Above The Tangle

The bright spot

In the large field behind our home, between our yard and maybe a half mile out to the main road, there are three chain link fences. They are only partial fences, tall and staggered to serve as a windbreak, I think. Over the years a lot of bushes and trees and brambles have volunteered to accompany the fences in their duties. In the summer they block any view beyond and I miss quite a bit of fauna activity as the deer and the foxes make their way between the three visual breaks. In the winter they’re devoid of foliage and I can see the shape of their denuded branches. 

The other day I was looking out over the field as the sun was sliding lower and lower. How I love to watch the bright lines that fade into shadow so quickly.  On this day a brilliant smudge of red caught my eye. The bush at the end of the first break reaches higher than the top of the eight foot tall fence. It is surely a wild thing with a mass of gnarled branches that seem to have had a hard time deciding which direction to grow. Or they all had arguments and kept turning away from each other as they grew. Gray and leafless and rather forlorn, this bush was nevertheless the chosen location for a stunning male cardinal to bask in the bright setting sunlight. His winter jacket of dunned red on his back was forgotten as he fluffed his crimson self, a scarlet shimmer at the center of everything.

 photo Brian Forsyth on pexels.com

It’s said that cardinals are reminders, even visitors from heaven, letting us know we are still connected to those who’ve died and we’re missing. I’ll admit my Dad has been on my mind as things change with Mother and she needs me more and more, and yet slips further and further away from who she’s been. What would he tell me if he could? How would he guide and encourage me and my siblings as we take care of his Beloved?  In that shining red fellow on the bush it felt like Dad was saying it’s ok.  Against those crazy gnarled branches in the bland winter landscape that pop of red and the golden light shone bright. 

I keep going because there’s no other choice. What I choose to focus on are the moments like seeing that bird, laughing with Mother, finding a memory she can enjoy anew. It’s about the bright spots. 

What have been your bright spots? What has landed in your path to make it better and brighter?