Found a young raccoon in my new trap cage this morning. The marshmallows were the perfect bait. This one was quiet and docile. I walked over to look at it and it just stared back. The last one I caught last summer would hiss and growl when I walked close to the cage. Penelope wanted so bad to get to the cage but I didn’t let her get close enough to even get a good sniff. Bootsie, the neighborhood watch dog, came over at random times during the day to do some bossy barks at the raccoon, then would leave with his bouncy John Travolta walk, looking to see what he could chew up around the neighborhood. I know I’ve written about this several times but every time that happy dog bounces down the sidewalk, I hear the Bee Gees singing Staying Alive from the movie Saturday Night Fever. He’s got that walk down pat!

Oldest brother picked up the raccoon in its cage late afternoon and is going to let the little creature find a new home up at the farm. I was afraid he would kill it and I didn’t want to ask but he said, “Seems a shame to kill it. I’ll let it loose somewhere on the farm.” He’s bringing the cage back tomorrow and I know I’ll catch another one tomorrow night. I’m going to keep up with the trap and marshmallows till I can go a week without catching one. I know I have three here…might be more when talk gets out about the delicious marshmallows.

Today was my monthly grocery pickup and I completely forgot to even check the sky at sunset. I so was busy putting up groceries, the sunset pageant had already finished before I thought to check out the window. The sky was so thick with myriads of vanilla and gray shaded clouds, I don’t think Mother Nature’s watercolor brushes could have penetrate those thick clouds. Even the sparkling sequins gleaming on the sun’s formal gown could not have been seen. Father Sky is going to have a hard time waking the moon and stars. They are snuggled under their thick rain cloud covers tonight. Gonna be a full moon Thursday night so maybe the man in the moon can clear a path for us to see the stars when he wakes the night tomorrow.

One of the great things about being retired are the welcomed spare moments with no agenda and no work responsibilities except those daily chores for living and maintaining a home. Ralph Waldo Emerson once remarked, “Guard well your spare moments. They are like uncut diamonds. Discard them and their value will never be known. Improve them and they will be the brightest gems in a useful life.”

I’m not sure this modern fast paced world has time for spare moments. We are all challenged by the worries and concerns of life, going so fast on our daily grinds, making leisure hours hard to come by. Some of us so obsessed with our phones, our children quit calling out to us, knowing we’re too busy to acknowledge them or their needs. Those little moments with our children and grandchildren, family and friends, that interrupt daily chores or tedious tasks, are some of the most precious moments we’ll ever share. Don’t turn these moments away. See them as the precious jewels they are.

William Henry Davies, a Welsh poet, says it well in his poem, Leisure. “What is this life, if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare?” We need to learn to stop and take a moment to enjoy the beauty of life. I love this simple poem, specially the lines about taking time to watch the cows. My baby brother’s little grandson is a pro at taking time to watch the cows! I hope he never loses that love of taking “time to stand and stare.” Here is Davies’ poem in paragraph form.

Leisure — What is this life if full of care, we have no time to stand and stare. No time to stand beneath the boughs and stare as long as sheep or cows. No time to see when woods we pass, where squirrels hide their nuts in grass. No time to see in broad daylight, streams full of stars, like skies at night. No time to turn at Beauty’s glance, and watch her feet, how they dance. No time to wait till her mouth can enrich that smile her eyes began. A poor life this is, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare. — William Henry Davies

Take time today to stand and stare! I’ll be sitting and staring at the songbirds and my beautiful amaryllis blooms.

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” ― Ashley Smith