When the Sun Comes Up
March 27, 2022
A long line of coots swim quietly across the cove. The horizon is light blue with hints of yellow, white and pink. A light breeze blows on my face, not warm but not too cold. Everything is damp after four days of rain but the clear sky signals a welcome change. My feet feel solid and sturdy on the ground. My legs are happy to stretch and walk outside again.
As I take my seat I see the pink and orange start to emerge at the place along the horizon where the sun will rise. It has moved north along the eastern shore from where it rises in mid-winter. I watch as beaver makes his way around and then across the cove. He is so unhurried, on his morning walk around the property to check on the state of things.
The light grows. I hear the sound of the few ring-billed gulls that still remain and scan the water noticing most of the flock has gone. A group of mallards flies by, their fast flapping wings and quacks on the air as they go. Three crows fly across the cove, calling out to each other.
I find myself singing quietly. Made-up words, welcoming the day, welcoming the gulls welcoming the beavers and the coots and the geese. I think of otters and sing a little song to the otters, wishing for their presence. I haven’t seen them for a very long time. The orange glow gets bigger and brighter at the horizon.
Now the sun peaks over the hill, still nestled within the trees. The big, beautiful sun I haven’t seen in days fills me with warmth, like coming home after an absence. A smile gently spreads across my face as I watch the sun slowly make its way over the treetops.
How many times have I watched the sun rise? The sun is wise to hide herself every night and sometimes for a few days, just long enough for my heart to notice her absence and long for the touch of her warmth on my skin. I let her light dance in my eyes and watch how it dances across the water. My body shakes off the gloom it has gathered unwittingly, even as our parched ground was nourished with the much-needed rain.
It never gets old, watching the sun rise and the night give way to the morning. Some days my mind rushes ahead into the day but today it is still, allowing me to feel the gratitude in my soul for this day, this one more day. One more chance to feel the sun, to hear the birds, to sense the rocking of the water in the gentle breeze.
As I walk along the dock I see the coots along the shore suddenly shift and start to scurry away. What has them stirred up I wonder? And then I see her. Otter. She moves with such power and grace as she fishes along the shore. Just a glimpse, for a moment, then a tail quickly disappearing into the water. Was she called by my song or did my heart just know she was there? I love this kind of magic.
It goes so fast, these moments of life, gone in a blink just like the otter. Gratitude washes over me for the moments I am able to notice, to savor. The moments where time slows down as if we have no time to be busy, no time to move fast. Only time to notice, to feel, to wonder, to enjoy.
What moments have you savored lately? I’d love to hear about them in the comments.
After all the rain, there were a dozen or so crawfish walking around out on the road. I did not know they burrowed in the fields. I also didn’t know they carried their little babies under their tail! You can see them here when she turns to the side. I try to tell them they don’t need to be afraid of me, I just want to move them out of the road so the cars don’t run over them.
To slow down. To pay attention. To let that be enough. As my health deteriorates doing anything else becomes less satisfying and more difficult- and still it is a challenge to remember this. I am grateful for your beautiful reminders.
This one was very special for me. When I was a small child, my father would sing me a silly song that his mother had sung to him: Something about "little duckies on the water, only doing what they 'otter.'" And I was so excited when I saw my first sea otters in Carmel Bay, CA. Thanks for some sweet memories. Happy "Sun" day! :-)