Autumn … one of the many reasons why I will never leave New England. While out on my lunchtime walk on the Brook Path in Wellesley, the color orange followed me everywhere.
It began with this:
This fungi really intrigued me, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such a brilliant color of orange on a mushroom!
If you know what kind of mushroom this is, please comment and share your knowledge.
Emerging from the Brook Path, the red and orange leaves made their presence known:
It seems appropriate then to close this post with a short poem about this lovely time of year:
Autumn
Alexander Lawrence Posey
In the dreamy silence
Of the afternoon, a
Cloth of gold is woven
Over wood and prairie;
And the jaybird, newly
Fallen from the heaven,
Scatters cordial greeting,
And the air is filled with
Scarlet leaves, that, dropping
Rise again, as ever,
With a useless sigh for
Rest–and it is Autumn.
What signs of Autumn are you seeing in your world?
I loved this post that my husband sent me yesterday!
It is written by author Anne Strieber, well known for her thrillers An Invisible Woman and Little Town Lies.
She is married to Whitley Strieber, best known for his horror novels The Wolfen and The Hunger and for Communion, a non-fiction account of his perceived experiences with non-human entities.
In this post, Anne draws an analogy between hummingbirds who love to pick a fight, and people of the same ilk. It proves yet again how much we can learn by drawing upon and make connections.
John Donne in 1624 said it so well in his famous poem,
“No Man is an Island:”
No Man Is An Island
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend’s were.
Each man’s death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
He speaks of the need for human connectedness. Anne extends that connectedness to the entire natural world.
Here is a teaser from her post:
” … I’ll see a hummer [aka, hummingbird] land on our feeder, take a sip of sugar water, then immediately put his head up and look around, searching for a rival. I used to think this had something to do with guarding the food source, but now I’ve realized it’s because hummingbirds really ENJOY a good fight.
Soon two (or three) hummers are buzzing around, darting at each other, feinting and threatening, sometimes even telling each other off with that little “cht, cht” sound they make.
I’ve written before about why we humans are designed to make love, not war (even though we seem to be starting a new battle, somewhere, almost every day). But SOME people are more like hummingbirds–they relish a good fight and actively look for one … ”
Today on my lunchtime walk, I met the most lovely little female ginger. Talkative and sweet, we spent time together on the grass communing. She moved constantly but I did manage to get a couple of pictures to share.
I needed that communing; the world is in turmoil right now and being the news junkie that I am, I keep listening, reading and paying attention. But it does get overwhelming.
A sweet cat along the journey offering hospitality can sure lift my spirits!
My son Stephen also has met a sweetie. Now settled in Brooklyn, NY, he made his first new friend in the form of Datcha, a fine and fluffy fifteen year-old gentleman. Temporarily living with Stephen and his 4 roommates, Datcha has chosen Stephen as his favorite and claimed his bed. He remarked that “It certainly makes it feel more like home to have a nice kitty here.”
Amen.
Datcha and the Ginger Miss reminded us both of another lovely fluffy ginger, Oscar, who use to luxuriate in the grass waiting for passers by to greet him, and I would as I walked from the parking lot to the office. His owner, a lovely women I once worked with, commented that Oscar was “waiting to be admired.” Indeed. Stephen and I both had the chance to do that.
Oscar is gone now but Oscar, this is in your memory.
Thank you, and friendly cats everywhere, for your welcome.
Has a cat ever made you feel welcome or brought you comfort? Leave a comment and share your story.
Quoted form the site: “One of the benefits of studying parrots is learning how they develop their complex vocal abilities. Another benefit is… baby parrots!!! Watch this fascinating video about how Green-rumped Parrotlets learn their “names” in the wild:”
The world is a scary place and lately it’s been getting to me. I imagine it’s getting to you too. Are you finding yourself more anxious than usual? Mine is certainly not helped by morbid curiosity over the news.
And I’m wondering why I’m grinding my teeth more than usual?!?
I came across a song yesterday that affirmed what I was feeling when I wrote the previous post –
Prayer is the answer.
The song is called “That’s Why I Pray” and it’s performed by Big and Rich and written by Sarah Buxton, Danelle Leverett and Blair Daly. The chorus says it all:
“Oh I’m begging for forgiveness / I wanna make a difference, even in the smallest way / I’m only one person, but I can feel it working / I believe in better days / That’s why I pray.”
This is the perfect song for this time in our lives.
There was another song released years ago, written and performed by Michard Card especially for the National Day of Prayer. It’s called “Heal Our Land” and it seemed appropriate to include it here too:
Think of these songs and let’s offer unending prayers for our nation and the world!
I chanced upon this awesome video of an animated segment shown in the 1950s on the old Disney weekly TV show. Known originally as “Disneyland,” the show went through many title changes (the one I remember watching was “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color.”). I just loved this video of their history of the cat and thought you’d enjoy it too!
Thanks to the Mary Sue blog for bringing this video to our attention.
In the Catholic lectionary, today’s Gospel from Luke chapter 6 reads as follows:
Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you …”
When I heard the beginning of this reading I found myself saying,
“No, no, not today, not after all that has happened!”
Of course I am referring to the horrendous murders of the Ambassador to Libya and three other diplomats, and the overpowering of our embassies in Egypt, Yemen and possibly beyond.
I remember learning from Father Robert Barron’s excellent video series, Catholicism that the meaning of this scripture was that our apparent passivity (meaning our radical goodness) would reflect the evil back onto our enemy like a mirror, causing the enemy to repent. And if that person did not repent, you, at least, remained innocent, earning your reward in heaven.
Applying this scripture on an individual basis is possible (especially with the help of God’s grace). I believe however that scripture has a universal application. Therefore, the question:
If we are to love our enemies, what is the proper response to the chaos in Egypt, Libya and the rest of the Middle East? How are we to respond to the heinous murder of our diplomats? May their souls rest in peace and may God console their families.
What would Jesus do?
ADDENDUM: While driving home from work I prayed the Divine Mercy, a prayer honoring the sacrifice of Christ on the cross for the salvation of the world. The prayer is short:
“Eternal Father, I offer you the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and for all the world. For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
As I prayed this prayer, I looked at a picture of the crucifix on my dashboard and it began to dawn on me that Jesus lived His teaching:
He loved His enemies. He turned the other cheek.
He allowed Himself to be tortured and crucified, surrendering His earthly authority and submitting to the Divine Authority of His Heavenly Father. As a result, a total humiliating defeat was transformed into a miraculous victory: He was risen from the dead.
Jesus employed radical love, as He taught in Luke 6 and the results were more powerful than could ever have been achieved from any human effort.
What does this mean?
In trying to apply this insight to the chaos happening overseas, I realized that first we must lay down our own earthly authority and submit to Divine authority. We do that through prayer.
Prayer for our enemies. Prayer for guidance. And the humility to say, “Lord, we have no idea what we are supposed to do. Lead and guide us.”
We all can have a part in this. We all can pray.
As a nation we need to petition our Heavenly Father. Perhaps we can begin with the prayer of Divine Mercy:
“Eternal Father, I offer you the body, blood, soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in atonement for our sins and for all the world. For the sake of His sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”
Here we can begin.
I would love to hear your insight. Surely this is a teaching that all Christians grapple with.
On occasion while driving I will listen to the Ancient Faith Radio app on my iPhone. My husband, an Eastern Catholic and deacon in the Melkite Church introduced me to this treasure. Tuning in I can listen to glorious Byzantine chant sprinkled with prayers and sayings.
One set of prayers frequently used is known as Prayers by the Lake by St. Nikolai Velimirovitch, a modern day Orthodox saint.
Today’s prayer ended this way:
O my illustrious King and my God, to You alone I bow down and pray. Flood into me, as a raging stream into thirsty sand. Just flood me with Yourself, life-giving Water; then grass will easily grow in the sand and white lambs will graze in the grass. (Prayers by the Lake, XIX)
I received this from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and if you’re a bird lover, you’ll want to subscribe to their newsletter. Cornell offers many wonderful videos about birds including live cams of nesting birds. I’ll feature their best one after we expose the secret lives of your favorite backyard birds! Continue reading “The secret lives of backyard birds”→
Kayaking is such a great way to sneak up on birds! Here’s a couple I was able to capture in a picture. The setting is Mill Pond in Westborough, MA. This place never disappoints!
Autumn
Click to Tweet & Share: Yellow, gold, orange, scarlet … the colors of Autumn … what signs are you seeing in your world? http://wp.me/p2D9hg-eu
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Be as One 