by piglover

Created on: May 30, 2009

I live in a beautiful section of the county. It is rural which is becoming more and more hard to find. We have our own land with our own little section of woods. Since we are in our own little world, the creatures of nature have taken note of their safety factor and venture fairly close to our house. We have had pheasants, foxes, deer, possums, raccoons, wild turkeys, cranes, Canadian geese, wood ducks and other little creatures visiting as close as the front yard. Those that are repeat visitors are regularly fed and usually end up with names.

My house is surrounded by Pines, Oaks and Maples. I have many varieties of birds. They are amazing creatures with very distinct personalities. It is humorous to watch the Blue jays swoop down and eat the peanuts thrown for the squirrels. Mama Squirrel will guard her small personal cache, but she does allow the Jays to eat too. The Mourning Doves strut around and take care of the birdseed on the ground sharing with Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal, the Red-Winged Blackbirds, the Cowbirds, the Sparrows and others.

The Nuthatches, the Chickadees and the Finches prefer to eat from the hanging feeders while the Downy Woodpecker and his relatives take care of the suet feeders. Their simple life sustaining endeavors bring beauty and peace as I watch them from my windows. I thank God for the privilege and the calming effect so necessary to a healthy lifestyle.

I have a job that is not so calming, and I often come home exhausted. First of all, my job is in the city which is hard enough for a person like me to deal with since I don't like crowds. I hate the traffic. I don't like lots of people around. I don't like the noise and all the buildings in the concrete jungle. I sometimes come home completely stressed out especially if it has been a particularly rough day with my emotionally disturbed students. It takes but a few minutes sitting in my favorite chair watching the amazing scenes unfold as my friendly creatures go about their lives before I feel serene.

I am fortunate to have my raccoons and possum enjoying their dinners every night. They never complain about the cooking. The birds are always happy with the seed and suet choices. Mama Squirrel politely knocks on the side window for her peanuts and graciously takes them from my hand without a nibble. Thank God for this little bit of sanity in a lot of serenity.

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