Perched in the porch swing, I’ve been studying the sky but I can’t differentiate any colors except the overcast dull white clouds. Searching for the perfect color word for the white color I see but can’t find the word I’m thinking. It’s not ivory, not vanilla, Swiss chocolate might be the perfect word. There was absolutely no color in the sky till mid afternoon when the clouds thinned enough to let Father Sky’s thin cigar smoke clouds be seen on the sky canvas. Little by little the Swiss chocolate overcast sky’s clouds thinned and gave way to the sun’s rays. I was sitting in the swing barefooted and the warmth was immediate on my feet. The sun has been playing peekaboo since, brightly shining one moment, then hiding behind the clouds the next moment.

Fatty Squirrel has been a haint today! I caught him taking the lid off one of the bird feeders outside the lady den windows. He was bold and brave and didn’t want to run away. I was almost close enough to thump him off the bird feeder. He jumped down, stopped and stood up looking at me all defiant. I stood my ground and said, “Bring it on, Fatty!” Then I squirted him with the peppermint oil. Hope his ladies won’t mind his peppermint oil scented after shave tonight. I sprayed the bird feeder pole, too, so he’ll slide down the pole instead of climbing up. I’m telling you, that fat little squirrel can clean out a feeder, lickety-split.

A flock of cedar waxwings visited the neighborhood this afternoon. A flock of them is called a museum or an earful. Their flight pattern is so beautiful and sinuous against the blue sky canvas, just like waves lapping the shore of a sandy ocean beach. I love to watch their flight patterns. Beautiful birds, light yellow bellies, little black masks on their light brown faces, long feather crests that lie on the back of their heads and droop over, red wax wing feathers, and tail feathers dipped in bright yellow. The waxwings make me think of sentries, with their perk black eyes and serious straight posture, standing guard at the entrance of an Army fort in a western movie. The flock never crosses to my side of the street but they return each year swarming over the tall holly trees of my neighbor’s yards, eating every berry on the trees, then they’re off on their way to the next neighborhood.

I hung a bird feeder on the scuppernong trellis about four feet from the porch swing last week and I have enjoyed watching the birds, specially the cardinals and chickadees, that are visiting the feeder. Really enjoying seeing the intricate colors of the beautiful plumage of the birds with them being close enough for me to really observe them. Never really saw the beauty in the little Carolina chickadees till they started eating from this feeder. The greys and whites and tans of their feathers are so prettily contrasted and I love their songs, “chick a dee dee dee.” Bird guides say the chickadees are friendly and easy to tame to eat from your hand. Might try that this summer.

Mother Nature’s watercolors painted the clouds of the sunset pageant so prettily tonight in shades of blueberry and raspberry and coconut beige. The colored layers of clouds made me think of a delicious layered dessert resting in an exquisite antique cut glass bowl, the bottom of the bowl covered in raspberries topped by a layer of blueberries, topped by another layer of raspberries, topped by another layer of blueberries, finally topped by a layer of roasted coconut. A bright white cloud, bleached by the sun, the only cloud not colored by Mother Nature’s watercolor brushes, looked just like a big dollop of whipping cream resting on the top of the layered dessert. My imagination is running wild and I’m imaging the dessert being served at a Southern bride’s bridesmaids’ luncheon. Maybe the sun is engaged to the man in the moon.

One of the greatest gifts God has given us is our imagination. I think imaginations are such wonderful things. I love mine and love imagining human qualities on animals and inanimate objects. I know the world would be void of so many wonderful works of art and literature without the use of the creator’s imagination. Imagination sparks creativity. Everyone has the ability to imagine but everyone doesn’t use it. I think God used his imagination when he created the Earth and all its inhabitants.

We can use our imagination to see beyond what we’ve experienced already, expanding our minds to see beyond what we believe is possible. We can create mental pictures in our minds. We use our imagination in our Christian faith, too. When we pray to God we imagine through our faith that he is listening to our prayers and we believe he will answer our needs and wishes. We can see the warm eyes of God through our imaginations and see the wonders of heaven come alive in our minds. God is alive through our imaginative belief. Francis Schaeffer said, “The Christian is the real free man — he is free to have imagination. This too is our heritage. The Christian is the one whose imagination should fly beyond the stars.”

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” — Albert Einstein