Sunday

Today is Sunday, not our usual Sunday but meaningful. Just to the Northwest of us a tropical storm is passing. We are little effected by it but the sky is overcast and the wind is unusually strong. I’m spending the morning camped out on the couch under a blanket with the fan blowing on me. I know that seems like an oxymoron but it is enjoyable. My blanket smells delightful, fresh out of the dryer after being washed, hints of lilac and flowers from the perfumed laundry detergent. Even though the television is going, I have mostly spent my time staring out the window watching the wind blow around the lower limbs of the great oak that stands firmly behind our house. The limbs of the great oak covered in colorful fall colors and drooping with moss, intertwined with tangles of wild grapevine, wisp around in the winds. Our mornings have been getting cooler even though it still gets hot in the day. I have been staring at my stone covered fireplace with dismay because it is still way to warm to light it and enjoy the smell of hardwood burning. I recall back to days of climbing out of my hunting stand, shivering and cold and making my way across the 70 acre tract toward the comfort of home. Walking toward it I find the faint smell of cured oak burning in the distance and realize that my lovely wife has the home fire burning. Just that smell gives a comfort to the soul that warns you. I yearn for that smell and wish it was feasible to use it all year long.
Our three year old has been playing all morning up and down the hallway. The pit patter of little feet moving around the house fills my ears. Harvest season is in full swing and the aromas of seasonal candles burning fill the house with sweet smells of apple, cinnamon, and Vanilla. The couch is a cozy place with a direct view of the outside. Often I have laid here and watched both Doe and spotted fawn come in to eat falling grapes from the vines that grow wild here. Out the other window the view of a field covered in waves of Sage brush with a random pecan tree shooting up high above the blanket of Sage below. A few clear spots in the sage offer glimpse of wild rabbits moving around from time to time. These clearings also fill with morning dove frequently. Occasionally a flock of wild turkeys break thru the sage into openings in search of great things to eat. There is no shortage of wildlife to watch around here, last year we had a beautiful red fox that would cross the back yard in the early evening, searching for rodents and rabbits on the move, trees are filled with the chatter of both grey and majestic fox squirrels. If there was ever a place I wanted to be, this is it. So much to enjoy, a life worth living with people worth sharing it with. I look forward to every Sunday!

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