Happy Summer Solstice! As we celebrate the first official full day of summer, I decided to get up just as the sun was coming up this morning to see how Mother Nature and all of her children would greet this day. So I got myself a cup of coffee, pulled back the curtains, and looked out of my window to find the small, often unnoticed morning rituals of my non-human neighbors. So, when I looked out of my window this morning, I saw:
- ... what looked like a dozen tiny insect bodies suspended in mid-air until I looked more closely. As the morning light illuminated the space, I saw a beautifully intricate spider web, so thin and transparent that I couldn't see it even though it was right up against the window pane. Looking at the perfection of this web, I could well understand how the Native American weavers I met told me that Grandmother Spider taught them how to weave their beautiful textiles.
- ... a terribly confused bumble bee who kept hovering right outside the window as he tried to figure out how to get to the plants that were behind the glass on my window sill. I have to applaud his tenacity as he tried every nook, cranny, and seam in the window but finally had to admit defeat and take off to find easier plants to pollinate.
- ... a stunning male cardinal in brilliant red plumage sitting in the little tree out front and calling out endlessly into the air trying to find his beloved mate. After several minutes of this romantic love song, there in the distance a similar cry floated out to him from the other side of the yard. Our colorful Romeo took off in a flurry of feathers!
- ... small wisps of left-over morning fog that had settled in the small valleys among the trees on the distant hillside. It looked like someone had put them there deliberately to decorate for Christmas.
- ... a very small squirrel who found a way to outsmart the gang of grackles that were always after him by hiding in the row of small trees that act as a hedge between the properties. He finally darted out and up the pine tree when they couldn't find him and went off to terrorize some other animal (who knew there was so much drama at dawn?).
- ... a beautiful bird that I've never seen before, something like a dove or pigeon, that was all snow white except for some black markings scattered on its back like splattered ink. It came to rest on the rooftop of a house nearby and sat patiently until it's partner showed up. Then they took off in what looked like a sweeping, soaring air ballet.
- ... and, or course, the light, the beautiful morning light, as it moved up and across the sky touching each tree, plant and animal as if with a magic wand to birth a brand new day.
How much we miss when we don't take the time to greet the day. How wonderful it feels to be a part of Mother Nature's plan each morning and allow ourselves to be included in this wonderful, light-filled symphony we call a new day. If nothing else, it serves to remind us of how lucky we are just to be alive!
And so it is.
