Thanks for Nature

Expressing their hunger to be fed, yard dogs woke me early this morning, and as I arose and walked past the glass doors to the deck toward the kitchen to prepare their food, I was caught off guard by the amazing beauty of the picture presented to me on the other side of those glass doors.  Sunrise was peaking, and its early morning beams were blazing the autumnal tree tops into brilliant colors of yellow, orange, red and spice!  I simply stood and drank in the sight. Ah, nothing beautiful lasts. Knowing that my achy body might refuse to cooperate to exercise so early out of bed, I figured I’d better “put a hitch in my giddy-up” before the colors began to fade. So I determined coffee was in order, dogs would be fed, and I would walk – walk in the glory of a beautiful fall morn while it was still available.

The autumnal spices in the trees will soon go fast;

The fall season in all its glory, sadly, will not last.

Our home sits on a bluff overlooking a river, and always provides nice backdrops to some of my photos. Since I live in a rather beautiful area, I decided to take the camera with me for the sunrise constitutional walk so as to take some illustrative pictures, and I was not disappointed.  As I stepped out the front door, it was apparent my old 17 year old dog, Tramp, wanted to go for the stroll, too. So that’s what we did – we strolled, with cool breezies washing over us as the river sparkles urged us on.

Tree leaves swirled like snowflakes yet to come

And old dogs walked through the flakes of autumn

Nature has its rituals with the four seasons

And to watch it unfold is God’s creative reason

With every step we took, the next one was a little easier; I was snapping away while the dogs ran and played, and as we strolled under the canopy of a golden veil, I reflected how such beauty made man-made gifts pale. Lord, on this 14^th day of Thanksgiving, I give thanks for your gift of Nature.