Looks
Looks can be deceiving the old adage goes. That was certainly true this morning. After doing mostly indoor workouts at the Y
the past two weeks because of the weather, this morning begged for an outside
walk with a clear blue sky and the sunrays already streaming through the living-room
window.
I knew the weather forecast was promising a daytime high in the low 50s
and it looked like that was well on its way.
I almost burst out of the house in a light sweatshirt, but last second
caution made me step out onto the porch to test the air. It was a bit chillier than it looked, so I
grabbed a jacket too, taking the gloves out of the pocket first and leaving
them behind. As I hit the corner and
headed due west, a constant wind hit me full force. It wasn’t too chilly, but it did make me pull
my hat down lower and I shoved my hands deep into the jacket pockets.
I noticed a bald eagle in one of the big cottonwood
trees at the edge of the marsh. He
looked like the lord of the manor taking in the view of his properties. Although it’s not too unusual to see an eagle
perched there, I know that his nest is elsewhere and he won’t be staying long.
As I approach the big pond it appears that there are
whitecaps on it. That seems unlikely
because this wind, while unfriendly, doesn’t quite seem to have the teeth
needed to churn the water quite that much.
As a get closer I can now see that the occasional flashes of white are
not breaking waves, but rather white patches from male bluebill ducks. Now, walking alongside the pond I have a good
view. The pond is practically covered with
a raft of bluebills – hundreds, maybe a thousand strong. While not the whitecaps that I first thought,
the waves are a steady chop. As the male
bluebills ride the over crests they tip at just the right angle to catch the
sunlight and cause a white flash.
As I stand on the road to take in the size of the
bluebill flock I can look back easterly and see just a few puffy white clouds
and beyond those the cloudless horizon that I first saw when I opened the living-room
curtains this morning. But when I turn
and face west, there is a steady march of clouds moving in. This bright sunny day looks to have a struggle
to remain so on its hands.
Upon returning home I decide that I will refill the
bird feeders before heading inside for a cup of coffee. The yard looks to be empty. But already as I am filling up the feeder
that holds the finch seed, several juncos land in the nearby birch waiting
impatiently for me to finish. By the
time I make it to the kitchen for my coffee I glance out the patio window to
see about a dozen birds already at the feeders.
The thistle seed feeder has two goldfinches on it. One might think they are new arrivals, but
instead it is just that they are reverting back to the bright yellow that they
sport in summer. I will take their brighter
hue that spring will come and stay fairly soon.
Still nature is always what nature is. When it seems that we have been deceived by
what we think we see, the problem is more in our perception than reality. It is our false conclusions based on lack of
information that tend to catch us by surprise.
Or, perhaps if Nature is allowed motive from time to time, it is to
remind us to be open to surprise. Isn’t
that how we find God close by?
His Peace <><
Deacon Dan
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