The Small Gifts of December . . .

 

 

"I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."
~ Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing 

 

One thing that we really love to do here at Casa de Rayner, is to feed the birds. Not a crumb in this house, or bacon rind, or fat from off of a roast goes to waste at all. Stale cookies and bread, or cake . . . whatever we, or Mitzie, don't eat . . . goes to the birds. 

 

Oh my, how they love it! We don't have very many species that come to our garden up here where we live.  When we were down south we had everything from sparrows, to gold finches, nuthatches, blackbirds, thrushes, tits,wagtails, etc. There were quite a lot. At night we could hear the housesparrows in the eves of the house, their little wings fluttering against the walls. It was a very comforting sound, and I would imagine them all in there, cosying up and bedding down for the night. We even got the occasional woodpecker that visited our nuts from time to time, in all his glory and splendour, his great majesty to behold. 

 

 

 

Here we get mostly Sparrows, the occasional Tit, and Starlings of course. 

A robin or two, our resident wood pigeons, and sometimes a surprise.

We love them all, no matter how splendid or not.

 

 I like to make my own fat balls in the Winter.  They are a mixture of peanut butter, suet, chopped apple, raisins, honey, oats and seeds. They really love these. I make them up quite a few at a time, and then keep them in the freezer, doling them out as the birds eat them up. 

 

The other morning, as the sun was rising, I could hear a beautiful song coming from the top of the shed roof in the back garden. I just stood and listened for a time. It was a blackbird. We don't get many, but we do get a pair that visit from time to time. I am not smart enough to be able to tell the song of one bird from another yet . . . except for the very obvious ones like the song thrush or the cuckoo. But I knew this was a blackbird as I could see it. As I stood and listened, my heart swelled with joy. It was so lovelyand sweet . . . and then another gift appeared . . . up on the branch of an oak tree, I saw a little Jenny Wren hopping from one dry branch to another. They are so small, these little wrens, and it is quite easy to miss one if you are not carefully watching. What a wonder to see this shy little bird!!! I stood very still and watched it for a time . . .  it was like they were putting on a special and secret show for just me. 

 

 

 

When I get out in the garden, I often appear to be dawdling.  I am enjoying all the sights, smells and sounds. Although we no longer live in the countrysound, I can still be blessed with these little gifts every day! Things are oftimes still very  peaceful and quiet except for the bird song, or the slight rustle in the leaves beneath the hedge of a shy creature going about their way.  The other day there was a squirrel perched on our back gate. I happened to be on the telephone with Todd at the moment I spied it.  I almost deafened Todd with my squeal of delight.  I am sure Monsiuer le Squirrel has visited at other times, but it was the first time I had seen him!  He was much bedraggled . . .  not as fat and bushy as the ones who used to visit us at the cottage down South  . . . 

I am sure he was there to feast on our rose hips, all swollen and red and juicy.  The birds love them too.  They are lovely and ripe at the moment.  Each year I say I am going to make rosehip jelly, and then  . . .  I don't.

Gone now are the flowers of spring and summer . . . here are the red berries in the holly bushes and the orange berries of the buck thorn. The trees are vacant, having shed their leaves in the last few dances of autumn, but still beauty abounds . . . as all nature bursts out in the last fruits of the year, as it gets ready to bed down for the long winter sleep ahead. Is there a season that I do not love??? I think not . . .

 

They have had snow all over the country, except for here.  We can look up into the Welsh Hills and see they are snow covered, and the radio as I sat in the Doctors on Thursday afternoon was filled with road collisions and closures, etc. My friend's feeds on facebook are filled with lovely snowy photos, but except for that light dusting of sleet the other morning, our streets and gardens remain placidly devoid of any of the white stuff altogether.  It is just cold, cold, cold  . . .  and we have had to have our heat on morning, noon and night.  We try to bundle up indoors, but it just doesn't cut it . . . the cold here seems to sink right into your bones. 

 

I did manage to capture a spectacular sunset on my phone

last night.  All is well, all is well . . . 

And with that I will leave you with a thought for today  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.° “There is October in every November 

and there is November in every December! 

All seasons melted in each other’s life!” 

~Mehmet Murat Ildan  •。★★ 。* 。 

Spiritual Enlightenment  

   

BOOK OF MORMON CORNER - Today's Reading - 2 Nephi 5:10-25 

Question -What have you learnt from the reading today? What were Nephi's priorities?

 

My thoughts -  I love how Nephi teaches his people to be self sufficient, both temporally and spiritually. They plant their seeds and reap the harvest, raise cattle, forge steel, refine ore into useful things, read the scriptures, and keep the commandments and laws according to Moses. They are a far cry from the idleness of the Lamanites. I feel so blessed to have been counselled to be self sufficient. It seems the world is always encouraging us to live beyond your means, borrowing money you don't have through loans, everything fast from food to contactless payment. It can sometimes be very hard not to fall into those traps, but because of the Gospel and our teachings I can clearly see where that is a huge trap, and brings lasting contentment, rather than having to bear the burden of wondering how we are going to pay for it all. 

 

 I've been thinking about how there are things we need to be active in doing to protect our homes against the adversary. We have been taught the importance of daily personal and family prayer. We have been taught the importance of daily personal and family scripture study. We have been taught the importance of weekly family home evening. Church leaders continually bring these basic gospel principles to our attention. Why?

 
Three hours of meetings on Sunday clearly isn’t sufficient time to prepare our families to withstand the wickedness of the world. We need to connect our celestial goals with everyday life in our homes. Remember that gospel basics, those seemingly “small and simple things” we strive to practice in following the Lord, will ultimately confound Satan and protect our homes & families.

 
Some days doing these small & simple things in our home feels like a battle!! But I don't give up because of something I read & remember often in a talk by Elder Bednar from the Oct 2009 conference, it's called 'More Diligent and Concerned at Home'. Well worth a read. 

 
In it he says "Each family prayer, each episode of family scripture study, and each family home evening is a brushstroke on the canvas of our souls. No one event may appear to be very impressive or memorable. But just as the yellow and gold and brown strokes of paint complement each other and produce an impressive masterpiece, so our consistency in doing seemingly small things can lead to significant spiritual results. “Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great.” 

 

Tomorrow's Reading (Day 44) - 2 Nephi 5:26-6:7

Question -What have you learnt from the reading today? How can you live after the manner of happiness?  

 

 

 

Baking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  delicious Gingerbread Biscotti.  Such a simple bake and soooooo delicious!  

 

Have a lovely Saturday.  Stay safe and stay warm!  Don't forget along the way of your day! 

 

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 And I do too!!