By: W.C. Reader

In recent months, we have had a lot of time to sit around and brood about this and that. And one of our favorite places to do it was to have our chair pulled in front of a bay window in our living room. It was so situated that it provided us with a pretty good view of everything located North, East and South of our house. Particularly did we enjoy the sight afforded to us of our neighbor’s far, with its fields, pastures, animals, birds, vegetation, etc., all against a background of a blue sky with mischievous clouds skipping here and there?

We especially formed a great affection for one of those animals that ran in the herd – and it was not a cow. It was a donkey with a kindly personality, who came strolling up to the fence most every morning, just to see that we were in place and on the job. Then he went on his way, checking to see that all cattle were present and accounted for.

There was another animal that proved to be a delight for us during our period of incarceration. It was an ordinary cat whose most outstanding physical feature was a bobbed tail. As he crossed our lawn each morning, he chose to remain aloof, and we never did gain his confidence. Thus, we are unable to tell you whether he was coming home from a night on the town, or whether he was looking for a choice morsel of food left behind by a careless dog. But regardless of the quality of his character and background, we always looked forward to his appearance on the scene each morning.

Being a dog lover, part of our attention from the window each day was devoted to the antics of our neighbor’s pups. When one of the family came outside to get in the car and drive away, these devoted creatures were beside themselves. They would bark, jump up and down, and do all kinds of contortions as they followed the car up the trail, finally stopping after discovering they were not going to be taken along. Then they would turn and dejectedly return home to await the time when their master or mistress would come back to them. And when that did occur, joy knew no bounds as they raced up the trail to form an honor guard for their beloved keepers. Day after day, we watched this demonstration of love and loyalty – and never tired of it.

And then the birds occupied our attention also. We won’t try to name all of them that visited with us, but we looked on with affection as they dipped and rose with wind currents, quarreled with each other over an ill-fated worm, scratched in the grass for seeds, flew back and forth with leaves, grass, and sticks to build a nest, and landed in the trees to rest a little. Our favorite among these feathered friends was one called a “Sapsucker.” His arrival never was secretive because, after landing on the side of a tree, he would immediately start using his hardy beak to drill a hole in a limb or the trunk. This would enable him to withdraw the calories needed for the day’s activities.

And those funny, frolicsome squirrels. We whiled away numerous minutes each day watching them skip across the grass, climb up the trees, slither along light wires, etc. This always was interesting, until one day when one of the little fellows came in contact with a live electric wire, or conductor. Accordingly, we had to call the good wife to come and close the door to keep out the smell of fried squirrel.

Inanimate things also had a place on our daily agenda. When we first positioned ourselves in this bay window in late December, the landscape was deeply involved with Winter. It was a drab scene that greeted us as we looked out across the fields and pastures, which were colorless. Where had all the grass, the tree leaves, the flowers, and the crops gone? Then, in late February, we thought we noticed the brown color across the way was growing dimmer and dimmer. (Is that good English, Mrs. Cox?) Taking over was just the slight suggestion of green, hardly visible if you didn’t know what you were looking for. Each day this green would become just a little more pronounced, and it now was hard to ignore. And then, suddenly, in late March and early April, the whole countryside seemed to explode in a rainbow of colors with grass, trees, flowers, bursting forth in full glory. The miracle still was doing its work for the Glory of God, and for your enjoyment. Spring was here!

And all the above is how we spent the last 180 days, seated in a wheelchair, and looking out through a bay window.

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