The sky is so blue this morning, it’s almost purple. Father Sky chose his pastels well early morning as he sketched a summer sky. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” That’s me as I gaze at the blue heavens. I see four turkey buzzards riding the wind currents, winding high in the cloudless sky. Not many birds on the feeders, though. A few cardinals and three purple finches are flitting around the feeders getting a perch for their breakfast repast.

My yellow pansies are parched. The snails partied in the urns while I was on vacation. I’ve been petting and talking to them, watering with them daily, but the hot afternoons have boiled the life out of them. My tomatoes are thriving. I think the marigolds I planted in the pots with them are shading the tomato’s roots and keeping the bugs away. I had my first tomato sandwich for lunch today. Gonna put some bacon and lettuce on my tomato sandwich tomorrow. Sorry Chief is missing these garden tomatoes. He loved them.

Been reading Emerson’s poetry and lists of his quotes this afternoon, reading them to my Notes app on my phone. Can’t pick a favorite, I love the them all.

When we look around our world we see the beauty of creation as a sign of God’s presence. I saw some glorious teeny tiny wildflowers this afternoon on my walk with Penelope, so pretty in the sun, blooming in lilac and periwinkle shades. I was thinking how God had colored something so beautifully that most people wouldn’t ever see. Immediately thought about this Emerson quote — “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful; for beauty is God’s handwriting… Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” Beauty is God’s handwriting. I love that thought!

I think Emerson saw nature as a manifestation of God. He writes how nature is connected with the divine, reminding us to be thankful for the beauty that surrounds us, “thankful for it as a cup of blessing.” I can pair an Emerson quote with all the things I enjoy in my world. About the magnificent watercolors of sunset he wrote, “The sky’s lullaby is sketched with the colors of dusk.” I could hear the sky’s colorful lullaby tonight sung in shades of blues and purples as dusk walked up my street.

As night fell and the day ended I read his quotes — “In the silence of the night sky, we find the heart’s symphony,” and “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars.” As I pondered on these quotes I understood the silence in the darkness calls to us to listen in the stillness of the night to our heart beating with a connection to nature and God. In the darkness of difficult times we can see the stars of hope through God’s grace. Even when we can’t see the stars they are still there just as God remains always with us guiding our travels. As Emerson says, “Hitch your wagon to a star.”

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson