Writing my way through the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I’m sharing my thoughts and reflections on a lexicon (vocabulary specific to a certain subject) of unusual, obscure, or simply charming-to-me words. Ludic is defined as “playful, in an aimless way” and that’s my plan for approaching this challenge – keeping my feet on the joy trail and meandering wherever the daily word takes me.
G is for…
gökotta – (zho-‘kOt-tah) Swedish word meaning rising at dawn to listen to the birds sing.
I suppose some people will find the idea annoying, but it delights me. It just so happens that there are birds nesting next door, near my bedroom window. They’ve very cleverly constructed their home wedged between the wall of the neighbor’s house and the gutter’s downspout. Their very cheery chirping has been waking me every morning before dawn.
I’ve always enjoyed the poetry of Lisel Mueller. Here are a few lines from her poem Why I Need the Birds.
Incidentally, April 8, is “Draw a Bird Day.” You can read more about it here. In honor of the day, I’m happy to share a bird drawing. And I’m definitely patting myself on the back for managing a bird-related word to share today.
Did you know that one of the obscure definitions of valentine is mating birds singing to one another?
Chirping birds led my mind to wonder about the origins of the term bluebirds of happiness. Some surface research didn’t really provide much clarity, although it is a symbol many cultures have used. The earliest known reference is from 1700 BCE in ancient China where a blue bird was the messenger for the goddess Xi Wangmu. The Navajo people identify the mountain bluebird as a spirit in animal form, associated with the rising sun. Their “Bluebird Song” is sung to remind tribal members to wake at dawn and rise to greet the sun.
So tell me, do you rise at dawn to listen to the birds or to greet the sun? Have a favorite bird? Prepared to draw a bird for today? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
You are much more okay with being woken before dawn than I will ever be!
LOL. i hope you always get to sleep as long as you wish.
Hari Om
(For some reason the F post got skipped – my reader is jumping around a bit – Forgive, please!)
Hello gökotta… what a fab word! to have a single word to describe that early morning feeling is perfect. Yes, I enjoy the sunrise and the dawn chorus… it competes strongly with the sunset and settling of silence… YAM xx
Ah, yes perfect bookends indeed.
I hear them sing or squawk from my bed, usually too early now that it’s light earlier. I like all birds except geese which have chased me in the past. They can be scary!
I find most big birds a bit scary, including geese and swans, and wild turkeys.
I sew birds! I have made a quilt with bird houses, and birds. And I love to hear them singing, but not too early please!
How fabulous Frédérique!
I’m not sure any of us can get the birds to accommodate our preferred singing schedule. 🙂
So, there’s a word for that! I don’t get up specifically to greet the birds but if another reason gets me up, I just love hearing them. In my area, i think a lot of the early singers are robins, and what a spring concert they put on.
I haven’t seen any robins here yet – they’re somewhat behind schedule this year. But they are definitely singers, with their dawn songs usually at a faster pace than at other times.
I love that – I may try some gokotta over the spring and summer to keep me calm!
https://iainkellywriting.com/2021/04/08/the-state-trilogy-a-z-guide-g/
Sounds perfect to me, Iain.
More of an owl person than a lark, I’m afraid … but I do love birdcalls of all kinds. It’s always lovely to read your A-Z posts.
Ah, you can do your listening by moonlight.
Thanks for the kind words. I apologize that I haven’t made it over to your blog yet, but I will catch up. I find I’m having a hard time this year keeping up. Sigh.
Oh pretty bluebird! I am listening to the sounds of the birds in the morning when I walk Benny. Not exactly getting up at the crack of dawn to do it though!
You have Benny as your alarm clock – you don’t need the birds. 🙂
I love that word and love that there is a word for it. No I don’t do it but I love to hear birds. Didn’t draw one this month either darnit. Wonderful poems you included today.
My “G” for Jethro Tull songs is here:
http://tao-talk.com/2021/04/08/a2z-2021-jethro-tull-songs-day-7-glory-row-from-war-child-1974/
The very idea of the word is delightful to me too.
What a lovely post! No, I am more likely to be woken by the dawn chorus, as I was some years ago, when trying to sleep, after a sleepless night, than getting up to greet them.
But I do love our own personal little dinosaurs. My workplace, in the working class inner city suburbs of Melbourne, was surrounded by birds – wading birds in the creek, ibis, flocks of galahs and sulphuric-crested cockatoos, magpies which swooped to protect their nests… our principal was always announcing on the PA system every spring that staff and students should keep out of the carpark if possible, for our own protection!
H Is For Helen And Heracles
https://suebursztynski.blogspot.com/2021/04/a-to-z-blogging-challenge-2021-h-is-for.html
Oh, how fun – a little avian paradise to enjoy. Although having to avoid swooping nest protectors does sound a bit tricky.
I never knew it had a name.. though I love to wake up to listen to the birds early at dawn. One of the most memorable memories for me is when our bus broke down in middle of forest. It couldn’t be repaired until dawn. All of a sudden the sounds erupted and reached a crescendo in a matter of few minutes. I can never forget that…
Thank you for visiting my blog.
What an amazing experience! And I can certainly understand it is unforgettable.
Is there any better melody than birdsong? And blue birds keep popping into my writing for some reason.
I’m an early riser so I do get to enjoy the chips with the sun’s first rays.
Bulbuls, sparrows, grey doves and mynah gather in the neem trees and mulberries in our patch of green and can be heard all day long.
I won’t be drawing a bird but am preparing a couple of bird posts for the A to Z. So, there’s a fair bit of looking and editing of bird photos going on at the moment:)
Thank you for another wonderful word. Love your bird art.
I imagine your garden is a sanctuary for our bird friends. Funny you mention your neem trees – just the other day, I was looking them up to see what their blossoms looked like. Now I can add perching birds to my vision. I’ll be looking forward to your bird posts and hope you have fun with the photo project.
Realized I had written chips instead of chirps after posting:)
Must’ve been hungry then–ha! ha!
LOL – I totally read it as chirps!
It is sometimes very soothing to listen to birds early in the morning. But dawn might be a little too early for me.
It would be fun if they didn’t actually wake you too early, but you could incorporate their songs into your dreams.
I enjoy listening to the birds. My window is facing the yard and I hear them each day.
Lovely!
an odd word – I cannot imagine it in relation to the dawn chorus but perhaps because I lack the swedish in me .
Dawn is my favourite time, sometimes I am waiting for it happy to watch the subtle shift of light change as if I could almost catch it but never can -and first there is one tweet or a shuffle and twig creak, a piping call and then the momentum builds.
I never ever tire of this symphony – if bliss lies anyway surely it is this -the voices lifting and falling each playing their part –
gokotta seems a small word for this transcendent experience on tap every dawn.
–
What a lovely description of dawn’s light, Sandra. While I truly love the bird’s song, I think it is the shifting light that is my favorite thing. But birds at dawn feels like such a perfect dance between the ephemeral and the concrete, and a perfect blessing to start the day with.
Realized I had written chips instead of chirps after posting:)
Must’ve been hungry then–ha! ha!
I don’t like to wake up so early, but I am a light sleeper and ofter hear the first beginnings of birdsong as I lie in bed. Then with any luck I fall back asleep, and wake up again later to hear more. Also, the flickers love to drum on the chimney cap above my head during mating season, and shriek to the neighborhood, “Hey, check me out!” They are far from euphonious, but I love them anyway.
I’m very sorry to have missed Draw a Bird Day, although I’ve certainly drawn birds on lots of other days, so I can’t complain.
Black and White: G for Gont