Day 334 Blowing Leaves

November 8, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

This morning I awoke to a perfect day for walking in my local park. I hopped in my car to drive two miles, showed my lifetime senior pass at the entrance, set my Fitbit for tracking exercise and got out of my car ready to walk. I set out on the perimeter path, about 3 ½ miles. Soon my thoughts began flowing freely. From the Chesapeake Bay side to the Bodkin Creek side, I felt relaxed. 

Oddly, in the middle of surrounding nature sounds, I was astonished to meet a park employee coming toward me, carrying either a battery or gas pack on his back and sweeping back and forth, to create and scatter dust devil swirls to one side or the other. I gestured and he turned off the jarring noise so we could talk.

“Why are you doing this?”

“To clean the leaves off the path. I’ve done this four times already this week and the leaves keep falling.” (Duh!)

“Yes, I can see that but why is this necessary?”

He was at a loss at first and then pointed to a slight bump on the path, indicating that if it were covered with leaves, people might trip. 

I told him that I found this to be incredible and to please convey to his boss that one park member looked forward to taking leaf photos and hearing the leaves crinkle and crunch on her walk.

He seemed to try to comfort me by saying, “I’m sure you’ll find some leaves have already fallen where I’ve just cleared.” 

He was right. I found one in a small puddle and took a photo with my cell phone. At the end, I had completed 4.9 miles and crunched a few newly fallen leaves. 

My gift today is Mother Nature’s victory.

 Left path had just been cleared by a leaf blower. I turned around and saw the one on the right which had not yet met the noisy machine. Which path would you prefer to walk on in natural surroundings?

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> Day 335 What is a Life Worth?

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 332 Circles

November 6, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

A year ago today was my father’s 93^rd birthday. One or two months before that, I remember a conversation we had. He had been pensive as we sat in silence. “How long do I have?” I knew what he meant and of course I did not know the answer, but I responded with what I felt. “I don’t know, Dad. I think you will make it to 93 but I can’t promise you Christmas. Let’s appreciate each day as much as we can right now.” I followed this with a hug and went on to tell him about all the people in his family who exist because of him. “We all love you,” I reassured him. 

I was right in my predictions. He met his 93^rd birthday with diminishing strength but did not make it to Christmas. Our whole family deeply felt his absence on Christmas day last year. He had been the center  of our family circle.

This morning I looked outside my window and saw that our Japanese red maple had succumbed to the season. A brilliant array of red leaves encircled its trunk. Even though the weather is still mild, I know that winter is coming. But I also know that small red maple sapplings will sprout next spring.

My maple sheds crimson,
ablaze on the crinkled ground.
Silently, I give thanks to the phoenix
for this blatant blanket
as we wait for winter.
     ~ Bonnie Schupp

My gift today is a vibrant circle.

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See previous post on this tree, When Will Bob Be Naked?
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2015/11/day-327-when-will-bob-be-naked.html

> Day 333: Seeing

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 330 Alas, Deer Yorick

November 4, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

A few deer bones among the fallen leaves

It seemed a waste not to go walking outdoors on a day like today, so David and I set out from our house to a few blocks away where we could enter a heavily wooded area, Anne Arundel County property managed by the Department of Natural Resources. There was a warning sign posted that it would not be safe to enter on a few particular days where there would be open hunting to help control the deer population. I am glad that today was not one of the posted days. 

Today we noticed that what used to be visible paths a few years ago no longer existed. There has always been an absence of trail blaze markers and this time we encountered lots of fallen tree parts, sticker bushes and even mushrooms growing on what used to be a trail. We explored with an eye to the topography and sun position. 

We stopped to examine what appeared to be the remains of a deer, dry white bones picked clean long ago.  In our neighborhood “wild woods,” we walked to the sound of crunching leaves and only a few remaining crickets. “Stop and listen,” David urged. We stood still and heard the delicate sound of leaves falling all around us. Our adventure today—the bones, crunching leaves and diminishing daylight—was a reminder of temporal days and ever-changing time. We could hear the falling leaves today but in the next season, we will listen to the falling snow.

My gift today is the sound of falling leaves.

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You can find links to my other posts on this project here:
http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html

Day 288 A Quiet Tickle

September 23, 2015

(If we live with an open and grateful attitude, every day will bring a gift. This is one of 365 gifts during the year I turned 70.)

It has been gradually approaching. I’ve seen it, heard it and felt it. The daily changes are subtle. The sun’s angle begins to change and throws different shadows, reveals new relationships. Some trees, as if the burden of holding green for so long, have begun to let go. The air takes on a fresh quality. Transitions that I notice first, however, are the sounds. For the past several weeks, tree frogs have slacked off, cicadas have grown tired of their music, and fewer crickets sing. Eventually the softness that green offers will change. Without the canopy, sound will escape through the holes and will adopt a new timbre. 

At Downs Park this evening, for a while, I sat on a bench overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, listening to the rhythm of the waves washing on the shore mingled with only a few remaining cricket songs as the sun was setting. Of all the sounds, I think water and cricket choruses are most relaxing and reach deepest into my spirit. As I walked to the pond, the beauty of one tree struck me. It held green leaves and others were changing to red hues but these tones were still pastel—almost pink—not the normal saturated colors we are used to in autumn. This tree is approaching the autumn journey with a quiet tickle rather than a trumpet blare. It seems to be meditating and breathing deeply, in no hurry to rush the season. 

I agree that my favorite season should not be rushed. 

My gift today is the beginning of autumn.

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> Day 289: Two Continents

You can find links to my other posts on this project here:

http://bjschupp.blogspot.com/2014/12/365-gifts.html