The Leaves They Are a Changin'

View out our kitchen window

 The leaves are close to peak color now, and it reminds me of my favorite autumn post about a fall morning I spent with my friend Sarah. I first told this story in 2012 and rerun it every few years. I think it's time to share it again.

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The Present is the Present

I am lucky that I get to spend some Sunday mornings with my friend, Sarah, a special needs teenager. I buddy with her during Sunday School as we visit different programs she enjoys. You need to know two things about Sarah (other than how sweet she is): she loves nature and can be quite determined.

She exhibited these two traits one day last fall as we walked from one building to another on the church campus to go to a singing activity. I was trying to hurry her along, only half listening as she showed me a bug or a leaf that she found interesting along our path. When we were almost to our destination, she said she was not going any further and sat down under a maple tree. After a brief moment of frustration, I stopped and remembered that there was no agenda for the morning except for Sarah and me to enjoy ourselves. It was okay if we skipped singing this time.

Sarah then told me to come and that we were going to play a game to see if the falling leaves would touch us as they fell from the tree. We sat still, felt the warm morning air, and watched the leaves float around us in a gentle breeze. Up until this point, I hadn't even noticed what a beautiful morning it was.

You have probably heard the saying, "The present is the present." Never has this been more evident than it was that morning with Sarah.

(In case anyone is wondering who won the game—she did. Sarah had a total of three leaves fall on her, and I had one.

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Until next time...

K is for Kookaburra

or a Kind Act

Sarah is a special needs buddy that I spend time with on Sundays when I help her maneuver through church activities. She is one of the most loving people I know, along with a keen appreciation for nature. I always enjoy my time with her. Here is one of the mornings we spent together.

The air had a chill as Sarah and I did our regular walk from one building to the other on a short path through the woods. Sarah enjoys these walks because she loves everything to do with nature. We always stop and examine a leaf, bug, or bird along the way. Actually, we examined many leaves and bugs- some of which we collected. More often than not, our pockets are full of her treasures. This morning as we were walking along, Sarah said she saw a skunk. I told her I wasn't sure it was a skunk and suggested that maybe it was a cat. I then told her about a black and white cat I used to have named Samantha.

I shared stories about how Samantha would stand up on her hind legs and hold her paws like she was praying. I also told her how Samantha would drag clothes into a pile and how she made a pile of my mother's underwear by the front door one time. Sarah was amused by these stories and asked how old Samantha was. I told her that Samantha lived a long time ago and she had died.

We finished our walk to the other building and sat down to examine our treasures. However, Sarah had other things on her mind. She was obviously still thinking about Samantha because she told me that it was okay to be sad sometimes and gave me a big hug. She said that she had my back and she loved me. But to top it all off, she dug through the bag of stuffed animals she had with her and picked out one specific one for me. It was a very well-loved Beanie Baby bird that she told me was a kookaburra. I was afraid that Sarah would miss this bird when she got home, so I suggested that she could keep it for me and she could bring it back every time we met. You see, even though Sarah has dozens and dozens of stuffed animals, she has given each one a name and personality. So she would definitely know if one were missing. But she insisted that I keep it, so I did.

After our very tender moments of Sarah consoling me about the loss of Samantha, we started to sing Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum tree laughing as we sang. A perfect ending to another special morning with Sarah.

Autumn--Present and Past

A few days ago, Ward and I took off work early and went on a hike. Our destination was a nearby state park in a mountainous area. (If you really want to know where we were, Camp David is hidden somewhere in an adjacent park.) We walked among hardwood forests with lots of rock outcrops. Maybe it's the geologist in me or the 15 years when we lived along the Gulf Coast and didn't see any, but I'm always happy when I see rocks. Besides the rocks, one of the reasons we went was to see the changing leaves because we thought they might be at their peak in the mountains. They weren't quite there yet but they were still pretty all the same

Every year when the leaves are changing, it takes me back to the special time I had one Sunday morning with my friend Sarah. I have shared this post before, but I think it's time to share it again.

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The Present is the Present

I am lucky that I get to spend some Sunday mornings with my friend, Sarah, a special needs teenager. I buddy with her during Sunday School as we visit different programs that she enjoys. Two things you need to know about Sarah (other than how sweet she is) is that she loves nature and can be quite determined.

She was exhibiting these two traits one day last fall as we were walking from one building to another on the church campus to go to a singing activity. I was trying to hurry her along only half listening as she showed me a bug or a leaf that she found interesting along our path. When we were almost to our destination, she said she was not going any further and sat down under a maple tree. After a brief moment of frustration, I stopped and remembered that there was no agenda for the morning except for Sarah and me to enjoy ourselves. It was okay if we skipped singing this time.

Sarah then told me to come and that we were going to play a game to see if the falling leaves would touch us as they fell from the tree. We sat still and felt the warm air of the morning and watched the leaves float around us in a gentle breeze. Up until this point, I hadn't even noticed what a beautiful morning it was.

You have probably heard the saying, “The present is the present.” Never has this been more evident than it was that morning with Sarah. 

(In case anyone is wondering who won the game—she did. Sarah had a total of three leaves fall on her and I had two.)

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Recently, I spent the morning with my special needs buddy, Sarah. As always, I enjoyed our time together as she encouraged me to look at things in a new way. We were taking a walk outside when I commented on some emerging daffodil leaves and asked if any were coming up at her house. She said yes, then stooped down and gently stroked the leaves. She commented how soft they were and how the backs were softer than the fronts. I had never taken the time to examine daffodils with my hands, so I was curious. I bent down and stroked the leaves gently just as she had and no surprise, she was right. They were soft.  I'm not exactly sure of the path that my mind took, but I soon started to quietly sing the Mr. Roger's song, "It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood."

Since then, that song has been popping in and out of my mind as I see more and more signs of spring. Here are just a few of them.

The ornamental pear tree has tiny buds on it.

The snowdrop buds have bloomed.

As has the helebore.

I hear more birds singing.

I dug in the dirt when we planted our apple tree. Eventually, we hope this replaces the old apple trees we have now. If we can keep the deer away until we get a cage around it, we'll be good to go.

And the sign of spring that I wait for the most every year, our first crocuses have bloomed.

Thankful Sunday, May 5, 2019

I am thankful for another morning 
with Sarah.

Today, I spent another morning with my special buddy, Sarah. There was a lot of rain but that did not stop her from bringing her traveling menagerie of stuffed animals. Today she brought birds-3 mallard ducks, 3 Canadian geese, a robin, and way in the bottom of the bag was an ostrich, Stretch. Apparently, Stretch had been misbehaving because when Sarah was putting her birds away before we went for a walk, she said that Stretch had to stay out because he had been biting the other birds. And in the same breath she wanted to make sure I knew that Stretch was an ostrich and not an emu. I asked how she knew and she said that ostriches have two toes and emus have three toes. She showed me Stretch's toes and then showed me with her fingers how each bird walks. Another Live and Learn moment for me because I didn't know that. I always learn something from my time with Sarah and for that I am thankful.

Thankful Sunday--September 24, 2017

I am thankful for time with Sarah.

You may remember Sarah, my special needs buddy, whom I spend Sunday mornings with while we navigate different Sunday School programs. Sarah is very tuned into nature and has shown me a lot in that area. This last Sunday was no exception.

After eating our fill of bacon and eggs with the youth group, we made our way to the other building for singing. Well, we almost made it to the other building. Along the way we found too many things to explore to leave time for singing. We noticed leaves that were just starting to change and a picnic table that was upside down. We saw big bugs and little bugs and the flowers that were still blooming. She also found "helicopters" (winged maple tree seeds).  Instead of going inside to sing, we decided to stay outside at another picnic table and examine the things she had collected along the way.

A normal two winged seed group, and the unusual three winged

And do you know what we found when we examined them? A triple seed group of maple seeds! They usually come in a pair. Sarah has been picking seeds and leaves from this tree for years, but we have never seen anything like this. In fact, I haven't seen triple seeds among the thousands of winged seeds I've seen over the years. I couldn't even find a reference to them on the internet. To say the least, I was excited.

If you look really hard, on the back of Sarah's hand,
you can see the tiny insect we watched.

I also got another lesson from Sarah about slowing down and being in the moment. A very tiny green bug landed on her arm and she watched it for several minutes. She was careful with her arm movements, so she wouldn't disturb it. We watched as it crawled around her arm and she described the sensations she was feeling to me. When it was time for her to leave, she carefully transferred the bug to a leaf and left it in the grass where she found it. Quite frankly, I'm not sure that I would have even noticed the bug if she hadn't showed it to me. But with her coaching, we had a slow, calm, interesting few minutes of just being in the moment with the bug. Something I need to do more often.

So for getting to spend another morning with Sarah, I am thankful.

One Special Bird

Recently, I told you about my morning with Sarah and her friend, Beth. Here's what Sarah and I did the rest of the morning after we left Beth and her singing. It was a simple, routine morning, but one that gave me a smile for the rest of the day.

The air had a chill to it as Sarah and I did our regular walk from one building to the other on a short path that goes through the woods. Sarah enjoys these walks because she loves everything to do with nature. We always stop and examine a leaf, bug, or bird along the way. Actually, we examine many leaves and bugs- some of which we collect. More often than not, our pockets are full of her treasures. This morning as we were walking along, Sarah said she saw a skunk. I told her, I wasn't sure it was a skunk and suggested that maybe it was a cat. I then told her about a black and white cat I used to have named Samantha.

I shared stories about how Samantha would stand up on her hind legs and hold her paws like she was praying. I also told her how Samantha would drag clothes into a pile and how one time she made a pile of my mother's underwear by the front door. Sarah was amused by these stories and asked how old Samantha was. I told her that Samantha lived a long time ago and she had died.

We finished our walk to the other building and sat down to examine our treasures. However, Sarah had other things on her mind. She was obviously still thinking about Samantha because she told me that it was okay to be sad sometimes and gave me a big hug. She said that she had my back and she loved me. But to top it all off, she dug through the bag of stuffed animals she had with her and picked out one specific one for me. It was a very well loved Beanie Baby bird that she told me was a kookaburra. I was afraid that Sarah would miss this bird when she got home so I suggested that she could keep it for me and she could bring it back every time we met. You see, even though Sarah has dozens and dozens of stuffed animals, she has given each one a name and personality. She would definitely know if one were missing. But she insisted that I keep it, so I did.

After our very tender moments of Sarah consoling me about the loss of Samantha, we started to sing Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum tree laughing as we sang. A perfect ending to another special morning with Sarah.

Thankful Sunday--November 27, 2016

I don't have a picture of Beth.
Instead, here's a picture of a few leaves still hanging on.

I am thankful for Beth.

I spent the morning at church with my special buddy, Sarah. We met in the youth chapel and had breakfast before singing with the praise band (kids playing guitars, drum, piano, etc.). The songs were contemporary and fun to sing. Sarah loves music and she usually has one of the stuffed animals she brings do motions to the songs. We both have fun with this. This morning while she spun her stuffed dog, Riley, I danced with Beanie Baby ostrich, Stretch.

While all of this was enjoyable, that was not the best part for me. It was watching Sarah's friend,
Beth sign the songs. Beth is a young adult with Down's Syndrome who goes to the front and "sings" each song with sign language. She is very expressive and is beautiful to watch. She truly moves me each time I see her. For Beth and this special gift she shares, I am thankful.

A Second Look--September 14, 2016

Things are still moving here at a pace that is too fast for my liking, so I didn't get a chance to take photos for a Second Look this week. Here's what this week looked like a year ago. I've made comments under the photos to compare them to this year.

Here are a few things I saw last year

during a Second Look.

Sedum--Autumn Joy  
This year, they are about a week behind in blooming. They have just started.

Bumblebee on purple sage.  
The sage is in it's second set of growth for the season and it's still a favorite with the bees.

Marigold
The ever-faithful marigold is doing well. All of this years plants came from these plants from last year.

Queen Anne's Lace
I haven't seen any of this blooming recently.

The name of this plant escapes me at the moment. It comes back every year like a weed. Sometimes I let it grow and sometimes I don't. This year I left it alone and it's making a nice show in one of my beds.

Skipper Butterfly on purple sage (view from below)
The little butterflies are still around. I spent Sunday with my buddy, Sarah, and we spent most our time watching butterflies and bees on flowers at the church.

Blanket flower
I don't have many of these this year and they have the most blooms on them now of all season. They always brighten up wherever they are.

Celosia
This is an annual that I didn't grow this year. I planted zinnias instead.

Begonia
I have a different kind of begonia this year. They are doing quite well especially since I got them on clearance. You never know when you get plants like that.

A Morning with Sarah

Sarah is my special needs buddy that I spend Sunday School with sometimes. I'm not sure about her special needs, but I do know that she is special. And my recent experience found no exception to this.

The air was cool, but the sun was shining as Sarah and I walked from one building to the other. She was carrying her stuffed animal for the day, a bird, as well as a photo album and an animal book. I was carrying the rest of her breakfast. She hadn't finished it before it was time to move onto the next activity.

As we walked down the path, we made faster progress than normal. Sarah usually stops to look at every plant and bug along the way but today was different because we were engaged in a conversation about what we had done over the summer. However, that changed just as we arrived at the other building. She spotted a cricket and had to have it. On the third hop, it was secured safely in her fist. I was amazed she was able to do this because crickets have a lightening fast jump. Also, I was amazed that she was able to do this without dropping any of the other things she brought for the day.

Sarah now had her prize and she wasn't letting go. I told her we couldn't go inside with the cricket, so she chose to stay outside and finish her breakfast rather than give it up. In the middle of eating her scrambled egg, she decided that she was going to feed the ants. She took a leaf to use as a plate and put a small piece of egg on it. And then we waited. She was a bit concerned and I was a bit confused because no ants showed up. At least not for a while. Then they came marching in. They worked together and carried the egg off not to return. It was amazing to watch. It was as if I had never seen ants carry crumbs before.

All the while, the cricket was firmly trapped in her hand. I was concerned that it might be squished from her firm grasp, but every once in a while she would reveal part of it to show me that it was all right. And it was. (And when I say it, I should say she. Sarah said that it was a girl cricket and I'm sure she knew although I have no idea how. ) She then decided that if the ants got something to eat, the cricket should have something too. She pulled a leaf off a nearby bush and proceeded to feed the cricket. She released it just enough for its head to come out above her fingers and it started munching around the edges of the leaf. I could actually see the little jaws moving as it was eating. That was one of the coolest things I had ever seen. Ever.

Soon her mother showed up and volunteered her coffee cup so Sarah could take home the cricket to join others she had there. We parted our ways and I spent the rest of the day telling anyone who would listen about the cricket I had seen eating. And I also spent the day being thankful that I got to spend the morning with Sarah.