Life in the mailbox

Every time I open the mailbox, I am greeted buy a cheery little lizard (anole) and his tiny frog friend who is usually clinging to the inside of the door. Back and forth, he goes. An unfortunate event from couple of years ago made me think I should tape a note to the door to warn the mailman of the little occupants and to open with care. Sadly back then, a lizard was smashed in the door. It was tragic to see his dangling, lifeless body, and I do not have my man around now for such emergencies. In order to keep the ads from piling up, I needed to get the contents, i.e. ads, out of my mailbox, so I tapped on the metal door and carefully pulled it down. There was the tiny frog in his usual place, but not just one but three lizards were scurrying around! Party time! 

Little anoles have always been in Wilmington, and I like them. When they are in the mailbox they are a dull brown, not the bright green like they are outside in nature. But never in my life have I seen little green tree frogs until this year. Yesterday one was in my toilet, not swimming but in the rim. I saw him hop out and into the shower, and after that, he was off to places unknown. Like the anole, the tiny mailbox frog camouflages into a dull brown when he is at rest in the mailbox. Sometimes I see their shapes on the windows outside at night.

However, now I need to find a way to make the mailbox uninhabitable for them. 

Pic of the Day

One of Wilmington's tugboats. 

Still in The Word

Now I am in Isaiah. I have really loved reading the Bible through sort of rapidly. One person told me she would have a hard time doing it because she didn't understand it. Does anyone deeply understand except for the most divinely inspired and learned Biblical scholar? 

If I were going to tackle this lengthy read, I would make it interesting and enjoyable, I decided. So I am reading from different versions using the printed word, my iPad, and occasionally using an audio app. It also helps that I have read at least something in the Bible most days out of the past seventy years, so many parts are not only familiar but recitable and loved.  "Like apples of gold in a setting of silver," (from Proverbs.) But maybe the biggest key for making it work for me is all the  church/worship/gospel music I have sung. Most Christian music is from the Bible, some word for word. For many years I sang in Handel's Messiah, and Isaiah 40 that I just read is the foundation for several of its choruses and solos. 

When I finish the remaining twenty-six chapters of Isaiah, I will start the wordiest book of the Bible, Jeremiah. After that, I will feel like I am home free. I enjoy getting the big picture as I fly over. 

A thought of the day

One thought of many

It’s not that I can’t think of anything to blog about, it’s that I think of too much. I guess that’s how it is when your responsibilities and activities decrease. The mind becomes more reflective and analytical. 

After reading Rob’s autobiography, I felt challenged to read the Bible through in a month. So I am speed reading God’s word to mankind as if it were a book! Today I am in Deuteronomy, and I just read this:

 10 When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the Lord, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Isn’t that the truth! Have we ever learned anything?

Find the butterflies.

The lantana behind the gallery were filled with butterflies today. Some seemed camouflaged in the bright colors.  Can you spot them?

Nature Lover

Here are some of my favorite pictures from my meanderings along the river today.

The underside of a big beautiful mushroom.

Because I like B/W. 

One of the wiggly movements and little daisy like flowers that grow in the water.

Rowers at sunset.

Moon rises over the electric towers, or whatever they are. 

thoughts

Surely at the top of the list of most boring jobs is working in an art gallery. But it is my job, and I persist. Responsibility has its downside. After several slow days, today ended up being good. And what made it so? Not just the small sale but the nice people who visited, and the evening.

It was close to 7 pm when I locked up for the day. As I walked to the car, I looked toward the river where a gorgeous pink-orange range of colors in the sky was repeating itself on the water, and I was beckoned to come closer. 

The river is extraordinary on its own, especially in the way the sun causes it to change colors. When I was there at midday yesterday a woman said to me, "Look how the water is sparkling like diamonds." At that time, the shimmering lights were playing off the midrange blue of the water. On other days, when the sun is behind a cloud and the sky is dark, the old Cape Fear can be a somber black. Sometimes it is gray or a deep blue-green. Tonight for a short while, the color of the water was the same color that the sun left in the sky on its descent over the distant islet of trees, and the small gathering treated it as a holy experience. A beautiful sight from nature seems as if we are let in on an eternal secret. 

This is with my iPhone, not at the height of its splendor, and not true to the beautiful true colors.