Daylight Savings Time

Well, no, not really. I mean, that is not really the subject of this post, although I have come to like DST. No, the real subject of this post is what DST has done to Sundown. As I have told you several times, Sundown is so named because she comes around right after sundown. Well, with sundown now coming later each evening -- an event made even more dramatic by DST -- Sundown has seemingly decided that she no longer wants to wait that long for dinner. The last two days she has appeared in broad daylight. And, this last time, I even managed to get a good picture of her. So, without blury shadows and light-spot eyes, I present -- Sundown.














If she looks a little grumpy here, well, you would probably look grumpy too if someone kept snapping your picture during dinner!

Coincidence??

When does a coincidence stop being a coincidence and just become something – well – something kid of spooky, in secular terms, or something more for those inclined to believe in more spiritual things. I had two such experiences, one year apart, and on this Easter Sunday it seems as good a time as any to write about them.

The first incident happened in early March of 2007. On Sunday night I was listening to “The Back Porch” on WVPE when Al Kniola played “On The Wings of a Dove” by some “local artists” from southern Michigan. It must have been late in the show because the next morning I awoke with the song still going around in my head. As I showered that morning I found myself singing, “… a sign from above / on the wings of a dove.” Toweling off I uttered out loud, “Gee, Lord, I wish you’d send ME a sign of some kind.” Just then I looked out the upstairs window towards my back yard and there was a Robin, the first one I had seen that year. “Close enough,” I said. “Close enough.”

I went downstairs and ate breakfast, then climbed back upstairs to brush my teeth and finish getting ready for work. As I passed the window in the hall at the top of the stairs I looked out again and there were now three Robins hopping around on the still brown lawn. Kind of on a spiritual roll I smiled to myself, shook my head and thought of the Trinity. So I went into the bathroom, began brushing my teeth and stepped back into the hall to watch the Robins. But, they were gone. In their place, pecking around at the hard ground was a single dove. Coincidence? I prefer to think not.

An even more unlikely event happened this morning while I was in church. I am reluctant to reveal the specific details because it involves some folks whose privacy I want to protect. And, maybe it is just too personal for this kind of forum. (I warned you about that in my very first post back on January 1, 2008). But suffice it to say that it involved someone I had not seen in at least 10 years, who lives two states away and who, to my knowledge, has never been in this particular church before. Simply seeing this person would in itself just have been a pleasant surprise. But, the impeccable timing of the appearance coupled with my thoughts at that exact moment is just too much to attribute to mere coincidence.

Every now and then things happen that I just cannot seem to attribute to simple providence. Call them what you will. But, in some sense, I find them to be faith-affirming for me.

Spring -- Finally

It always seems like an eternity, waiting for Spring. And then, in the blink of an eye, it happens. Spring arrives, at least meteorologically, and the long winter is finally over, even though its annoying remnants may still linger on for a few more weeks. Just minutes ago I heard that the NWS is calling for a winter storm watch tonight with three to four inches of snow possible. But I take heart, the end surely must be near.

This Spring brings the convergence of several events, some more universal and some more personal. Tomorrow, Friday, is also Good Friday. And, it is a full moon. Sunday is Easter Sunday Did you ever wonder how they determine the date for Easter? Well, if you did, it is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring equinox. Therefore, the timing of events makes this Easter a bit unique in that it is the earliest date that it can possibly be.

The first day of Spring is also my son’s wedding anniversary. And, that is not exactly a coincidence. When the opportunity to get married on the first day of Spring presented itself a few years ago, he and his bride to be jumped at the chance. That is a sentiment with which I totally concur. He must have had some good raising somewhere.

It has also been a while since I have posted anything on this blog. Interestingly, it has been a slow time for bloggers in general, or at least for the ones that I follow. A couple of them have been VERY slow and another has just posted a bunch of drivel. Of course, I fully realize that the same could be said for me, but at least I recognize the utter insignificance of what I am about here. One of the blogs I follow, and one that can be accessed from this site, just recently posted a beautiful and touching piece. So, perhaps things are looking up.

Lastly, I should give you an update on the critters I have been feeding. And, I am happy to report that both Sundown (the cat) and Porky (the opossum) are alive and well, fat and happy and eating heartily and regularly. Despite some extended absences, both made it through the winter just fine. Sundown (pictured here) continues to come around early in the evening, eat a bit, and then move on. Porky comes later and cleans up EVERYTHING that is left over, which is usually quite a lot. If I put an apple core out early enough, the squirrels will occasionally get it. But if it is after dusk, it is all Porky’s. I have not seen the raccoon, so I do not know if he is still around or not. His eating habits are the latest of the three, and I am usually in dreamland before he comes to feed.

Now, let’s try just to enjoy this season, with cool, clear days before the onset of Summer