Another beautiful blue sky Monday. Fall is right on the cusp of breaking out in her colored leaves and cool breezes. I’m already wearing one of my cardigans. Father Sky has already finished painting his sky canvas azure blue. Sat on the porch a little while and let the wind chimes serenade me this morning. The family of my friend next door were gathering at his house visiting and planning his funeral. It’s sad to know I won’t be hearing his yelling, “Hey, neighbor,” anymore when he comes outside. I heard a beautiful mocking bird song this morning when I waked and immediately thought my friend was singing about heaven and to let me know he’s okay. I heard you, my friend.

Didn’t sit on the porch much today till dusk and I watched the sunset’s horizon turn a pale peach. It’s amazing how quickly the clouds are transformed at sunset and how fleeting the glorious beauty is. The pageantry in the sunset, every day different brush strokes of wondrous colors layered on the sky and surrounding clouds. I watch Mother Nature paint the sunset’s horizon every day, thankful to see another day ending in magnificent splendor with its promise of tomorrow.

Mother Nature is so splendiferous and doesn’t wait for us to enjoy her watercolor paintings of sunrise and sunset. She paints her exquisite canvases and sets her creatures free to roam and fly around without a thought of us enjoying them. In the fall she fills our yards with colorful butterflies and the musical sounds of the birds and coyotes and cicadas and crickets, paints the green foliage vibrant reds, oranges, yellows and purples. Mother Nature is quite a gal!

Been reading birds quotes, sitting in my reading chair, with Penelope in my lap under a blanket. There are so many beautiful quotes about birds and most of them can be related to our lives. Ernest Hemingway typed on his manual typewriter, “Sad birds sing.” I know it’s a metaphor but I’ve never thought of birds being sad. They flitter around and sing their songs and prune their feathers sitting on the tightrope of the power lines. They drink and splash in the bird baths. They seem to live a charmed life. But things aren’t always what they appear to be.

Lots of folks walk around with sadness that they’ve learned how to mask from the world. They paste smiles on their faces and like the sad birds, their life songs take on a different tune. But we can live with sadness without living sadly. Maya Angelou said, “Birds sing not because they have an answer but because they have a song.” Life and its mornings are gifts. Be grateful for each day and enjoy them as the birds do. Let’s all find our bird song in our hearts and give thanks for the joy of living. Let’s help our friends carrying sadness in their hearts to find their songs.

One of my most favorite bird quotes is Toni Morrison’s, “If you really want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.” To me this means to give your troubles up to God in prayer and he’ll carry the load for you. To reach our greatest potential we have to be brave enough to let go of the things that limit our flights. We can soar in our faith if we lay our troubles at the feet of the Lord in prayer.

“The reason birds can fly and we can’t is simply because they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings. Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark,” — Jim Barrie.