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| Will showed me this while I was writing this entry. Simple beauty found by a child. |
Today I sit on the porch
talking to my sweetheart, relaxing while listening to the sounds of the many
birds talking to each other in their preparations for having their young. I look up and see that a wren has stopped by Will’s newly painted
birdhouse, probably the same song bird that had had a nest in Abby’s birdhouse last year. I listen to it peck the inside corners of
the birdhouse and think, “It must be checking for a sound structure to make its nest.”
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| A friend said to me, "A new Wren-ter." |
I look across the meadow and I see that the cardinals are flying
to and fro looking for bugs that are coming out after the recent rain. As I now watch a male cardinal, I observe him climb through Anne’s
trellised honeysuckle in front of me. Meanwhile, our cat Kelly is watching the same feathered friend with great interest, and I imagine she is
thinking, “How can I get reach this bird?” Kelly stretches her long body, standing on her hind legs, all the while leaning on the trellis, reaching as far as she can upward, being just out of reach.
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| The table is set! |
My thoughts wander back to this morning. I was looking at the trees in the forest when all of a sudden I was visited by an unexpected friend, a ruby throated hummingbird. Last year we did not start
seeing our little hummingbirds come by until mid July, and this morning while
standing on the driveway, one flew right up in front of me as to say, “I am
back!” It quickly flew away after
observing that I wasn’t the only one that was watching it. Kelly was walking from the other direction stealthily eyeing our little feathered friend with great interest.
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| Catching a picture of a fairy as she flies by. |
My thoughts return to the present, and I now look over at Anne and
thank her for taking the time to sit with me while I enjoy the chorus of nature
all around us. This is my element; I so
enjoy being apart of God’s creation in the spring. My heart soars when I sit here in silence,
listening to God’s creatures singing to him, and the entire forest as well. How wonderful it must have been
when Adam and Eve walked in the Garden of Eden, surrounded by all of God’s
creatures. Our pastor recently spoke
about how during the Millennium, we will have all types of animals lying one
with another. There will be no
carnivores, just herbivores. My little girl
calls them, veggiesauris’.
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| Rain clouds arrive at sunset. |
Anne has said that
when she thinks of my love for nature, it makes her recall one of my favorite individuals of the past, St. Francis. He possessed a deep passion for the animal world around him. For me, that is the nicest compliment
I could receive. Anne is perhaps one of the most gentlest individuals I know. She is so kind to people, and I am so fortunate
to be married to her.
As I write this, I look up
and see our hummingbird friend flying in front me, by the honeysuckle. By the time I reach for my camera, it is
gone. There are times that I miss the
photo (more times than not) with the hummingbird. It is during those moments that Anne will
reach over and touch my hand and say with a caring voice, “There will be many
opportunities in the future. Perhaps we
should just enjoy its presence, just for now.”
Anne always knows how to cheer me up.
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| Anne's Honeysuckle trellis. |
This today is my world, life
is good and God has blessed me very much.
