Grand And Glorious Day
HERE AT THE CHURCH O’THE PINES it is a grand and glorious day. Except for being cloudy. And gray. And gloomy. And February. Nevertheless we know the sun shines brightly above the clouds, and our church choir—particularly the chickadee soprano section—sings brightly as well. This time of year they sing more and more often their little, two-note song, “Spring’s here!” This endears them to us more than ever, which is hard to do, as they are already quite endeared.
All the rest of our regular congregation is about. Red squirrels and gray ones, blue jays, sarcastic crows and quiet cottontails. Every species of woodpecker found in this part of the state except the flashy-dressing red-heads, who occupy a dead elm condominium on a golf course nearby. We enjoy our little nuthatches and of course Sparky the Cardinal and several generations of his progeny, and sometimes we see evidence of the river otter, sliding and playing on the snowy church moat, also known as the Mississippi.
We were delighted this week to welcome back our former regulars and nightlife party animals the flying squirrels. They disappeared some time ago but have returned to the peanut cup in the old pine by the deck. We love to watch them race each other up and down the tree trunk and wait—politely, mostly—for their turn at the cup.
In any case, all is well here at church. And we wish you Good Sabbath wherever you may be…