Betty Schroeder

Psalm 148:7, 10, 13     Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all ocean depths, wild animals and all cattle, small creatures and flying birds.  Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

The Mississippi kites left today – the beautifully graceful, soaring, gentle hawks who have blessed our neighborhood since their annual arrival on Mother’s Day weekend.  After constructing new nests or repairing beloved ones from seasons past, they quickly laid their eggs, carefully tended their rapidly growing nestlings, delivering dozens of cicadas each day to the eager mouths while sometimes enduring occasional attacks by resident mocking birds and blue jays.

For me, the summer mornings are richer from the kites’ calls and beautiful aerial acrobatics.  It’s obvious when the young have fledged and cling fearfully and noisily to the nest edge before trusting new wings to first flight.  Then the work begins in earnest – strengthening wings and bodies for the long flight to a winter home somewhere in South America.  Suddenly, all in one day near mid-August, the kite community takes its leave.  Mornings become quieter and we know that autumn is on its way.

Fall in Louisiana is not the morning frost and grand show of colorful leaves we know in more northern areas, but it is lovely in its own right.  Autumn is my favorite season, but I sincerely miss the kites.

Louisiana Autumn

Roaming parties of redwing blackbirds,

shoulders flashing fire, 

sing in swaying cattails.

Swallowtails and fritillaries

dance in ballet-like troupes

celebrating the sweet joy of life.

Under a harvest moon, glistening green frogs

revel in abundant rain,

singing cacophonous arias 

with joyful abandon.

Mallows and elderberries crowd country roads

while dainty Queen Anne’s Lace 

vies for the notice of industrious bees.

Too early for the scant show of autumn leaves,

migrating monarchs supply longed-for 

orange hues of fall.

Mountains of bright pumpkins

and squirrels stowing acorns

signal that winter is coming –

that season of home and hearth,

family and gumbo,

 and unfettered gratitude 

for the life and the place

we have been given 

by God.

Prayer:  God of the earth and all creation, we thank you for the gift of the birds and all the wonderful creatures that share our world.  We see your amazing creativity and love through them and are ever grateful for the blessings you bestow on us in this life. Amen.