A Morning Walk

           What a beautiful morning for a walk, and what a lovely road!  Here in northeast Texas only an hour or so from Oklahoma, some of the land is flat, and some is just a little hilly. I say hilly, but that’s not quite true.  It’s more that the land rises and falls a bit here and there, just enough to be noticeable.

             I walked down a narrow road bordering the farm where I'm staying this week, amid a chorus of birdsong:  Blue jays—how I love them!  They’re familiar and saucy and brilliant blue.  Cardinals are everywhere.  I rarely see them, but I recognize their song and look for them in the treetops.  Then there’s the meadowlark, that sweet song bringing me back to Colorado, where I fell in love with them.  Finally (but not all) the lovely song of the mockingbird.  I hear them all the time; today I got to see one.  I had expected a plain bird, like brown thrashers, catbirds, and some other mimics (family name Mimid), but they’re actually quite pretty, with their long tails that open into startling white and grayish-brown stripes and their flashy wing spots.  It’s no wonder they’re the state bird of Texas.

 

If I hadn’t known I was still in Texas before, I would have known instantly when I came upon a small herd of longhorns.  I had thought Longhorns were rare, but I’ve seen them almost everywhere I’ve been in Texas.  I’m not sure of this, but I suspect they’re the perfect grass-fed, grass-finished beef, or perhaps there's just an increased interest in preserving this uniquely North American breed.

I walked for a little over a mile, then reluctantly retraced my steps. I love that I’m up to over two miles a day now.  My ankle is strong and my stamina is increasing daily.  On the way back, I spied a stand of spring flowers that I hadn't noticed earlier.  It's been raining hard, and this morning was a respite, but to see the loveliness that God puts before us lifted my heart even more.  Truly, life is good.