Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Ghosts

Look at how delicate these leaves are—ghosts of leaves, really. I picked them up on my way to the mailbox. It was a clear, cold, sunny day here today and whereas I usually hurry,often through the rain, out to get the mail,  I was taking my time today, enjoying the sunshine and checking to see if the daffodils have started to emerge yet. They have. Scattered over the path to the mailboxes were winter worn leaves, delicate and fragile as moth wings.

This morning, on our walk, we saw a bald eagle. Paula and Beth and I were marching resolutely rounding the far end of the trail that passes the back side of an apartment complex. We heard a man shouting from a balcony, "Ladies! Ladies! —  eagle!"  We stopped and watched, mouths hanging open, as the magnificent bird circled over our heads, close enough to see his eyes, then soared into the treetops. We stood there, dumbstruck, for several minutes, watching to see if he'd return. He didn't.

It seems to me that the older I get the more these small wonders of nature affect me. This entire day was made slightly miraculous by the sight of that eagle this morning. Those ghostly leaves scattered in my path felt like gifts. Finding money on the ground would not have been any better.

10 comments:

  1. Those leaves are beautiful and now they have made my day 'slightly miraculous' too

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  2. So lovely. I really enjoyed your walk this morning.

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  3. I just think that this everyday stuff is the miracle. Why wait till later when you could be happy right now with what is around you?

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  4. Kind of like Dorothy and the ruby slippers, everything we need, we already have. It is to remember to open our eyes.

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  5. i think the younger we are ... like your grandaughters age.. she probbaly has your same wonder... then we all get caught up in lives and forget and it only wehn life slows down that we are able to appreciate these things again.

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  6. I’ve picked up three of those ghost leaves recently, and bought them home. I love your term for them; it’s so much more evocative than the technical term I’ve heard, which is skeletonized. When I found the first one my first thought was to mount it in a shadow box frame, but I found a clear plastic rectangular container that will hold all of them perfectly. I have it on a windowsill downstairs where it gets bright but indirect light, so you can really see the structure. Small miracles of nature, indeed.

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  7. What gifts--ghost leaves and a bald eagle in the same day! You are blessed. And I appreciate the reminder to enjoy MY unique blessings.

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  8. Seeing a bald eagle can lift me from the deepest of funks.

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  9. I have just recently subscribed to your blog and I love it completely. You have been a great inspiration to me and helped me to see beyond what I was viewing with my eyes. Thank you.

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  10. Anonymous6:15 AM

    I call it finding the miraculous in the mundane. I think when we notice we get rewarded with more miracles.

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