Ordinary June Days

Enjoying this damp, cool morning with 7 year-old Sawyer. We ate strawberries, dewy from our little patch out back and shared some with the chickens who graciously traded warm, smooth eggs. Next we thinned the carrots and spinach rows and fed the excess to the bunnies before checking the rain gauge--three quarters of an inch.

A tall glass of iced tea, the roar of the lawnmower, chicken soup bubbling on the stove, the yeasty smell of bread rising, sheets gently waving from the clothesline

Sipping coffee on the back porch this morning, watching the animals. The cat is laying with her head tucked under the wicker arm of the loveseat watching the chickens. I can see the rapid rise and fall of her rib cage as her breathing quickens with the movement of the birds. She is fascinated, but scared of them (fraidy-cat) and they are nervous (chicken) about her presence. Mimzy's pupils dilate, her tail twitches. The chickens move about the grass, pecking here and there at things I can't see--purring, clucking, and growling at one another. All of a sudden, one of them thinks that the hen on the opposite side of the yard has found something good and races across the lawn, wings poised for take-off that never comes. False alarm. Heart rates return to normal. Time for a second cuppa coffee

Ahhhh...the end of a perfectly ORDINARY day. The sun is soft, casting lengthening shadows on the freshly clipped lawn. The ceiling fan is singing it's own lopsided song over my head and I can see the platties and mollies in the aquarium next to me darting about, ever hopeful that I'll sprinkle food their way. The smell of grilled salmon lingers, mixed with the heavy scent of cut flowers. My shoulders are tired, in a good way, after a routine day of puttering about. I am thank...ful for a house to clean, a yard to groom, and strength to work. Tonight I will wash my dirty feet in the tub before I flop onto crisp sheets and a billowy down comforter edged in eyelet. A box fan will blow the cool evening air through the window filling the bedroom with a perfect sleeping temperature. Mimzy will stretch out, fluffy tummy-side-up at the foot of the bed. I can relax as darkness falls, knowing that God is at work on my behalf--morning, noon, and night. I am secure in the shadow of the wings of the Almighty.

"God provides for His own. It is pointless to get up early, work hard, and go to bed late anxiously laboring for food to eat; for God provides for those He loves, even while they are sleeping." Psalm 127:2 (The Voice)