Oh my goodness, today is perfectly beautiful! It’s 65 degrees on the porch, bright clear sunshine, cloudless azure blue sky, brisk cool wind beating a symphony out of the wind chimes. Almost need a blanket the wind is so cool on my legs and feet. The wind chimes’ paddles are spinning around banging each pipe individually, bamming the notes out loud and clear. It’s a tintinnabulation symphony. I’m wishing for the sunshine to hurry and reach to the porch swing to warm me up. The cardinals and finches, fighting as usual, are busy on the bird feeders. I put a new bird cake and a new berry suet out this morning. I bet I’ll see Mr. Downy Woodpecker shortly. He loves a new suet basket. I remembered to bring the seed cake and suet in tonight. They hang on the pole the raccoon can climb.

The sun lay her head down tonight in a golden pageantry of blinding yellow light. I walked Penelope down the street to watch the sun set and it was so bright I could only get a quick look. Later I watched Mother Nature paint the horizon with watercolor strokes of yellow and light turquoise. Father Sky pinned two stars in the purple heavens over my house but kept the moon covered. Guess the “Man in the Moon” is still sleeping, not ready to get out from under his cloud cover.

I sat on the porch pondering this afternoon till it was time for the Alabama ballgame. I love watching the college football games. Miss Chief watching them with me. We always had a tea party for the games. I’m keeping the tradition but not much fun to watch the game by myself. Alabama won so that was a happy for today. I keep up with my “happys.”

After Chief died, I was still recovering from Covid, lonely for him and depressed. I decided that each day I would find a “happy.” When I saw or experienced something that made me smile or warmed my heart, I would write it down on my calendar as the day’s happy. Happys are small moments of joy and peace that bring light to the darkness of our days. They help us mentally and emotionally feel better. Happys can come on good days, too, moments of thanksgiving for all our blessings.

My first happy that I wrote on my calendar was the first daffodil to bloom in the yard. Chief always brought me the first daffodil of the year and I remember the expressions on his face when he handed me the blooms each year. Lost that calendar when I moved back to Roanoke, it’s probably packed up somewhere but I remember lots of the happys — a beautiful leaf, homemade vegetable soup from the day care, snack boxes from Amazon, cardinals sitting on the wrought iron porch railing outside my window, a beautiful full moon, the glorious painting of the rising sun, phone calls and cards, a clothes basket of new towels, pillows and bedding, a tote bag full of prizes and treats. So many little presents from God to show me he was watching out for me, giving me comfort and peace, showing me through small daily tokens that I was loved and cared for.

I think God places little reminders of his love all around us, we’re just too busy or too caught up in our world to see them. Since I’ve retired and taken up porch pondering I’ve see tiny wildflowers, butterflies’ thin black legs tap dancing on flowers, the marbled colors in an the overcast sky, felt the wind from a hummingbird wings, found beauty in the subdued feathering of female song birds. I never took the time to notice the simple beauty in nature. We have so much to be thankful for that we take for granted. Just a simple glass of clean water should be enough to make us grateful and thankful.

When we give thanks to God it helps us to realize how much we do have. We sometimes focus on what we don’t have. We can be hurt, angry, or grieving and still give thanks to God. We can be thankful to God even when we aren’t thankful for our circumstances. I don’t think we can have peace or contentment in our lives till we are thankful. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.”

“The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings,” — Henry Ward Beecher