Sunday Morning Surprise

This morning, a Sunday morning, my husband Danny roused me from a deep slumber by telling me to hurry and dress for early mass because he had a wonderful surprise for me.  Danny had had little sleep himself because he arises each morning at 4:00 to set out on his job as a newspaper deliverer to the Veteran's Home and to the residential home called Parkview.  (He arrives home at 6:30, and so affords himself another half hour to full hour of rest before he begins yet another part-time job which, depending on the season of the year, can be either guarding a pool at the local Venetian Marina, or working the counter and kitchen at a local McDonald's restaurant.  He likes to keep busy, and plays a lot of golf, so winters are a challenge for my McDanny.) My husband is 73, looks 43, and has enough energy to be 23.  For him to slow down enough to notice the delicacies of Nature is priceless, to use a cliché, and for him to share the wonder of them with me is a precious gift I will always treasure.  Another incredible hoarfrost had draped itself over the landscape.  I took many photos from which to later paint.  Here is what he wanted to share:



This is what is called the Chaussee, a bar of land and sand on which our road is built between two sides of the bay at Lake Erie.  Hoarfrost covered the willows that border the Chaussee and Danny and I trudged in the deep snow to capture this moment.  Isn't God's creation breathtaking?   Aren't precious moments of sharing joy like this an opportunity for the spirit to soar?

We saw three adult bald eagles perched in a tall tree along the Chaussee.  They are likely watching the frozen lake and bay for a spot where they might fish.  Right about now, their mates are sitting on eggs that will bring new babies into the world later this spring, and food for them will be a top priority.  The eagles are majestic, another of God's miracle creatures, and whenever we see them in the wild we are reminded of how things that seem to be very much endangered can in God's time come to flourish.