According to the calendar, winter is still eleven days away, though in these parts (and parts of us are excellent) normally by this time in New England we've had some cold and unpleasant days that let everyone know where we are living as the days of the year dwindle down.
Not unhappily for me, because I'm not seven and not hoping for a sled for Christmas, this year we are (so far) having decent days. Yes, there have been some 'crisp' temperatures and snow flurries but that's okay.I am not complaining, but as a loyal, if fallen away, Son of Mother Church, I've been conditioned to believe that we pay for what we receive, and we cannot have long faces when the 'real winter' arrives. What I'm concerned about is how long it stays after it gets here.
I'm concerned because I had experiences yesterday within minutes of each other that underscore Thomas a Kempis' notion that man proposes, and God disposes.
I'm concerned because I had experiences yesterday within minutes of each other that underscore Thomas a Kempis' notion that man proposes, and God disposes.
As is the case most days, yesterday I saw a squirrel in our backyard. During the summer months, there are swarms of them but in recent weeks, the numbers have dwindled somewhat. I have a bag of peanuts and I threw a handful of peanuts out the back door and the squirrel bounded towards them.
I watched as it juggled one peanut in thei mouth while maneuvering to also carry a second peanut. As it wrestled with the second one, a blue jay from a nearby tree hopped down and snatched up a peanut, too, despite a half-hearted attempt by the squirrel to run them off. The squirrel finally satisfied it had both peanuts under control took off for parts unknown. That's when I began to worry about this not-quite-here winter.
The blue jay came down from the tree again, dropped the peanut it had previously stolen, looked around, and finding a much larger one, grabbed that one instead and very pleased flew away. I'm afraid we could be making snow angels around here until Arbor Day.
-bill kenny
I watched as it juggled one peanut in thei mouth while maneuvering to also carry a second peanut. As it wrestled with the second one, a blue jay from a nearby tree hopped down and snatched up a peanut, too, despite a half-hearted attempt by the squirrel to run them off. The squirrel finally satisfied it had both peanuts under control took off for parts unknown. That's when I began to worry about this not-quite-here winter.
The blue jay came down from the tree again, dropped the peanut it had previously stolen, looked around, and finding a much larger one, grabbed that one instead and very pleased flew away. I'm afraid we could be making snow angels around here until Arbor Day.
-bill kenny
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