Dear Reader:

The human memory never ceases to amaze me…like Carol Poole remembering the little story of the bird with limited wing capacity but plenty of song left in her. That story would have been lost forever in my memory bank if Carol had not shared it with us all. And what a precious memory it is…the best gift of all Carol!

Yesterday morning when I went out on the front porch to turn off the porch street lantern…it was still at freezing temperatures. The sun was just beginning to spread its light farther down the street…but the open field next door was so beautiful…the lowcountry’s snow…frost. (As close as we get!)

As I went to get my iPhone to take the picture…the words popped up immediately in my mind….”Born on a frosty morn.” Puzzled I repeated the short phrase and then the memories galloped in. President’s Day in elementary school.

We always studied Washington and Lincoln, of course, and each year the reading for Lincoln’s birth (February 12, 1809) always started with….”He was born on a frosty morn.” 

I have never forgotten that line and never forgotten the connection to Lincoln’s birth in his one room log cabin. Isn’t it funny what phrases or memories survive childhood education?

As I took in the exquisite beauty of our own “frosty morn”…I wandered around to the back deck. Looking up into the beautiful flowering pear tree blossoms that hang over my back roof/deck was a feast for the eyes!

Then something caught my attention high up in the branches…some kind of nest…figuring from its large size… probably a squirrel’s nest…impressive!

It was while I was still squinting at the nest …that some bright color captured my attention…it couldn’t be! Yet it was! Sammy the red cardinal was high up in the tree staring down at me as to wish me a happy frosty morn!

I knew the chances of enlarging a picture at that distance would cause all kinds of fuzzy issues but I had to try….and the chances that Sammy would remain on the branch while I fiddled with the focus was probably nil to none…yet it happened…I got the picture! Perhaps a little distorted but not enough that I wouldn’t know it was my  special good luck Sammy staring down at me as if protecting me with his sheer presence.

*** Okay…Let’s see how good your eyes are. Go back to the first pear blossom tree picture in the today’s post…the one I took before I realized Sammy was in the tree staring down at me….see if you can find him without the enlargement I added to the last photo above.

So until tomorrow…the next time you wonder what to get someone you care about who seems to have everything…why not a memory? Why not share a memory with a big red bow around it…is there any better gift?

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*I just saw this on Pinterest and loved this additional idea…give a friend or loved one a memory box you made or bought with a handful of precious memories already hand-written in it and then each special occasion…add another memory as your gift.

*** This morning (Sunday morning) I suddenly remembered I had washed a small load of clothes on the other side and forgot to bring them in to put in the dryer so I could wear a pair of pants to church. After everything that happened last week I wanted to return to church (minus finally my croup cough) to give a special prayer of thanks to God for the medical report.

As I started across the yard once again frost covered the landscape…thicker than yesterday…just beautiful…our last “frosty/snow” day for awhile as the weather warms up…thank goodness. Big Red is ready to return to the porch!

* My Christmas tree holder I had left on the deck had filled up with all the rain water earlier in the week and was now completely frozen.

BURR!