How Things Are Doing
One of my favorite lines in a children’s book comes from the author’s curiosity to discover how things in nature are faring. The author’s purpose for regular walks outside is “to see how things are doing.”
It was my goal today to take a “How are things doing walk” in our backyard. It was a short walk on a partly sunny afternoon.
How was the weather “doing?” With a partly cloudy cumulus sky, the air temperature was a warm 43 degrees Fahrenheit. A light south breeze kept air from feeling cold. It was wonderful to be outside. The weather was doing well.
My “How Things are Doing” hike was a preplanned search for small things. Yes, we could change the name of the hike to “How Small Things are Doing.” First stop was a pine cone cushioned on a bed of needles. Its journey to earth was temporarily suspended. It made a beautiful contrast with the green of the needles. A circle on the bark of a Birch tree caught my eye. Circles are good, the lichen growing on the circle, that was good…a letter O in Birch. Nice.
The parallel lines on the large Birch were still there. They fascinate me. So does the little curl of bark peeling from the trunk. It dances back and forth in the south breeze. It was the scratches on the bark that stoked my imagination. How many times have the squirrels climbed this tree? And for what reason? But then squirrel behavior is always predictable, see tree climb it. Yes, the big Birch is just fine.
My feet carried me to the little prairie garden in our back yard. It was easy to see that recent wind and the early snow had broken plant stems. But I knew the plants had made seed before that. The leaves caught by the little prairie captured my attention. First a purplish tinted leaf, then it was the shadows of leaves on a large cottonwood leaf that pleased me. “This is a fine sight,” and, “wow, look at the shadows formed on the leaf!” Shadows and leaves were doing very well this afternoon.
My last stop was the Sugar Maple tree. Transplanted by my own hands from a Maple forest, its my favorite tree in our yard. Its leaves fell to earth days ago. My interest was next years leaves. I found new buds forming. The zig-zag pattern on each bud pleases me.
How were things doing? My report is brief: all is well. But then, consider Who formed all of what I observed and infinitely more beyond each thing my eyes viewed this afternoon. Each thing my eyes and mind considered was formed by wisdom. My little walk only brushed the surface of an earth filled with intricate magnificence. A “how are things doing” walk always brings the same result: “Things” are always remarkable, and rich. God made them all.
“Things are always remarkable and rich outside.
David W. Ellis”