The sun beats down mercilessly on these Summer afternoons. Outside, creatures seek shelter in shaded places, a bit of respite from the sweltering heat. The hum of cicadas is alternately loud and then quiet as they rest for a moment before the next cadence. The birds are so much quieter than in the cooler morning and evening hours. Even the busy squirrels have slowed their darting and jumping from tree to tree while the sun is at its zenith. It’s as if all of nature knows to shelter and wait for the temperature to drop before expending more energy.
This little bird was nestled against the door on my side porch. Even my quiet approach did not cause him to leave this shady, nearly concealed spot beside a pot of blooming flowers. He cocked his head my direction and just calmly watched as I crouched down and snapped his image. I’m sure he thought I was nuts.
Only us crazy humans keep up the frantic pace in the hottest part of the day. Busy, so busy, not stopping for rest in spite of the heat. Our society seems to place such value on busy-ness and measures success by the moments spent keeping pace. As I get older, I find myself wanting to buck that trend and slow down and recharge a bit before moving forward with the day’s tasks. I find the idea of a little “siesta” more and more appealing. And to think – when I was a child, I got so frustrated when my mother made us have “quiet time” in the afternoons after lunch. (“Nap” was a dirty word to a child!) My, how things have changed…
Resting is part of the natural cycle of life, though. Why do we fight it so much? Have we simply been conditioned to think of it as wasted time? Time not spent being busy?
Even the pups know when to let go and just nap for a while. Maybe I should take a lesson from them…
Welcome to the porch... 