I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house. – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist (1804-1864)
Autumn’s the mellow time. – William Allingham, Irish poet (1824-1889)
A bluebird has settled in the water tray. I call the saucers that fit under a large clay pot “water trays,” because I fill them with water and a couple of medium sized rocks for the birds to stand on. We have a birdbath and the birds use it but for some reason they seem to enjoy the water trays more. The blue of the bluebird is stunning in the sunlight. He fluttered his wings and splashed water all over himself. When he finished, he flew away. Then came two very tiny birds that took a quick drink and then left. I’m not sure what kind of birds they are but I will look them up. We have a lot of those tiny birds. When the tiny birds left, a female bluebird settled in the water tray and took a quick bath. The tiny birds tried to come back but made a quick detour. After the bluebird lady left the tiny birds returned.
It was a good thing Wilhelmina, the cat, had gone inside or else the birds might not have visited us at all. She had been out all morning sitting on the side of the lake amid the thick iris foliage. There were four turtles basking nearby in the sun where they had worn the iris foliage away. It was not likely Wilhelmina would bother them.
The morning was quiet. The holidays were upon us but had not yet started. Sam had gone fishing early even though the winds were a bit high and the temperature low. We have two family birthdays to celebrate in November, one is a new arrival on the scene. These last two months of the year are quite celebratory. Thinking of that reminded me of something my mother told me. She was a first grade Sunday school teacher. She asked the children, “Does anyone know why we celebrate Christmas?” One little boy piped up “Yes, God knew we needed a good time sometime.” It was a pretty good answer for a first grader. Amid the hustle and bustle we do need a good time sometime.
I used the time that morning to prepare the garage guest room for the family’s arrival. It was still pretty cold so I grabbed what I call my “outside” coat. I bought it about eight years ago and paid eight dollars for it at an extremely discounted store. It works well for an outside coat. It has a hood with some kind of fake fur trim that falls down in my eyes but what more could you ask for from an eight-dollar, eight-year-old outdoor coat.
The day before Thanksgiving the family arrived with lots of groceries. My sister-in-law did all the cooking for the Thanksgiving feast. For a sister-in-law to do all the cooking makes for good company. When Thanksgiving day ended we had plenty of leftovers. We have much to be thankful for: food, fellowship, and family. I was filled with a grateful heart.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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