the world at my back door

Yesterday after the spaghetti war my youngest daughter arrived to spend the night with us.  I was still buried in my wreck room trying to make some headway and feeling like I was going backward.

Suddenly Deb ran in the room and said 'come look come look! your yard is full of cardinals!'

So I grabbed Big Girl and headed for the back deck.  We scared the birds off because Maddie and Dunc decided they had to see the birds too and we all charged out there like a stampeding herd of buffalo.  We stood for a few minutes then went back inside.  I figured I'd have to wait til the kids weren't here.

In about 5 minutes we repeated the whole scene again.  Birds scattered once more.

Five minutes later we were repeating the scene again when I stopped the kids trying to push me through the door to get to see the birds and asked them if I could have a few minutes alone outside to see if I could get some photos.

And being the sweeties they are they stayed inside and watched from the back door as I got these
shots.

It just proves that you don't have to look far to find those special moments.  The birds are feasting on our dog's food every day, and so we had dozens of them in our back yard.  They weren't afraid of the dogs, who were laying nearby dozing. 

And the spaghetti war just disappeared from my mind, as if it never existed.   I took Big Girl inside and hooked her up to the computer to show the kids the birds close up and they were amazed.  For about 2 minutes.  They they took off to explore something else.  I sat and edited photos and just enjoyed the fact that on a drab, gray day when I was thinking 2011 might not be a banner year for me, I was sent this special moment to enjoy.

And so I share this moment with you.  I believe that 2011 will be whatever I make of it, and I choose to participate in all the special moments that occur every day, if I keep my eyes and mind open.