Grace Upon Grace

At the Feeder This Morning

There just to cheer me up, I'm convinced -- well, okay, also because they'd like to survive -- a pair of Black-Headed Grosbeaks.

I went swimming in the Bear River yesterday. There's a deep-ish spot near a picnic area where Wanda and I baptized a young man a few years ago. (You can only do this in July and maybe August; otherwise you'd freeze.) It was lovely to bob around in the cold water, looking up at the sky and trees.

Today, a day off for me, I had lunch with my friend Bill Heersink, professor and currently interim President of Salt Lake Theological Seminary. We met at Taggart's Cafe, a wonderful place tucked into one of the canyons between here and Ogden, Utah. Not only did they have great food, but they had a pair of peacocks walking around the garden. This thrills me no end.

I found myself thinking on the drive home how I might fashion a headdress for myself that looks like a peacock's headdress. This is either a sign that the stress has taken me over the edge (of what exactly, I don't know), or just a sign of returning imagination. I had a vision of using a headband and attaching frond-like stalks to it ... then it came to me:

Where could I possibly wear my peacock headdress?

I told Guy about this; he was not at all surprised, and in answer to this pressing question he said, "Around the house. Maybe to church?" Somehow I'm thinking not on the last one.

Bill and I talked about the possibility of my doing some writing and teaching for the Seminary, which I would love. Just the thought of new possibilities helped me feel better after an absolutely awful week at the hospital.

Before I drove over to meet Bill, I delivered flowers and cards from the hospital patients to the funeral home where the service would be held for our patient who killed herself on Sunday. I met the parents and the young woman's brother. They were really touched by the effort of their daughter's fellow patients to reach out in this way. Their tears moved me to tears. I cried halfway to Taggart's. Thanks, God, for Bill's pastoral presence -- and the peacocks. 

Snipes, Mudwhoppers, & Jackalopes

Yesterday on a very brief trip to the Bear River State Park, I finally saw a Common Snipe, which looks like this.

I thought him (or her) very charming and was happy because I've wanted to see one for years, and here this one was sitting out in the open, on top of a fence post by a small marshy area.

I had dinner with some friends at the Legal Tender (the restaurant in the Best Western in town) last night. Three of these ladies are natives of this area. When I told them about my Common Snipe sighting, Bev said, "What about the mudwhopper? Have you seen that yet?" Hmm, I thought. Sounds like one of those fabulous critters only seen in Wyoming. "No, they're real," Bev said, "my granddad used to show them to me. They have one leg longer than the other so they can walk on the sides of mountains and not tip over."

Which reminds me of the Jackalope. Thirty years ago when I was in college, I dated a guy from Wyoming who introduced me to the Jackalope. I was so taken by the idea of a state where people went on and on about a made-up creature that I started collecting Jackalope postcards, of which, I assure you, there are very many.

One of these days I need to make a pilgrimage to Douglas, WY where this fellow presides.

Until then, I'll just keep looking for those Mudwhoppers.

Thanks, God...

...for a pair of ring-necked doves in the back yard this morning.

Never seen 'em before except one who lives at the veterinarian's because of a broken wing. A little research reveals they were actually Eurasian Collared Doves. The species started in the Americas as domesticated birds. Now there are feral colonies in warm-weather locations -- Texas, California, Florida -- and in recent years they have made their way to Utah, and apparently also to our corner of Wyoming.

With all their Biblical significance, what better birds to welcome the ordination weekend? Which begins today as guests begin to arrive from out of town.

"For Fun"

My friend Wanda just sent me this picture. I guess it's making its way around via forwarded e-mails. It's an albino peacock. Rather gorgeous, isn't it?

It makes me think of a wonderful exchange I had with a woman in North Carolina once. Guy and I were visiting The Inn at Celebrity Dairy in Siler City, North Carolina.... (http://www.celebritydairy.com/), a terrific place where the celebrities are goats, the product is goat cheese, and the inn is a gorgeous historic home renovated for beauty and comfort. The last time we went there, the Inn was offering a Sunday dinner for guests and neighbors, and we took part. I struck up an immediate friendship with a woman at the dinner -- an older North Carolinian who had been through hard times and had come to faith through her travails. The inn owners took us on a tour so we could pet the goats and visit with the peafowl and chickens. We got fairly close to a resplendent male peacock who was spreading out his fan-tail. We oohed and aahed, and then I called my friend's attention to the cool headdress peacocks wear. "I wonder why God gave them that," I said to her. She had the perfect answer. In her beautiful Southern drawl, she answered, "For fun."

I really do think God has created birds with headdresses for the fun of it. See the quail below, or any bird in your area who happens to sport head plumage. You gotta love it.