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I never know what I will capture through my camera lens, usually pleasure is one of the things that I do catch as I look through the viewfinder.  I can see the details of a flower or the surprise of a slug hanging out on the stem of a dandelion in the middle of the field.  I have spent several days trying to capture the perfect bee portrait which I have failed to do for now.  As my ears listened for the buzzing sound at the same time as my finger was poised to click as soon as I saw one, the bee proved too fast for my index finger and my reflexes.  It is a good exercise in patience.  My photos don’t do justice to these important and interesting insects.

When I am inside I have learned to go investigate anything that catches my attention from outside as I am never disappointed with what I find, like the time I caught the sight of a large shadow flying across the ground close to the house.  I was intrigued as the shadow had seemed too big to be that of a crow.   I walked into the yard and looked up, I saw a bald eagle circling above me, as I shaded my eyes from the sunlight to get a better view of it, I could see that it was circling higher and higher towards two other bald eagles that were soaring and gliding in the wind.  I was able to admire their grace and beauty for several minutes before they disappeared from my view.   A beautiful sight that only reinforces the feelings that I should pay attention and follow the little voice that pushes me to go see what is happening outside myself.  Those little urges are like subtle invitations from the universe to go bask in its design, beauty, they always make me feel grateful for the interesting world we all live in.   

I never know what I will see, hear or witness when I listen and act on those hints to action.  That is why one morning, I took the time to investigate the movement the corner of my eye had caught as I walked by the French doors leading out to the yard.  I was curious to find out what had caused the movement in the cherry tree.   Maybe it was a bumblebee hurrying by or maybe one of the hummingbirds had zoomed past on its way to or from the feeder.  But instead of the flutter of wings or the buzzing of a bumblebee I was greeted by fat raindrops.   The rain was just starting, so only a few droplets were falling at the time, slowly one droplet hit a leaf making it droop as it landed on it, then another one in another part of the tree, it was as if an invisible conductor directed a dance among the foliage.  As my eyes tried to catch each dipping leaf I felt happy, it was watching a silent symphony.  Through the window I wondered at the intricasies of rain, at its power not only to entertain me and maintain and revive the garden, but also its power to drown the plants, break the flowers and to erode the soil that holds the trees so that some come crashing down.   But for now I was seeing its gentle side.  As the rain picked up its tempo I moved away from the window and simply listened to the sound of it on the roof and against the windows as I went about my day.

The next day as I sat at the table enjoying my tea, I noticed that the rain had stopped, as I turned my head and looked at the rhododendron on the other side of the windows, I noticed the different ways the raindrops were positioned on the foliage, the branches and the flowers.   As I took a closer look at them I of course wondered: “If I were a droplet, which one of them would I be?”  “ Would I be the one hanging from the branch ready to let go and take the plunge, trusting myself that I knew in my heart what to do?”   “Would I be the one at the edge of the leaf not sure of what to do, waiting for  the other droplets to tell me what to do or to push me off so that I could stop worrying about what’s going to happen to me?” “Would I be the one that had landed on the rose or the rhododendron flower with the purpose to highlight their color and details?”   I have been and still often am all those different droplets at different times, depending on the situation.  Like the rain in the garden, life lessons can be beneficial but they can also uproot us for a while.  But after the rain the sun shines brighter.