Missing what I missed
A dog’s keen sense of smell and ability to see things in the darkest of night bring forth a whole world that is foreign to those of us who use two legs and arms to maneuver about on this earth. He sees that which I can not see in the dark mist of the night lit only by a fraction of a moon’s light. As I knelt down at the open window managing to shake off the sleepy eyes and bring forth my night eyes I was shocked to see through the darkness as my eyes adjust to the lack of light, a bear, a medium sized black bear lumbering around the bird feeders picking through the stale bread and cookies I had left for treats for the wildlife. I had no idea that the wildlife would be anything more than just the occasional opossum or raccoon in the darkest of night.
I return home from work and find a pair of mallard ducks swimming in the pond. This body of water isn’t even as large as my bathtub but they are having the time of their little duck lives paddling around and around eating the pond plants and scaring the goldfish to death. They see me watching and make an exit waddling off as if I have disturbed their private afternoon bath.
As a human I have always been fascinated with nature, the wonders of tiny birds finding the perfect nesting spot right above your head when sitting trying to enjoy the peaceful moment that exists only with the sound of gurgling water and flowers in their bright green efforts to emerge from the soil and passing the time day after day waiting for them to bloom into bright color.
My garden oasis which in a sense is a very small compound that I have built and created to contain some semblance of privacy has attracted that which fascinates me. It has brought that which shrieks its laborious protective chirpings along with suet or an occasional worm dangling from its beak as morsels of fortitude for those quietly chirping sounds coming from within the confines of a little blue house right above my most comfortable spot. This is where I choose to sit in my oasis, while justifiably trying to ward off distraction of a most stressful day.
Then there was a most beautiful sight. The day had progressed into mid-morning and I was doing my usual stroll around the yard with my trusty keen sense of smell and sight dog companion when I looked up and no more than 30yds away stood a massive buck and his harem of 4 does. His rack of antlers that held at least 6 to 8 three inch tines were covered in thick velvet. He was the same as I; we stood looking at each other with tense curiosity. He made no move and neither did I. There was the continuum of trying to size up the danger from his view as he strained to make sense of the smells that he was gathering. The dog and I stood and watched for what seemed like ages before one small move from us caused a flurry of white tails straight up and crashing hooves through bramble and briars.
I look at my life and wonder how lucky I am to have gathered such patience and the ability to share it with the rest of the world. There is patience in planting seeds and watching them sprout and mature to flower. There are always surprises in the colors that explode from their stems. The fish are laying their eggs again and doing their love dancing under the leaves of parrot feathers floating on the surface. I patiently wait and wonder just how many of the tiniest of babies will survive to swim the gurgling waters I hold them captive in.
July is just around the corner and another August fast approaches. The weather is perfect for picnics and even sometimes walking in the rain. My oasis is yearning for the voice of another as I sit by the fire and drink my wine. I sit this morning and type out these words for I have missed this expression of all that I do. I have missed creativity and I have surely missed you.
I return home from work and find a pair of mallard ducks swimming in the pond. This body of water isn’t even as large as my bathtub but they are having the time of their little duck lives paddling around and around eating the pond plants and scaring the goldfish to death. They see me watching and make an exit waddling off as if I have disturbed their private afternoon bath.
As a human I have always been fascinated with nature, the wonders of tiny birds finding the perfect nesting spot right above your head when sitting trying to enjoy the peaceful moment that exists only with the sound of gurgling water and flowers in their bright green efforts to emerge from the soil and passing the time day after day waiting for them to bloom into bright color.
My garden oasis which in a sense is a very small compound that I have built and created to contain some semblance of privacy has attracted that which fascinates me. It has brought that which shrieks its laborious protective chirpings along with suet or an occasional worm dangling from its beak as morsels of fortitude for those quietly chirping sounds coming from within the confines of a little blue house right above my most comfortable spot. This is where I choose to sit in my oasis, while justifiably trying to ward off distraction of a most stressful day.
Then there was a most beautiful sight. The day had progressed into mid-morning and I was doing my usual stroll around the yard with my trusty keen sense of smell and sight dog companion when I looked up and no more than 30yds away stood a massive buck and his harem of 4 does. His rack of antlers that held at least 6 to 8 three inch tines were covered in thick velvet. He was the same as I; we stood looking at each other with tense curiosity. He made no move and neither did I. There was the continuum of trying to size up the danger from his view as he strained to make sense of the smells that he was gathering. The dog and I stood and watched for what seemed like ages before one small move from us caused a flurry of white tails straight up and crashing hooves through bramble and briars.
I look at my life and wonder how lucky I am to have gathered such patience and the ability to share it with the rest of the world. There is patience in planting seeds and watching them sprout and mature to flower. There are always surprises in the colors that explode from their stems. The fish are laying their eggs again and doing their love dancing under the leaves of parrot feathers floating on the surface. I patiently wait and wonder just how many of the tiniest of babies will survive to swim the gurgling waters I hold them captive in.
July is just around the corner and another August fast approaches. The weather is perfect for picnics and even sometimes walking in the rain. My oasis is yearning for the voice of another as I sit by the fire and drink my wine. I sit this morning and type out these words for I have missed this expression of all that I do. I have missed creativity and I have surely missed you.