Looking more closely may lead to jumping for joy

Do you ever find yourself going through life in neutral? I plead guilty. I got a lesson in joy the other morning and my smile lasted all day. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary, just one of those everyday blessings easy to miss.

Let me set the scene. The landscape we look at every day is fairly common for this part of California. Common-use open space runs behind our house. A walking trail runs though this unmowed area and it's dotted with several huge, gnarly oak trees. I've always loved the way they grow, even when I only saw them in movies. 

Many species of birds call those ancient trees home. One or the other is always singing or chattering. My personal favorite is the mockingbird, which can go on for hours. (Some people find that annoying, I know.) These birds like high places. Frequently one hunkers down on the roof next door and serenades us.

I looked out the other morning, enjoying another serenade, thankful once again that mockingbird is "ours" and chose to perch on the tip of the topmost branch. Suddenly that plain gray bird jumped straight up in the air, landed in the same place and never stopped singing. The bird kept repeating that performance over and over. I watched for several minutes what looked very much like leaping for joy. 

Not long after I heard an unfamiliar noise out back, a kind of chattering. Fifteen or so California quail had dropped in for a quick visit and were lined up along the top railing of our fence. We had spotted some a few times while walking the trail, but had never seen them up close. This covey clearly had a leader and seemed sociable, nodding their heads at each other,  clucking and muttering in quail talk. They sounded so much like a group of women that I had to laugh.

Then I noticed that just behind that tree a young mule deer was grazing. It soon ambled its way off down the hill. Somehow, it seemed the finishing  touch. (This was not the first time we've seen deer. Every now and then they come right up to that our back fence and nibble through the bars.) 

Now the point to all this nature talk. First, I've been known to grumble (surprise!) Yet even when it seems the city crowds in, God provides reminders of his creation. How many other little blessings do I miss every day?

Second, I always get to choose how I look at life. Mockingbirds can be viewed as pests…or as wonderful songbirds. Deer pay no attention to regular height fences, they devour rose gardens and just about any bloom that's not purple, except for daffodils. Yet did you ever see a more graceful animal? 

For right now, I want to keep before me the image of that mockingbird jumping straight up. It looked like sheer exuberance that had to be expressed. I'd like some of that quality for myself. How about you?

Here's to greeting our days with joy!

Love and blessings,

Lenore