Yesterday while driving to the store with my daughter and two granddaughters I was mesmerized by the display of autumn color all around me. The trees were ablaze with gold, red, orange, and various shades of brown. Getting into the car I couldn't help crunching away on the fallen leaves outside the house and staring in amazement at the Japanese maple out front. Truly, Mother Nature has blessed us with another bountiful, colorful autumn.
While at the store I remembered to pick up a bag of birdseed. We have a variety of birds that grace our feeders, from the tiny chickadees and wrens to Mourning doves, blue jays, robins and finches of all colors. The squirrels are also plentiful around our house, and I delight in going out to make sure there are peanuts for them. I fill the feeders with seeds of different sizes and sprinkle some on the ground beneath for those that are either too big for the feeders or who get crowded out by their larger relations. For someone who loves nature and wildlife, I am never disappointed when I look out of the window or sit on the porch.
What I've started to notice recently are the squirrels eating some of the nuts and seeds and burying the rest. From my upstairs window I have a view of the backyard and have caught them digging and stashing their goodies for another day. I've always thought that the saying, "giant oaks from little acorns grow" came about because some squirrels buried their nuts and then forgot where they buried them, thus growing a tree instead!
I have just passed my first full year living in my tiny house-type apartment that my daughter had built for me on the rear of her house. It has been a year of adjustments, of finding out what works and what still needs tweaking. I still can't fathom how someone who lives in two small rooms with only one closet can still manage to lose things. I see a day of rearranging and better labeling in my future. Still, it has been a year of blessings in many ways as well as a time for growing and learning new things even at my age. I am confident that more growing and learning is in my future.
Much like a well-filled bird feeder to bless the birds, and a carpet of nuts on the ground to bless the squirrels, this has been a year of bountiful blessings that came in all shapes, sizes, and colors. It won't be long before the leaves will all have fallen to the ground, and the trees will begin their winter sleep. We may have to look a little harder for our bountiful blessings, but rest assured they will be there if we just slow down and take the time to look for them. To everything there is a season, even for blessings.
And so it is.
