These are the Sand Hill Cranes at the Bosque Del Apache, A wildlife refuge on the Rio Grande in New Mexico.

To me, the Sand Hill Cranes are one of the most graceful, elegant, gorgeous creatures on this earth.  Hearing the beautiful primordial sounds of their calls before they come into sight brings such a feeling of reverence to my heart that I am brought to tears.  And then they arrive.  I feel as though I am a privileged outsider being allowed to glimpse into their secret world.  As they begin to land, I admire their beauty and try to imagine the distance they have flown and the trials they have gone through to safely glide into their winter home on the Rio Grande.  I am so grateful they have made it.

Every year I visit the Bosque at least once during the winter season.  It is one of my greatest sources of inspiration, rejuvenation and joy.

In the Jewish mystical tradition, the Shekina is the feminine aspect of G-d.  It is the level of G-d that is closest to the physical, therefore birthing the physical “into being” from the upper realms.  The Shekina is often depicted as wings or birds (specifically the Dove).  I feel the presence of the Shekina in these Sand Hill Cranes.  Their huge wings seem to shelter us in their knowing comfort and wisdom of the heavenly realms.