Quote of the day:
i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)e.e. cummings
1894-1962
These halcyon days of early summer fill me with gratitude.
With lush greens everywhere I look, visitations of hummingbirds, baby ducklings in the pond, fresh breezes, open-window weather, and fresh green things from my container garden to eat, I am counting blessings wherever I go.
Make Way for Ducklings
I counted at least 4 different families of newly hatched ducklings this week in the pond behind our house. This is the most I’ve ever seen on the pond in a single week. It must have been a good year for the ducks.
First I saw a mysterious group of 3 ducklings swimming without a parent for several days. Then I saw a momma mallard duck with 7 ducklings. The next day I glimpsed a female wood duck with 14 tiny little ducklings following her, across the pond. When the ducklings spotted me they rushed to get closer to their mother. It was such a happy sight. And yesterday I saw another mallard momma duck with only 1 tiny duckling following her. After the initial sitings, I haven’t seen any of them again. This morning I searched and only saw a female wood duck swimming alone in the pond.
I always worry and wonder about how many of the ducklings survive. It seems that they do not linger long in our little pond. There are snapping turtles in the pond and foxes and raccoons living in the park area nearby. I think it is a very risky business being a duckling.
I’ve kept my binoculars on the dining room table this week so that they’re easy to grab when I spot ducklings on the pond. Today I walked down the hill to the pond across the street and found one family of wood ducks with 11 ducklings. Other than those, I’ve seen no ducklings today, but they could be hiding in the reeds or the tall grass along the edge of the pond.
Flowers in Bloom
My peonies are just coming into bloom. I expect glorious pink peonies to be bursting open for the next week. And the wild phlox, geraniums, and columbine are all in bloom in my little woodland garden. The ferns are huge and perfectly shaped before weather and wind begin to tear and tangle them.
In my container garden, the kale, mustard greens, pak choi, cilantro, and parsley are bountiful.
And the flowers that I planted to attract hummingbirds have had several visitations by hummingbirds. It’s such fun to see them.
And yesterday after a lovely lunch with a friend I found some colorful shoes that are so-o-o comfortable.
Ordinary Miracles all Around
These are the ordinary miracles of my days—ducklings, friends, flowers, green things growing, fresh veggies from the garden, and hummingbird visitations.
What are the ordinary miracles in your life?
May you walk in beauty.
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