October 14, 2008
Sanctuary is now in the center of autumn – the trees here are an expression of the Nebraska ethos; quiet and steady and not given to showiness. Many of them are just dropping leaves day by day, or turning beige or brown, so no tourists come around looking for our fall colors. The honey locusts on the hill are one exception because they end their season with a brief time of delicate, bright yellow leaves held out on the ends of small branches. Even under overcast skies, their gold color leaps out and enhances all the space around them. The other exceptions to the quiet retreat of summer are the occasional sumacs with an extraordinary red, particularly when the sun slants through them.
Alphie appears to have awakened from his late summer sluggishness; this morning he sniffed avidly at the grasses along the sides of the path, and then ran forward in a dash of speed, nose to the ground up into the forest and out of sight. When I rounded the corner, he was sitting waiting for me, looking quite pleased with himself. On the entire walk, he continued his sleuthing ways. He was bred to be a hunting dog, so perhaps a gene checked in to tell him that the season of game birds is upon us.
The cold that came on last week has settled in now and has taken me back into the “sickly” state. I always reflect on how fabulous it is to have ordinary days of good health when the body is functioning in its intended fashion. I am taking a powerful antibiotic and using an inhaler to loosen the fist around my chest. The proper functioning of the immune system is miraculous – the body identifies the interloper and creates and musters the correct white blood cells to gather and defeat the enemy, and life goes on. Realistically, with a very small resource to work with, my body is going to be struggling for a while, and it is hoped that the antibiotic will provide a defense shield against pneumonia. As ever, I am keenly aware of the world around me, and the dear ones who are mine to live near and with, and I am incredibly thankful for these gifts that God has crafted for my days on earth.