Sitting in a hot tub with a warm cup of coffee,
Looking across the lawn, and into the back woods,
Watching the creatures begin their daily routines,
Unaware that today is Sunday; a day to relax.
The donkeys turn their broad sides toward the East
To collect the gathering heat of the rising sun.
The goats chase each other around an old tree stumpButting heads, and wagging their stub tails.
A pair of wood ducks venture down to the pond for a swim,
Scooping up a slug or bug or two along the way.
A lone squirrel darts behind them all, and scampers up a cedar tree.
Swallows swoop and hummingbirds dart, as robins toil at the ground,
All as busy as can be, as though it were already Monday.
11 comments:
BEAUTIFUL!!! So beautifully written, I could see them all!!! Thanks.
AAA
A hot tub and a cup of coffee! Nothing like being a wide awake prune.
What was that again about turning your ass to the sun?
Seriously, Randy, this is beautiful. It sounds like the kind of church I'd like to attend on Sundays.
Thanks for the comments AAA and Pam. The pond is really coming alive this spring. All the critters mentioned above plus wild rabbits and mallards are regulars, but the wood ducks were a nice surprise this year. Several of them have been in and out of the pond during the past couple weeks, and one mated pair looks like they may be here to stay. I built them a wood duck house, and we’re hoping they’ll adopt it to lay their eggs in.
…And Pam, I think you'd like the "church." Sunday services are quite spirited around here. Our two mini Jerusalem donkeys with their ancient inherited crosses on their backs are naturally the church leaders. When the Honorary Reverend Donkey Jackson bows his head you can almost hear him whisper “Let us bray.” Then when Brother Waldo joins in, and they both get to “braying” everything within a half mile of the pond gets a loud dose of that old time religion.
liked the feel of this randy. very well done! and it goes so nicely with my own cup of sunday morning coffee. thanks1
Glad you stopped by Bob, and thank you for the kind comment. Come back anytime. The coffee's always on; at least on Sundays.
Perhaps I should not be sharing this here, and if I step on any toes, I apologize up front, but I have not darkened the door of a church in years (with the exception of an occasional wedding or funeral...), however, I feel none the less spiritual. I get the feeling my church going friends look at it as a bit of a cop out or an excuse not to have to rise early and get gussied up on Sunday morning (or as was the case for me, Saturday morning). But the relationship I have with my higher power is more real to me now than it ever was when I attended church on a regular basis. What I now have is guilt free, it is powerful, and it is with me 24/7. It is in the faces of my grandchildren, and in the beauty of nature that surrounds me. So, I gotta tell you, your "Sunday Service" is right up my alley....and it is as reverent as any I ever experienced inside four walls with a steeple.
AAA
AAA: Thank you for sharing that. I can only speak for myself, but you didn’t step on any of my toes. My sermon on this subject usually begins “I was raised Roman Catholic, which explains why I’m agnostic.”
Last year I walked into the church I attended as a child for the first time in almost 40 years just to see if I had ever belonged there. The Nave and the Sanctuary were as empty as my footsteps, and as familiar as my childhood bedroom. I looked once again at each of the fourteen Stations of the Cross. I lit a few candles, as I had done with my mother four decades prior in honor of those in my life who are suffering, and I left.
I remember feeling the sun on my face as I walked back to my truck, and I remember thinking that whatever I was looking for inside was too big to fit inside. For me I think it has always existed outside. Outside where mountains are life’s alters; where holy water trickles in streams, and rushed down rivers to bless the oceans where life began. Where miracles are performed every day by crocuses pushing through the snow, by hummingbirds flying backwards, and by toddlers chasing butterflies. The unimaginable variety of life from the deepest regions of the ocean to centuries old migratory paths in the sky that still carry swallows like clockwork from their winter feeding grounds to their summer nesting sites cannot be contained within any walls. The proof that life is awesome is out here, and if any proof exists of God, then it must be out here as well. So bray donkeys bray. The spring is here, the dawn has come, and it’s Sunday morning.
To my neighbors I apologize. I know the goats are raucous and the donkeys get loud, but you gotta love their spirit ….I think they may be Baptists.
AAA, I’ve got to run now, but you’ve got me thinking I may just expand on this comment later and incorporate it into a future post.
Randy
Well, Randy, as is often the case with my brother's writings, you have brought me to tears and laughter at the same time. The tears begin to brim at the beauty and depth of your words and an audible giggle emerges at your clever inference to the Baptist goats and donkeys.
AAA
"Let us Braaaaaay," DEFINITELY Baptists!
I am Roman Catholic and I go to church every Sunday. My spiritual center is God, which I believe is nature in all it's beauty and wonder. Jesus taught love and truth. I try to learn both from His teachings, when to do so, at times, is diffiult. The Holy Spirit is the joy and light in our own souls which emanate from both God and Jesus.
I go to church every Sunday to give thanks for all of it, including the horse pucky in my garden, which helps the flowers grow.
Pam: That's great. Your Sundays sound very rewarding to you. I admire people who are true to their beliefs, and you can’t get much truer than being thankful for horse pucky.
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