Taste and See

This evening was one of those “almost perfect” evenings that we sometimes have in the spring or fall.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been a few degrees warmer temperature.  However, the wind was calm, the sky was clear with just a few floaters in it, people were in the park across the creek playing Frisbee golf, walking, cycling, or whatever, and birds, squirrels, ducks, and other animals were scurrying about preparing for the night to come.
I got myself a cup of leftover morning coffee, heated it in the micro, and sat out on our second floor patio taking it all in.  A hot air balloon floated lazily overhead just a few hundred feet up, and was making about a mile every 10 minutes.  I could hear the voices of the people in the gondola, and of course, the noise of the flame as it cycled on and off.
I had my binoculars and bird book, saw a few birds, and heard a few more.  Mostly, the juncos and cardinals had charge of the trees and brush out back, with one or two robins flying across the back yard at times.  We aren’t bothered much by sparrows and starlings, although they do stop at times.
I am truly grateful for evenings like this one.  They come all too infrequently, and I think few people enjoy them.  They are, rather, in the house in front of the boob tube, hurrying to finish this or that chore, or going somewhere in a hurry.  I do those things, too, but more and more enjoy taking a few minutes to “taste and see that the Lord is good.”