of loss.