Our weekend wanderings brought us nose to nose with the most slithery of forest creatures! How many times have I just walked right on by and missed the delicate designs, glorious in subtle display?
We slowed our steps, loving the fall whisper in the air and marveled at all the treasure!
Lizard stilled, daring not a breath, disappearing into the leaf-strewn landscape...
Fuzzy caterpillar, snuggled into the ground, mirroring the brown earth...
Baby turtle, trying to hide in the leafy shelter...
But, oh, dismay over unexpected discovery...
Dismay turning to fright as Leroy's quick hand averts disaster!
(DO NOT try this at home - he is a trained expert! Smile!)
The muted patterns of the snake skin disguised him well amidst the bark mulch and those same patterns heralded a cottonmouth, venomous and dangerous. But upon closer inspection...
The rounded pupils and the yello-green belly indentify this slithery fellow as a Texas Rat Snake, thankfully non-venomous!!
And so, he received an honorary trip to the woods, far, far away from my flower beds!
Catch and Release - it was his lucky day...
As I watched Leroy release the snake, I was amazed at how quickly he disappeared from sight. Blending in perfectly with his surroundings. My camera was not quick enough to even catch a glimpse. Within seconds you would never know he had crossed our paths...
And it occurred to me that everyday, there are people who cross our paths, and never register on our radar.
They are camouflaged from sight. Sometimes deliberately. Shrinking from view. Still and shadowed. Barely breathing, lest we notice. Perhaps out of pain. Or shame. The camouflage masking their hurt.
And we have a choice. To open our eyes, to walk slow. See past the camouflage and be blessed by the beauty...
I am reminded of the day mom and I arrived at the chemo lab for her appointment and met Linda (*). We arrived to an almost empty chemo lab. Unusual in the extreme. The lab held over 30 chemo chairs and on most days they were always full.
This day, for whatever reason, there were only a handful of patients, and as mom and I settled in, we noticed her sitting across from us. Her bald head was covered with a Texas Ranger ball cap, a colorful quilt draped across her lap. I recognized the quilt and knew that we had been there together before. But I had never noticed the flute that lay in her still hands across the quilt.
As mom's gemzar drip began, we bantered with Lance, mom's favorite nurse, and the conversation rolled out to include Linda. She was quiet, but had a beautiful, shy smile. We asked, of course, about the flute. She said she loved to play and sometimes, if the lab was empty, she would play to get her mind off the cancer....and the chemo....
And I wondered why I had never noticed her before.
We asked her to play and she demurely declined. We pressed and "pleased"... She finally agreed.
The clear, delicate notes hung in the air and quiet descended upon the few blessed to be there that day. The melody was hauntingly beautiful, the music taking us beyond the walls of that chemo lab. Beyond the boundaries of cancer...
Linda and mom talked long that afternoon, sharing their stories of tumor markers, hospital stays, ups and downs, fears of the future, and the hopes begging to be uttered....things that only 2 cancer patients could truly understand, kindred spirits bonded through the affliction of a terminal illness.
I listened and learned much.
This weekend, the story beat a renewed tatoo in the treasure of lizards and snakes, turtles and 'pillars.
Never underestimate the camouflage...
Or you will miss Blessings of Beauty...
Grace Released,
Always, Jane
* Name changed
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