The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my inspiration. – Claude Monet, French painter (1840-1926)
In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks. – John Muir, Scottish-born American author, naturalist, botanist (1838-1914)
It was another day of trying to keep the falling leaves off the porch and out of the gutters. Cleaning out the gutters always causes my heart to flutter. There’s absolutely no telling how old the ladder is. It looks and sounds rickety. Husbands and ladders don’t mix well. So, I appoint myself as the rickety ladder holder. In order to get the leaves out of the gutter I brace the ladder with hands and feet while Sam sweeps the leaves out of the gutter with his hand. He also takes a drill to secure any bolts that may have worked their way out from the changes in temperature. Standing on a ten-foot ladder, holding a heavy electric drill, a few bolts in your pocket while sweeping leaves away looks like trouble to me. My phone was in my pocket.
As I tended to my job of holding the ladder it was nice admiring the fall season. There were millions of brown, gold, yellow leaves covering everywhere. The occasional bird sang its sweet song. Birdseed was still in the feeder. Water was still in the birdbaths. Squirrels high-tailed across the fields. A flock of geese left the lake for points unknown while a snowy white egret moved slowly around the edge of the lake looking for her next meal. There had not been much sun that day. The cloudy sky added to the assurance fall is upon us. It turned out to be a beautiful day, the leaves were removed and the ladder had not failed me.
Earlier in the day Sam was outside getting his ladder, supplies, and other chores done, and I was inside the house. I heard a thump against the window. Following the direction of the sound I stepped outside on the porch and saw a bird clinging to the edge of the window. He was still except for holding his beak open; his eyes were alert. Other than the beak moving he did not move. We have a protocol for birds stunned by hitting windows. My problem was getting to the garage for our recovery birdcage and finding Sam quickly. Sam is much better at calmly soothing birds onto his hand and into the birdcage. The birdcage provides a moment of respite while the bird recovers.
At my holler Sam responded and arrived on the scene with the birdcage. Quickly I added a tree branch, birdseed and a water tray. Sam gently lifted the bird into the cage. We left the bird alone. Returning to the bird we noticed he had eaten a seed or two. When he saw us, he flew about the cage and clung to its sides. Easily opening the top of the cage, the sweet bird flew away.
Back inside I had Kindle orders to download, phone texts and emails to read and answer, while my computer ran antivirus and system checks. Mostly I wanted to be out with the leaves, the colors, the cool air and the sweet bird that flew away.
Shannon Bardwell is a writer living quietly in the Prairie. Email reaches her at [email protected].
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