Evening Reflections

It is easy to get in a rut and never go outside - other than the routine errand running. I've been trying to consciously go outside, to sit by the pond on a more regular basis. Being outside and soaking in the sights and sounds of nature helps to center me and feed my spirit. Watching clouds build and the wind blow reminds me of the story of Elijah when he heard God's soft voice.

Tonight, it was cool for July. It was breezy - probably due to the little storms being generated by the hurricane in the gulf. The wind rustled the leaves and left patterns in the water as it came and went. I enjoy the wind. It is a familiar friend from my childhood in the Texas Panhandle. A few sprinkles came down, but never enough to send me scurrying back to the house.

We have a new set of inhabitants on the pond. Each time I've gone down, I've seen a pair of mallards. Tonight they were hidden in some fallen trees right by the water's edge. Right at sunset, they left their hiding spot and swam and splashed in the water. I have not seen any ducklings, but I wonder if they will nest. I would love to have babies to enjoy.

We had some herons too. Too small to be great blues -I'm suspecting night herons, but they were on the other side of the pond and hard to see. But there were at least three.

We have frogs, I can hear them regularly, but I never see them. We have frogs that I suspect are small that make loud clicking noises, and we have the big bullfrogs with their "waaaonnnng".

One of the nice things about sitting around the pond in the evening is watching the swallows getting their drinks of water. It amazes me how quickly they can fly to the water, grabbing their drink barely slowing down at all.

The clouds looked stormy for awhile, and I was hoping for a rainbow when it was lightly sprinkling. But the clouds disappated, the sky glowed golden in the west. And then the clouds to the east turned pale pink.