I stayed up till 2 AM waiting for the snowflakes and flurries that never materialized last night. When I woke I counted the snowflakes I saw on one hand. But I enjoyed the anticipation of an inch of snow that never arrived. I was going to build a snowman, too!

Old Man Winter struck down the temperatures today and being in cahoots with Mr. North Wind they’ve rustled up some powerful wind gusts. My goodness, the wind and its gusts! Blew the cat food bowls all the way to the other side of the porch. Blew a wind chime down, breaking the wood top and the paddle. Been sleeping upstairs because it’s warmer and one nice perk of the wind gusts is the beautiful boisterous banging wind chine symphonies I can hear sending me to sleep and waking me up.

The brown oak leaf whirlwinds have partied down the street all afternoon. Never seen whirlwinds this big or more than one at a time. Wild whirlwinds were literally chasing each other down the street. Don’t know why a wind gust didn’t blow the sun off the horizon at sunset. The bamboo have danced the conga all afternoon with cardinals holding on to the bamboo’s slender limbs as if on a carnival ride, their toenails securely wrapped around the branches, their feathers ruffled by the wind.

I sat in the lady den this afternoon, my feet resting on a warm radiator, watching the sunset pageant play out in winter’s shades of charcoal gray, sapphire, pearl white, pale wool blue, and cochineal. Mother Nature had not painted a frigid winter sunset this year so she quickly pulled out tubes of watercolors she didn’t often use and began setting the stage, stroking pale wool blue and pearl white watercolors along the crown of the horizon’s clouds. Before the sun and Father Sky walked down the pageant stage, Mother Nature parted the clouds with brush strokes of pale red cochineal watercolors. The stage was set for the pageant and sunset began with a backdrop of sapphire and Mexican red watercolored clouds, beautiful in their color contrasts.

In preparation for cold weather, the sun and Mother Nature had shopped in New York for the sun’s winter pageant wear. The sun stepped on the horizon in a luxurious gray mink coat with matching beret and hand muff. Under the long mink coat she was clothed in a Chanel vintage tweed houndstooth suit, dark stockings and black leather pumps with matching tweed buckles. Her hands, toasty warm in the mink muff, wearing Tiffany diamond and emerald cocktail rings, were dressed in black kid leather gloves. Father Sky was dressed immaculately in his black mid-length cashmere trench coat and Boralina fedora. His matching Burberry scarf was embroidered with the moon and stars and closed with a diamond stick pin. Father Sky took the elbow of the sun and they walked quickly down the horizon as the twilight’s frosty wind chilled the coming night. Guess I got carried away by the sunset’s unusual colors tonight. The sunset ended and the day slept as the night waked.

I’m really missing my pondering in the porch swing. Looking forward to some days warm enough to sit and drink coffee and ponder. I don’t think I waste a day when I sit in the swing on the porch and ponder life. I’m always thankful for the birds. The birds represent a spiritual side of the earth to me. When the yard is full of cardinals, I can feel the presence of the Lord and in my childlike faith I believe he and Chief have sent these beautiful creatures to help me focus on all the blessings in my life and give me the courage to live out the rest of my life in a semblance of happiness.

Julie Zickefoose writes, “The presence of a single bird can change everything for one who appreciates them.” These tiny creatures with their multicolored coats have healed my soul and given me peace on days when my heart is heavy. And like the angels in heaven they have wings and they soar in the skies of heaven. Their songs bring me joy. William Wordsworth called songbirds “those little nimble musicians of the air.”

Looking forward to weather permitting me to sleep with a window open, listening to the soft love songs of the birds at night, their happy symphonies greeting me every morning, uplifting me as I start my day. Audubon says birds are an antidote to our despair. I know that’s true. Birds really make me happy. Birds help us slow down, stop, and pay attention to the earth around us. Birds restore our faith in the natural order of the earth. They help us be calmer and more hopeful. The loss of a loved one can make it easier to appreciate the small things in life, like a bird song. Bird songs soothe our souls.

One of my favorite bird quotes is this one by E.E. Cummings. “Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings away all the same, knowing she has wings.” Cummings’ quote tells us to have joy and hope even in precarious circumstances. If you have faith in God you have wings of strength to remain confident to weather the storms in life. Just as the bird doesn’t fear the branch breaking because it believes in its ability to fly we can trust our own resilience and find freedom in God’s grace when life is challenging. We, too, can fly on our wings of faith.

“Hold fast to to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” — Dale Carnegie