Today was so pretty, bright blue sky, lots of different shaped clouds floating like puzzle pieces, joining and separating in the sky. Had warm sunshine, too! Been busy all morning but did have time to sit and eat my lunch in the swing. Just pondered the afternoon away in the swing watching the yard critters.

That fat little squirrel really enjoyed the bird feeders today. Late afternoon, I put some corn oil in a squirt bottle and sprayed all the poles. I laughed watching him jump up on the poles to start climbing and then slide down. They are tenacious little critters, he honestly tried every pole till he quit and just started picking up acorns in the grass. Penelope tried to lick the oily poles. My little dog has some serious food issues. She’s a bottomless pit. The only thing she doesn’t whine for is Doublemint chewing gum, that’s my favorite thing. Always have a pack of two around me.

The yard had more birds today — wrens, cardinals, doves, titmice, finches, and chickadees. All happy to be in the sun and eating sunflower seeds. It was quiet except for the birds’ singing symphony. The fighting finches charm (love that name for a flock of finches) came mid-afternoon and drove the other birds away with their loud chatter. I put some feeders on the other side of the yard outside the lady den windows and the cardinals will feed over there when the finches get too boisterous. Ever been at the movies and some obnoxious person close by talks too loud. I think that’s how the cardinals feel about the finches. They disturb their peace.

Twice today a flock of common grackles lit in the road and walked all over the center of the road pecking the concrete. Guess they were eating acorns that had been squashed by car tires. Grackles are such handsome birds. They’re large birds with bright golden eyes, long black tails and long thin bills, dressed in purplish brown and black plumage. When the sun hits their feathers just right they have an iridescent shine on their bluish black heads. They usually travel with noisy large flocks of blackbirds. In the winter large flocks of grackles and different species of blackbirds forage and roost in large communal flocks. These flocks have been know to contain millions of birds! A flock of grackles is called a plague! I wonder who made up these bird flock names?

The holidays are fast approaching and we need to remember not everyone anticipates a big family turkey dinner at Thanksgiving with all their loved ones or a happy Christmas with lost of presents prettily wrapped placed around the tree. We need to remember the shut ins and older members of our families, and families with children, who are just struggling to put food on their tables.

I went Thanksgiving grocery shopping with oldest sister-in-law this morning and I honestly could not believe the prices on some of the grocery items. I don’t know how parents feed their families, specially with several children and babies who need formula and diapers. I know I’m fortunate and I’m grateful for my blessings but I realized today we might need to stop counting our blessings and be a blessing to someone else.

Just a genuine thank you or a smile can change the day’s outlook. The world can be a cruel and thoughtless place. Everyone’s in a hurry to go no where, impatient in the check out lines, spewing hateful words at those who choose to march to their own drum beats, living a life different from theirs. We need to learn to respect each other and agree to disagree.

God says we need to treat people as we want to be treated. We need to care about one another and try to understand each other. Today only happens once in a lifetime. We need to make the most of every day because tomorrow is not promised. Try to make conscious decisions that make your life happy and fulfilled. Make the most of all the opportunities God puts before you and thank God in prayer and thanksgiving for even the smallest of blessings.

Don’t regret past decisions. Learn from your mistakes and count them as steps toward where you are now in life. We can’t change the past but we can embrace the future. We are all responsible for our own happiness. We have to love ourselves before we can love anyone else.

Live life in the moment. Splash in the muddy rain puddles, dance like no one is watching, sing like no one is listening, let the sun warm your cheeks, eat the Hershey bar, build a Lego castle, adopt a pet, watch the sunset and sunrise, get a flock of chickens, walk barefoot in the grass, ride in the car with the windows down and the radio playing loudly. Don’t put your life on hold for tomorrow because tomorrow is not guaranteed.

“Don’t put off happiness you can have today. Tomorrow is a hope, not a promise” — Debra Anastasia