Ten Joys

I’ve stayed close to home the last couple of weekends, photographing the birds in my backyard or in the park at the end of the street. I’m doing a big clean-out of our garage and basement, giving away some things, throwing other things out. It is very satisfying, but time consuming. I’ve had to prioritize it over spending an entire weekend morning at a park 45 minutes away. Next weekend I will make up for it, as I’ve prioritized Nature Time over everything else on my 3-day 60th birthday weekend.

Here are some simple joys from last week:

1. Feeding my crows. They still fly away when I approach, and I don’t know if they will ever warm up to me, but I get such satisfaction from walking down to the park each morning with my little baggie of treats (some combination of dog food and unsalted nuts – hazelnuts, almonds, peanuts).
2. I’m in the office 5 days a week now, and it is a (highly) air conditioned environment. That moment when I get into my sun-warmed car to drive home at lunchtime or the end of the day, when the heat penetrates deep into my bones, is the loveliest feeling.
3. Deadheading our daisies
4. Notes and early birthday presents from friends
5. Getting caught in the rain with Sam and Pokey on a walk today. We were drenched, and I wished I had not brought my iPhone with me because my joy was slightly marred by my fear that my phone would be ruined (it wasn’t).
6. Finding out that I reached the front of the line for a book I’ve been waiting several weeks for (I would tell you the title and author of the book, but it’s very much a guilty pleasure, lol).
7. Seeing the first leaves turn color.
8. Watching a movie in a theater again. Last week Chris and I saw Mission Impossible, and the week before we saw Oppenheimer. After all the restrictions of Covid, what a joyful experience it is being able to sit in front of that big screen again, having a common experience with many other people.
9. A new coworker I’ve been training has brought such a fabulous positive energy to our team. She’s been with us for four weeks now; she and I have worked side-by-side for many hours and now she’s nearly completely independent. Having a coworker who makes you laugh, who takes the job seriously but doesn’t take herself too seriously – what a joy it has been and continues to be.
10. There are several hawks living in our neighborhood and in the park. When I go to feed my crows in the morning there are usually one or two hawks hanging out on top of a utility pole or on the fence behind home base. They aren’t terribly skittish, and let me get quite close before flying away. I don’t think it will ever get old for me, seeing a large bird of prey. They are so beautiful.

I hope your week is full of simple joys, friends.

Love,

Michelle xoxo