thanks

Without even realising North America was gearing up for Thanksgiving, I wrote a post about feeling grateful enough to say a heartfelt thanks before my meals. I've now been reminded that Thanksgiving has almost come around, and Sandy has nominated me for a most excellent meme she created in which I must list three things I'm grateful for. So here goes:

1. Birds. I just love listening to their song. Admittedly we are mostly serenaded by sparrows, starlings and blackbirds - nothing exciting there, but even they sound cheerful most of the time and listening to them does my heart good. On Maria Island we were treated to the calls of magpies, kookaburras, skylarks, black cockatoos (ok, that's a screech not a song!) and robin red breasts. The birds, they remind me to be cheerful and sing for joy too.
2. My vegetable garden. It too does my heart good. I love puddling around pulling weeds, caressing leaves, pouring water, seeking out new growth. Actually I'm a little bit obsessed with the new growth - every day I'm down there peering through the bird netting to see how much they've shot up (the corn are doing nicely and the cucumber and pumpkin are putting out new leaves galore). As I ponder the garden I contemplate the life contained in a tiny seed and the time it takes for plants to reach maturity and bear fruit. This is no quick fix, instant vegetable machine... over weeks and months the produce is formed. I find this particularly encouraging, for in the plant life there is, I hope, a picture of my life. New life forming in me is no quick fix, instant, overnight success... over months and years I develop, grow, and mature. I'm thankful for the lessons I can learn through tending the garden.
   
3. It was a stinking hot day here today... 30 (86) degrees and it's not even summer. This is almost unheard of in Tasmania. While I put the house into lock down to ensure it stayed cool I started thinking about the sheep. Those poor, poor sheep wrapped up in their woolly coats, unable to take them off even for a moment. This is trite, but I was grateful I am not a sheep. I am also grateful for the window tinting in our new car... cuts out lots of the sun rays and heat. Is this too shallow? I hope not, because I really was very glad and grateful.

There you have it... three beautiful things I am thankful for. If you want to give thanks too, please take this meme and run with it!