Two Vignettes to Share

[Guest guest]

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I woke up before dawn and figured I had just enough time to sneak out

of the house and get myself up to the top of Maidu Ridge in order to

see the sunrise. It was the very tail end of winter and I was

needing to wear a bunch of layers, but I managed to slink out without

anyone hearing me and I drove down our driveway with the excitement of

a kid playing hooky!

 

When I got to my destination, I parked and headed over to the eastern

slope of the hill. It was too chilly to stand still and watch the

sunrise through the steam of my breath, so I began to walk briskly

down the trail into the silent, dark mist of the morning. Before I

knew it, to my surprise, I found myself overcome by a most divine

aroma! I couldn't really believe it; it was so incredibly sweet and

fresh. As I looked around me I could not imagine where this

fragrance was possibly coming from...yet everywhere I walked, there

it was.

 

I followed a loop on the trails watching the clouds in the sky do

their silent and graceful colordance and was just returning to the

top of the hill when the sun was streaming its full golden blast

through the tops of the tall pines. And that's when I noticed them.

In the grass on either side of the trails and splashed among the

fields were the tiniest, bluish-purple flowers popping their little

faces through the wet blades. I wasn't quite able to see them when

it was dark, but it must have been the blown kisses of these

beautiful spring babies I had been blessed with during my sunrise

walk. I'd wished I could wear the sweetness home with me so I could

share it with my family, but perhaps something that is this tender

remains especially so when one isn't able to capture it.

 

 

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Two summers ago I was one of "regulars" who watched the sunset on

Maidu Ridge. I wasn't alone. In fact, there were several of us who

gathered there during the week and not only enjoyed the view, but

also the lively conversation. Sometimes we chatted and giggled

together until long after the sun had gone down and we told stories

about our lives and discussed our beliefs and philosophies into the

night. We would lie on our backs resting our heads on our hands and

listen to one another as we watched the meteorites and the satellites

and the Milky Way as it announced its majestic presence.

 

On one of those great nights, three of us got the munchies and one had

"secret" knowledge of a nearby fig tree whose scrumptious fruits were

hanging there, ripe, at the very moment we were speaking. It didn't

take long before our mouths were watering and we were stumbling

through the dark after an anticipated delicious snack. We groped our

way to the tree and then reached high and low into its leafy branches

for the plump and soft figs that were just ready to drop. Oh my

gosh. They were So good! Half the time we were groaning with

pleasure and the other half of the time we were giving our heartelt

thanks to the tree for this amazing gift to our palates and to our

souls.

 

A couple of weeks later after watching the sunset I made a return

visit to that beloved fig tree. It was still a little bit light out

this time and after I'd arrived I realized that my friends and I

ought to have been thanking the ants too, 'cause to my surprise, I

found that the ripest figs had been covered with them!!

 

 

 

~Kheyala