Another bird tale:

The Black Forest region of Germany, (part of Bavaria, southeastern Germany) is famous for producing cuckoo clocks. They are made in all sizes, some very simple and some ornately carved and painted. No matter the size, they all include a little wooden bird that pops out of a door and sings “cuck-oo” – one for each hour on the clock. The sound mimics the song of the cuckoo bird, which are regular inhabitants of the region. The clocks are quite charming and also an important part of the economy of this area.

As part of his Chaplain duties, Layden was responsible for leading marriage retreats. At the time military had a hotel and recreation area on the shore of Chiemsee, a large freshwater lake in Bavaria, which was ideal for these retreats, so we got to make several visits to the area. In between workshops, we would go for bike rides or walks in the Black Forest. One day as we were walking we heard “cuck-00 cuck-oo” and thought we must be near a small village with a town clock. We thought 2:00 was a good time to stop for something cool to drink. A couple of minutes later, we heard the song again, and then it was answered by the same song but from a different direction. It took us a few minutes to realize that we were not hearing clocks. We were hearing birds! We began looking for them but never did spot one. They are shy and tend to perch and roost in dense, high tree canopy so they are more often heard than seen. Remarkably, the clocks – at least the good ones – mimic the call of the cuckoo with great accuracy. That explains our initial confusion, but we do still feel a bit silly and have a good laugh when we hang this glass clock on the tree.

Interesting observation: As a child, I loved the story of Hansel and Gretel but I thought they must not be very smart to get so lost in the woods. I grew up in New Mexico where the arid climate does not foster dense stretches of trees. The forests have a lot of open spaces and even in clusters of trees there is quite a bit of light that reaches the forest floor. My first time to experience the Black Forest was on a bike ride. On a sunny afternoon we rented bikes in a small village and headed out towards a small village about 10 kilometers(6 miles) away. Very quickly we found ourselves enveloped in gloom. There were so many trees! The spruce, fir, and pine grow thick and close together. We couldn’t see the sun. It was nearly impossible to determine direction – everything looked the same. We were completely disoriented and completely reliant on the path. Fortunately it was well-marked and we did not get lost. This experience caused me to re-evaluate my opinion of Hansel and Gretel – they were not as dumb as I thought! Also, it made me wish that I could find a gingerbread house in the woods – with no witch.