Sat out on the porch this morning with oldest brother. He’s still got a squirrel problem. Now that’s he’s moved his bird feeders and got the squirrels to leave the feeders alone, they’re now chewing on his porch rail. I’m sure they won’t live much longer if they keep up their chewing. He’ll “cap” them as our little nephew says. When he left I looked up at the blue sky, cloudless and clear. Such a pretty blank canvas ready for Father Sky, Mother Nature, and God to paint their masterpieces. Didn’t get any good porch pondering in the swing till late afternoon. Too many pop up storms with thunder and lightning.

I had an encounter with a hawk today but thank goodness he wasn’t carrying my resident king snake, Balthazar, in his talons. I was sitting in the swing late afternoon, my feet up, swinging sideways, looking at my scuppernong vines thinking they might be all vine and no fruit this year. As I was watching a fat little chickadee perch on the top of the trellis, a large hawk flew down and snatched it up. Just a few feet from my face! Scared the bejesus out of me. This was a big hawk, not the little kestrel I usually see. I could hear and feel the swoosh of his wings. He didn’t even put on his brakes. Dived bombed the scuppernong trellis and away he flew clutching his supper. I guess the little chickadee fulfilled his destiny.

Went back outside to the swing at dusk with a cup of coffee and sat in the swing to watch the setting sun watercolor the sky. One large thunderhead cloud, dark purple and full of lightning and rain, was accented with pale raspberry hues on its rounded cotton ball tops. So beautiful to see. We’ve had storms off and on today. Lots of wind for the bamboos to swing around and enjoy their dance. Lots of heavy showers to water the earth. And the rain storms cooled things off so wonderfully. I’m sitting on the porch at 7 pm and it’s 74 degrees! Feels like fall and I’m ready for sweater weather. I love fall and all the colors she brings. I love living where we enjoy the four different seasons, each one with their individual beauty and poetic colors.

Finished a book I was reading about Jackie Kennedy Onassis today titled Jackie, Public, Private, Secret by Randy Taraborrelli. I’m not a fan of Jackie but I love biographies. I think she was a complicated woman who loved money and the power that came with being wealthy. I do have sympathy for her, though, for her suffering when her husband was assassinated. She dealt with the trauma of his death for the rest of her life.

Everyone deals with trauma and tragedy in a different way. Some stand tall and power their way through life’s troubling times. Some hang their heads in defeat asking why me. Some reach out to God for understanding and comfort. Others lose their faith, turning away from God in a crisis of faith. Some couples divorce, their marriage not strong enough to withstand the tragedy. Others strengthen their marriages and deepen their love for each other as they walk through the darkness together.

Happiness can come after tragedy. Hold on tightly to whatever gets you through the day. Accept that life is unpredictable and that you’ll have both good days and bad days. Face each day with hope for a better tomorrow. A broken heart is slow to heal but it does heal and life does go on. The sun will shine, the rain will fall, and the birds will sing.

“We don’t develop courage by being happy every day. We develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity,” — Barbara De Angelis.