The sky is beautifully overcast today in the colors of pewter and silver and cigar smoke grays. Ralph Waldo Emerson says, “The sky is the daily bread of the eyes.” I agree and the overcast skies are just as beautiful to me as the deep blue skies of sunny days. Today’s sky looks like a melted bowl of vanilla ice cream. The cloudy sky hasn’t muted the birds’ happy songs, their sweet melodies are floating on the air mingling with soft wind chime tintinnabulations. I can hear the pileated woodpecker’s drum beat on the old oak down the street. A yard symphony is tuning up for a spring morning concert.

I was sitting in the swing looking at a bird guide this afternoon and when I glanced over at the bird feeders I saw a large red-headed woodpecker sitting on one of the suet baskets. They are such handsome birds. The males and females look just alike, large red velvet heads with long chisel beaks, snow white bellies, white patches on their inky black backs. Haven’t seen one since last year. I’ve been hearing his loud drum solos joining the pileated woodpeckers’ percussion section in the yard symphonies for several days. Dakotsu Iida writes, “A woodpecker’s drilling echoes to the mountain clouds.” I can believe that. Their drumming is so loud.

I’ve been looking for lightning bugs as the twilight fades but I haven’t see any yet. I can remember many nights as a child running around with my little brother, pint Mason jars in our hands, catching fireflies in the jars. My parents would be on the porch here talking quietly and we’d sit on the porch steps and look at our jars full of little yellow stars counting to see who had caught the most. Sometime we’d take them in the house and put the jars on the table between our twin beds when we went to bed.

Fireflies symbolize a light in the darkness. Christians shine, too, in the world’s darkness, reflecting God’s love and holy light. Matthew 5:16 reads, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” We can look at the lightning bugs as a peaceful presence in the darkness.

Just like lots of critters in our world the American firefly is listed as “Crucially Endangered.” So sad future generations of children might not experience the excitement of catching them in jars. I had a lightning bug in my bedroom one night after I got in bed and turned off the lights. Penelope stood up on the foot of the bed and watched the lightning bug forever trying to figure out what it was. Next trip to see my grandchildren we’re going to do some lightning bug hunting. There are so many beautiful quotes about fireflies. This is one of my favorites. “Fireflies are stars that could not journey to the sky,” Michel Bassey Johnson. What a beautiful thought.

A friend sent me some quotes today and I enjoyed reading them all. This one made me laugh and think of Truman Capote. “Breathe, darling. This is just a chapter, not your whole story,” S.C. Lourie. So to all my friends, y’all breathe, darlings. Tomorrow is just another day in your story. We measure life not by time but by beautiful moments. Add some beauty to your moments tomorrow and appreciate all the blessings of this wondrous Earth. God is so good!

“Today was good. Today was fun. Tomorrow is another one.” — Dr. Seuss.