Monday, June 16, 2008

Looking Mother Nature In The Eye...!

Outside in my backyard, climbing on the rear fence, is a big out of control Wisteria bush. Now if any of you has ever had one of these plants, then you know how wild and thick they can get. In fact, this particular plant has managed to push the fence out of alignment just by the act of growing. However, the birds love this bush as it is located not too far from the bird bath and the feeder. So because of this I have put off trimming the bush as I should have and just let nature have her way.

Mother Nature has her own way of saying "thank you" when we do something for her, either by accident or on purpose. Yesterday while I was watering the garden, I decided to look and see if I could find a bird's nest built in the Wisteria, as the birds get very agitated when Amy the Cat comes out to the back yard. After putting the hose up, I walked over to the bush and made my way into the jungle like growth to look around. I had plenty of room to stand up with the branches spread out over me like a big green umbrella, and it was actually rather nice.

Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement on the fence. Slowly I turned my head in the direction of the movement and this little grey head peeked over the top of the fence. There was a small adult squirrel looking at me eye to eye! We couldn't have been more than two feet away from one another, and for the longest time we just stood there looking at each other.

I guess that instinct told this squirrel that I was in no way a threat, so after watching me for a moment he just went about whatever business brought him to the Wisteria to begin with. I was totally ignored. All I could do was stand there and be amazed at the fact that I was within touching distance of this beautiful creature and that he had absolutely no fear of me. This was a rare gift to me, a glimpse at the wonder that nature has to offer if we only take time to look.

I can still see those shiny black eyes looking at me, peeking over the top of the fence to make sure I was OK before coming over to my side. I guess that this was Mother Nature's way of rewarding me for being appreciative of all she has done in my back yard...all the nice to look at things she has left around for me to care for and enjoy.

You just never know when these little moments may happen, but can only know that they don't happen often enough! So for this particular gift I am very grateful and will remember it for a long, long time.

Now, what do you say to a fresh cup of coffee...?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You amaze me more every day - you seem to be mellowing before my very eyes!(And the squirrels, too, apparently!).
Love your insights, and you.

HermitJim said...

Hey Sis...thanks for dropping by. I think that this little squirrel realised that I was the one putting water in the birdbath or something...or maybe he just instinctively knows he could outrun me in a heartbeat!
Sure is fun to watch him, though!

Bubba

blondie said...

What a nice relaxing morning read. Those little squirrels are cute, aren't they?
There are a few in my neighborhood, but I try to keep them away from my tree. The dang cats like to chase them, which makes me nervous for the squirrels :(

Enjoying the coffee with ya,
blondie :))

HermitJim said...

Hey Blondie...my favorite morning coffee person! Thanks for coming by to share a cup.
Being city squirrels, not much seems to scare these little guys, but it isn't often that we get a chance to get so close to them.

Maybe I could get him trained to drop by for coffee now and then...??

Jim

Cat Melton said...

Jim,
Reading about your wisteria makes me think of the mystery and wonder of visits to my grandmother's house in Texas when I was a child. She had one of those yards that had big, overgrown bushes, and trees that you could walk into just like you did with your wisteria. And meeting the gray squirrel had to be the best bonus!...
Thanks for sharing,
Cat

HermitJim said...

Hey Cat...thanks for stopping by. Yep, sometimes when things are left alone to grow as they will, it can be a whole lot of fun for kids to play around. Baby animals as well, apparently!

See ya
Jim