love thursday...God's post-it notes all over my morning!

did you ever feel a nudge & a whisper in the first morning light, like God is poking you & saying, "get up sleepyhead...i have a day full of wonder & beauty planned just for you!" that sleepy eye peeks open, taking in the morning's pink portrait of bent light in the sky, & you know a masterpiece awaits, free for the viewing but for a limited time only. so you get up! & you draw a sharp intake of breath as you take in the sight...96. from the perch i am blessed to call my deck this was my wake-up call...from this to coffee on the lower deck (a bit more shaded in the summer heat, thank you very much!...& yes, it is hot out here, even in the early morn)...i am blessed to sit in the quiet & continue to count my gifts (the quiet alone being a profound gift!) lest i thought the sunrise was the morning's one & only, God again nudged me out of my reverie with a "quick, get up & look over the water!"


97. at first i saw nothing, heard nothing, but in a moment an otter cleared the surface, floated on his back & looked at me with his adorable smile! (sorry, he's much too quick for photo ops!) i watched him cavort around our dock for awhile & just as he started to swim away, another gift appeared~~ again in silence...


98. a great blue heron poked his head out from under our dock.he threw a weary glance over his shoulder at me & once he perceived i was no threat (hey, i had my coffee!), he continued fishing in his own elegant way.


99. just as i was reconsidering the comfort of my padded deck chair, a pair of morning gifts flew in with an unlikely ruckus...2 snowy egrets were in competition for a fishing spot opposite the heron. to look at these graceful birds you would never believe the sounds that can come out of them! think: call of a bull frog crossed with the buzz of locust swarms & a cow in agony! i'm not kidding.


100. that sound alone is a gift because it makes you laugh! it is not long before everyone in the water has had enough of the adolescent antics of the egrets & they all fly away but one...101. when one of these elegant creatures sees fit to land on our dock, i cannot help but think it is a benediction! soon he is gone too & i am settled into my chair once again. & once again, in the quiet, 2 more gifts...102. i let my eyes settle on my deck flowers that are now overhanging their pots in all their summer glory when i see a rustle of green that is not a leaf in the breeze...


103. but rather my ol' friend the anole! nearly every morning he parades across my deck railing, strutting his stuff. sometimes he even brings a lady friend. when i talk to him (yes, the neighbors think i am crazy!), he stops to consider me with a tilt of his brilliant green head. & he's not camera-shy either!soon he too sauntered off amongst the wisteria vine that now stretches from ground to top deck & i sipped the last of my coffee...& full of gifts, began my day. happy love thursday everyone!