(Photo: Nick Ta/Flickr)
After a light breakfast, I headed outside to sit in on the porch chair embracing my morning coffee. It was a beautiful morning with blue skies and sun. A cool breeze blew past me as I looked out into the garden and watched the hawk above me soar.
My husband works in the garden more than I, but I’m the detail gal. I usually go around picking big weeds, tackling thistles, and directing him on what needs attention. It’s sometimes an overwhelming task, and that is why I would love to watch the hawk more than tackling the weeds. This morning was one of those mornings where I realized that I neglected my duties.
Recently, we had a flood in our backyard, which violated our basement and our lives. The basement, 3 months later, is still under repair and our house is still disheveled. This is the ebb in life most of us know.
I took a walk in the garden and noticed all the thistle, weeds, and rotting wood. I notice how our porch and the gutters needed replacement, and how even the evergreens were losing their green. Generally, the flood disaster took our attention away from other things.
I could retreat and go inside and wait for the winter cover, but instead, I decided to place myself in the middle of nature’s encroachment. I started out in the garden where our newly planted trees existed, stuck in the dry soil and how they desperately needed water. I pulled, what seemed to be endless weeds out, while I pondered about my next business venture. Nature does this to me. It brings me back down to earth for the purpose of realizing my gifts. It makes me notice things. Nature also helped me write this blog.