Cozy Ridge Newsletter - November 2022
November 18, 2022
We had an absolutely spectacular fall this year up on Cozy Ridge! In spite of the dry weather, the changing of the leaves climaxed in blazing color, shining fluorescent in the sunlight! They left the most memorable impression, glowing even as they fell. It was delightful raking the leaves this year also. They came together in light and fluffy piles, their whishing sounds and sweet aromas brought back many a childhood memory, and with them the temptation to run and jump, and bury myself beneath them. They inspired a game of hide-and-seek with one of the grandkids, which provided the perfect opportunity for us to do just that!
But the weather can change overnight, and it most certainly did this year. The beautiful leaves disappeared so quickly in the wind and rain, and the temperatures dropped dramatically, unexpectedly bringing our first taste of snow! As I write this, I look out across the fields at the tree line which just a few short weeks ago was glowing in the sunlight, and now lay drab and pale and empty. I can hardly believe it’s the same place.
And yet, from up here on Cozy Ridge, those fields and distant trees remain every bit as beautiful as before. Different, yes, and less flamboyant, but beautiful none the less. Every season, and each creature, great and small, has its own form of beauty and its own place in this grand creation.
Lately I’ve been enjoying the critters that I lovingly call “monkeys.” Pennsylvania, of course, has no monkeys. But when I was young, an Australian relative visiting our home would stand at the window for hours and watch the squirrels prancing along the branches in the tops of the trees. “They’re like monkeys,” she said. “We don’t have squirrels in Australia.” And I was so intrigued at her fascination with something I so easily took for granted.
On Cozy Ridge, we have tons of active red squirrels. I sit and watch them running back and forth across the branches, jumping from tree to tree chasing each other, following on each other’s heels at nearly twenty miles an hour. While it’s true that these squirrels are among the simple pleasures that we find around us all the time, it’s important to remember that there is always more to each one of these simple pleasures than we tend to realize! What treasures we miss when we take such things for granted.
This is especially true of children—each one a gift of inestimable value, to be seen and treasured for who they are!
As we begin our preparations for Thanksgiving, and are propelled into the holiday season, it is good to pause and reflect on the many things we have to be thankful for, the many treasures in our lives that we so often overlook, and to take no good thing for granted!
So wherever you find yourself throughout the upcoming weeks, may you notice more blessings than you can count, and find the cup of your heart filled and overflowing!
From our heart to yours,
