time of the singing of the birds

It must be coming on toward morning. Even though the clock says 4:30 and the sky is still dark, the birds are beginning to discuss the coming day. It is peaceful and I turned my soft music off so I can hear them singing better. Solomon said, “the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;” I know he was speaking of the springtime, there is a little session of that every morning if you are up early enough to hear it.

I wish Louie were here. We could share this time of day together. He was an early morning person. I was never a voluntary early riser. I would get up if I needed to but only if I needed. He was always up trucking around. By the time I rolled out he would have coffee made and, in NM, the fire fixed so that Notah and I were all cozy. When I came out to the kitchen, he would be sitting at the table with his coffee and a book or magazine playing the radio softly. The door would be open and the early morning sunshine pouring in. Those days are past. 

Now I look forward to going to the desert again in a few days. I like Notah’s new house. I can open the door to the east now if I have Keva’s old room and sit there with my book or just sit and watch the birds. It isn’t quite as good as having Louie with me, but it is close.  

Time to get on with my day.

a rainbow on the floor

There’s a rainbow on the floor in the den. I saw it yesterday morning when I turned around to stand up from fixing lunches. It’s tiny as rainbows go—probably like four inches square, but it has all the colors of the spectrum in it.

It was a little miracle for a few seconds. A tiny promise from God appearing suddenly in the darkness of early morning, it shone brightly. Of course, there is a very logical reason for it and I looked to see it again today. Michael changed the light on the turtle tank from a plain light bulb to one of those coiled energy efficient bulbs. It gives off a white light that breaks into a spectrum of colors as it shines through the glass of the fish tank and the water inside. When the light in that one little spot is condensed on the floor it makes a rainbow.

But knowing the scientific principles of its creation makes it no less beautiful there on the floor in the dimness.

And even more it made my mind go back to the promise God made to Noah as he and his family thanked Him for their survival in the flood.

20And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. 22While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. Gen 8: 20-22

12And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: 13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. 14And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud: 15And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh. 16And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth. 17And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth. Genesis 9:12-17

the desert sky

Notah sent me a text; “Warm NM night. Sky’s desert color. Dark blue n east changing to last pale red orange n the west.” Such a few words can evoke such a feeling of the desert. We are desert people, not the ‘live in the city and talk about blue skies and hot baking sun while you sit by your pool” desert people but desert desert people. We live amid the sage and rabbit bush and pull goat’s heads from the dogs’ feet and carry water in the car all the time.

All I had to do was close my eyes and take a deep breath and I was back. I could smell the odor of sage and sand. I could feel the hot sun (that we do have occasion to complain about, love it or not) and turn my face into the wind (even if it has sand blowing through it).

It makes me angry when I ride through towns and see green green lawns and pools in back yards. It makes me angry when I know that millions of gallons of water are wasted flooding into golf courses and gardens for the tourist/ retirement areas so easterners can brag to their friends how wonderful the desert is. If you want to live in the desert then live in the DESERT. Don’t try to turn the desert into little pieces of Ohio. If you don’t like the sand and rocks and sage brush and shaggy desert grasses, then don’t come to my desert!

Meantime let those of us who DO love it keep it for future generations to enjoy.

I found this picture that describes the word picture Notah sent me… I just clicked to put it in my screen saver pictures, so I don’t have the photographer.    So, Someone-in-Albuquerque, thank you.

light

Sometimes we are blessed with little bits of beauty that we walk past and never think about.  Today a ran into one of those.  But I had to stop.

Rachael and Michael's house has a big corner of the living room that is all window. It is the front corner, facing the street and also facing east.  When I got up to send Michael off to work this morning it was dark.  Well, not really dark dark, but only dim and gray. 

I made his coffee, got his "Bagelful"  ready for the microwave, and packed his lunch. (Lazy Rachael is off today and stayed in bed!  :-)  )   I also fixed myself some breakfast.  He left. 

When I had finished eating I got myself another cup of coffee and headed back to my room.  As I came down the short hall I was hit with a blaze of sunlight.  It was streaming through the trees off the reservoir and sparkling all across our living room.  It was so bright it reflected off Rachael's wall of photographs.

I had to stand just a couple minutes and enjoy it.  God didn't have to make such a beautiful world!