" Listening and Looking"

One day this week we stopped our car to watch a black and brown tarantula continue his journey across our gravel road. Why does a tarantula cross the road? Perhaps he was on his way home after visiting the tarantula that lives near our back porch. They are gentle, beautiful creatures that share and belong in our beautiful woods. They are welcome here with Gypsy and me.
Early one morning while Gypsy and I were wiling away the day on our back porch, we spotted a small spider who seemed to be suspended in midair. He was surrounded by trees and was busy making a web that we could not see. It was a long distence from the spider to any tree, yet he continued his task. Would his breakfast consist of some unsuspecting creature that became entangled in his web? Would a bird see the spider and have a midair, midmorning snack? Would a branch fall from our newly trimmed trees and break the spider web into tiny pieces rendering it useless? Questions of the day, only the woods can answer.
One of our feral cats persists in roaming the area inside Gypsy's 5ft. cedar post rabbit fence. When we open the back cabin door at 6am, we give it a quick couple of gentle slams to warn all who might be foolish enough to enter Gypsy's area during the quiet hours of the night. Get out while you can! In the morning she goes out to reclaim her territory from any creature who might still linger there. She very nearly got one of the ferel cats. She was shaking it like a rag doll. Not good. I threw a pan of water on her which was intended for her dish and it distracted her long enough for the cat to get up a tree. I was very concerned about the cat. Would it live to return for another bout or die and fall out of the tree? The cat was ok. It recovered after spending time up in the tree after I put Gypsy in the house. It has not returned. Lesson learned.
It may be I have one of the nine lives of those feral cats. I put some chops on my gas grill to cook and when I returned to check them I saw the heat regulating knobs on the front of the grill melting like water running down a water fall. I saw flames comimg out the front of the grill. Zounds! This was a first for me, and might have been my last. Thinking as fast as a 69 year old can, I reached down and turned off the gas. One of the men who were here at this time trimming my trees came to help. He checked out the grill. The hose from the gas tank to the knobs had deteriorated and was burning the gas intended for the burner. He said it was a good thing I came out when I did, since the tank could have exploded. Not a good thing! He snipped one of the grates and hemmed and hawed and told me I could now burn charcoal in the grill. Seemed like a good idea to me. Thank you Jeff.
The wind whistling through the Texas cabin windows sounds the same as the wind whistling through the Wyoming log home windows. The wind here last night reminded me of the sounds I heard while staying there. Sometimes the woods not only sounds like Wyoming, but, it smells like Wyoming. Have you ever counted how many times a smell reminds you of a lost memory? Happens alot as you get older and is a joyful experience most of the time. You know Fall is here at the cabin, when the cool wind blows all night and the red oaks change the color of their leaves to paint a new face on the woods. Everything is changing in the woods and since this is our first Fall season here, we don't want to miss anything. There is one exception. I wouldn't mind having missed the poison ivy that is making my right wrist itch. Bad stuff! .
It is good to lay aside the tasks of the day and listen to the wind in the woods. The wind and the woods will not wait. They call to me as I listen to the sound of the wind making the trees talk. They call to me as I sit by the open window next to my desk and feel the soft, cool breeze cover my arms and face and whisper in my ears. They tell me to count my blessings and be thankful for friends near and far, neighbors and family. They tell me not to worry and complain and critize. They tell me not to be angry. They tell me not to judge and to be kind to all living creatures. They tell me to walk softly, rest easy, be at peace and listen.