Holiday Gifts from Mother Nature

Ho Ho Ho! Mother Nature gave me some spectacular gifts this holiday season. You, too?

When I stepped onto my front porch, for instance, I realized that a hummingbird’s been ferrying fresh fluff-and-stuff to the fuchsia plant along our walkway. Using her beak as a needle, and spider silk as thread, she stitches the cushiony material to a sturdy branch. A quick whirl of her tail feathers, and voilà! Her walnut-sized home’s beginning to take shape.  ‪#‎RoomAtTheInn‬

Just yesterday, I spied a pair of perky ears, lurking behind the low-lying wall in our backyard. Could it be…? Yes! Wile E. Coyote loped along our fence, and then posed for the camera before trotting up the neighboring hillside.

Oh, and hey, did you notice the tender green shoots, poking their heads through the damp soil at his feet?  We’ve had lots more rainstorms of late, and the thirsty soil is gulping it right down! Here’s hoping El Niño showers us with bountiful rains this winter,  so we’ll have wildflowers aplenty, come springtime.

“Walking in a Winter Wonderland” might suggest snow flurries and hot chocolate to some, but it sings to me of blue skies and sandy beaches.

When sunlight slants through the water just so, the waves sparkle and shimmer like jewels. Nudged by strong currents, they’re capped these days with frothy meringue peaks. You can’t buy holiday treats like this, anywhere! But at Aliso Creek Beach, they’re free for the taking.

Here, the simple joys of the holiday season, accompanied by the ocean’s magnum opus.

The sun sinks below the horizon, and a pair of surfers wash ashore.

Behold! They stand at the water’s edge, in soggy board shorts and dreads. We witness together the grandeur of this moment.

In this season of giving, we’re encouraged also to receive…

Unspeakable joys, for those who watch and listen. Timeless gifts, no proof of purchase required and no expiration date.