Back Porch Break & Take My Hand Again Blog Posts

The Wonders of Wildlife

July 29, 2019 by Nancy 14 Comments

My husband and I just returned from an anniversary trip to Banff National Park in Canada. As much as we loved seeing the massive Canadian Rockies, the crystal clear blue lakes and charming old hotels, it was the wildlife that made the trip extra memorable.

What is it about sighting wildlife that gives us such a thrill? Maybe it’s because each encounter is so unexpected. Also because it’s nothing that can be planned. No matter how many tourists ask the park rangers, “What time do you let the animals out?” that’s not how it works, folks. No travel agent can guarantee a wildlife sighting either. It’s the very serendipitous nature of it that makes it seem like such a joyful gift.

On our drive down Sunshine Mountain from the high vista lodge where we stayed for two nights, we were surprised to round a corner and see a mountain goat staring at us from the side of the road. “So, you folks are checking out,” he seemed to be saying. “Hope you enjoyed your stay. Come back and see us, eh?” No doubt he knew we were tourists by our rental car with the Alberta license plates.

A day or so later we were driving from one mountain lake to another when we came upon a bear seriously going about searching for the thousands of berries he needs to sustain himself. Unlike the goat, he didn’t seem to give us any mind at all. Canada is having a late summer this year, so it’s possible he just came out of hibernation. Food was his biggest priority and we were too encapsulated in steel to be enticing.

We also saw a herd of elk from a distance, and though we didn’t spot a moose, we had such a good sighting of one outside of Jackson Hole last year that we didn’t feel at all deprived. When Jim shared a bit of his lunch at a café near Lake Moraine with a chipmunk, he delighted a family with children nearby. We are certainly hoping the fine we saw posted later for feeding wildlife doesn’t apply to chipmunks!

I have a friend who sees every sighting of a hawk as a special message and gift from God. If she sees a bald eagle, she feels blessed beyond belief! We are all blessed to share this earth with God’s marvelous creatures, and when our paths cross unexpectedly, my gratitude abounds.

Grand Ol’ Flag

July 4, 2019 by Nancy 12 Comments

All the recent controversy about people dishonoring our flag reminded me of an old Gazette column I’d like to share again. Long may she wave! And Happy 4th of July weekend!

One of the best parts of celebrating the Fourth of July is seeing so many grand ol’ flags on display. In store windows, on car antennas, or lining parade routes in all the small towns of our memories, the Stars and Stripes say America like nothing else can.

I inherited my love for the flag from my dad, although I’m not sure I remembered to tell him I had finally caught his passion while he was still alive.

It used to irritate me that he loved flags so much. Whenever our family visited a new city or national park, my dad would want us to pose for pictures at the base of a flagpole. To get the whole flag into the picture, he’d have to move to the other side of the street with the camera, so we have lots of vacation shots with my sisters and me barely discernible as we rallied ‘round the flagpole for dear old dad. In the 8-millimeter home movies, we’re trying madly to out-wave the flag, along with occasionally pinching or shoving one another, but you have to look closely to see who’s who because the flag is still the star.

I think my dad was born a patriot. He was proud to be able to trace his roots back to the American Revolution, and although he served in the FBI instead of a branch of the military during World War II, he staunchly defended his country and its flag at every opportunity.

Fran and Amanda, now all grown up, with the cake they made!

I’m not sure when the flag took on so much meaning for me, but living on foreign soil, then sending a young (first) husband off to Vietnam, had a lot to do with it. To this day, I can’t get through the national anthem at a football game without tearing up as I focus on the unfurled flag.

The flag I put out on national holidays year after year, home after home, was a gift from my dad. A few years ago it began to show signs of so much time in the Colorado wind, so I retired it to a corner of the hall closet and got a brand new one.

In addition to flying the flag, I usually make a flag cake with blueberry stars and strawberry stripes each 4th of July, along with homemade ice cream of course. And we even had a cat named for Betsy Ross because she was discovered abandoned on the Fourth of July.

But like old friends, old flags are best.

My second son, Tim, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve by his dad. The ceremony was held on our back deck with all of our blended family seated in rows of chairs as the audience. Tim’s two small nieces and half-brother waved little flags in celebration. Draped from the deck railing behind him, as he raised his right hand and promised to defend the Constitution of the United States, was the tattered old flag he and his brother helped me display so many times throughout their growing-up years.

I know my dad was proud.

The Balls of Summer

June 28, 2019 by Nancy 8 Comments

My husband and I were relaxing by a pool on a recent trip to Tucson, AZ, when a beach ball caught our eye. It wasn’t the bright colors that drew our attention, however, nor even the joyful way the breeze caught the ball, causing it to bounce merrily past our chairs. We retrieved it to examine because we noticed a giant caution warning, printed on one whole panel, which was too obtrusive to ignore.

What we read astounded us. First, in very large letters, was the warning: “Use Only under Competent Supervision.” Do you suppose some people would prefer incompetent supervision instead? And then, in several different languages was printed a warning, along with all the licensing information, admonishing us not to stand on the beach ball. To make their point even clearer, the manufacturers drew a sketch of a foot on a beach ball with the international symbol for “don’t do this!”

You know what I’m going to say. We both became nostalgic for all the summers of our youth when people knew just how much supervision children needed, and knew not to stand on beach balls. If you did try to stand on one, you didn’t do it twice! That’s how we learned in the “good ol’ days!”

This whole experience started me thinking about all the balls of summer. Foremost, of course, is the baseball and how stadiums across the country this summer will be full of fans wiping hot dog mustard off their faces and waiting for their favorite batters to hit one over the fence! These same people will be whistling “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” on the way to their cars.

Golf balls are most prevalent in summer, too, as they land on greens, sink into holes, or find their way to nearby sand traps, bodies of water, and neighboring lawns. An older woman in Florida claims that she hit a low ball over a body of water and an alligator jumped up and swallowed it! She messaged a golf site asking how she should score that shot.

I hope there still will be plenty of kick balls around this summer, too. My sisters and I played that game barefooted every day in the summer until it began to get dark and we ran home for supper. Soccer balls, bocce balls and juicy, delicious watermelon balls will no doubt appear at many picnics and family reunions, too. It’s summer, folks. Use competent supervision as necessary, but have a ball!

Summer’s Song

June 13, 2019 by Nancy 6 Comments

Has anyone else noticed that the birds seem to be singing more enthusiastically this summer than ever before? I don’t know if it’s because I’ve slowed down enough to truly hear them, or if they’ve added more songs to their repertoires. I just know they seem to be sounding a symphony of song this summer—especially at dawn’s early light when they all crescendo, “It’s morning! Time to get up!”

A computer search on bird calls opened up a whole new world of ornithological information to me. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website “All About Birds,” when a bird sings it is telling you what it is and where it is. I’m sorry, but the only bird I can identify in that way would be the one chirping right in front of me from our deck railing. Even then I might not know what it is, but at least I would know where it is!

I blame my lack of an ability to identify birds by their tweets on the fact that I grew up in Tennessee where the official state bird is the Mockingbird. It got its name from, you guessed it, mocking the calls of all other birds! No wonder I’m an epic fail at deciphering bird song.

What I learned from my research, however, is that many people out there in bird land take identifying birds by the songs they sing extremely seriously. The comments on one website reminded me of the old PBS radio program “Car Talk,” where Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers, would ask callers to describe the noises their malfunctioning cars were making and get responses like: gurgle-gurgle-hiss, screeeeech, or clang-clang-clunk.

An actual comment from one birder asking for help in identifying a bird call was: The best I can describe it is like a “twotty twotty twotty twwwEEEEEEEEE….twa twa twa twa.” The “twwwEEEEE” part goes up in pitch, the twa’s are back down in pitch, sort of around where the twotty’s were in the beginning.

OK. Got that? What’s your guess?

I also learned that on birding websites, and even on YouTube, you can click on the name of a bird and listen to its actual song. Listening to bird calls on your computer all afternoon is not only somewhat interesting, it’s also a wonderful way to confuse and bemuse your cat.

Suggestions online for beginning birders on how to identify birds by their songs include: listen and watch, learn from an expert, say the sound to yourself (see above), and pay attention to details like rhythm, pitch, tone and repetition.

I think ornithology would be a wonderful vocation or avocation, but I’m not sure it’s for me. I’ll just continue to enjoy all the melodies I hear and wonder why the winged wonders warble at the same time instead of taking turns like on American Idol. And I’ll never figure out what genre each bird has chosen. Oldies? Praise songs? Reggae? Rhythm and blues? It sure sounds like a mix of all of them.

Whether birds sing to announce their whereabouts or to attract a mate, I’m just glad they sing. When ladies in my assisted living Bible study tell me that they can’t sing, I often quote Psalm 100 and tell them to just, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!” The summer songbirds I love to hear seem to be doing just that.

A Sonoran Spring

May 23, 2019 by Nancy 15 Comments

Living in Colorado Springs, a place that just got 8-12” of snow on May 20, I often fantasize about spring. Usually my fantasy is of the rolling green hills of East Tennessee, the azaleas, dogwoods, tulips and irises. But this spring found us in Tucson, AZ, for a granddaughter’s graduation, a Mother’s Day celebration, and a daughter’s 50th birthday party all on one weekend. There I discovered a different kind of spring that I can fantasize about in years to come—a Sonoran desert spring!

On this busy weekend away my husband Jim and I were surprised to discover that we had three hours to ourselves between celebrations. A friend told me about Tohono Chul botanic gardens in north Tucson, so we hopped in our rental car and off we went. I was charmed the minute we got out of the car and I heard the endearing sound of hummingbirds in flight. And why not? Later I learned they have their own garden at Tohono Chul, which translated means “desert corner.”

As with most preserves, this 49-acre oasis in the middle of Tucson’s urban sprawl began in the hearts of people recognizing its beauty and wanting to make it available to generations to come. University of Arizona geologist Richard Wilson and his wife Jean began purchasing property in the area in the late 1960s. According to the brochure, their home at the time was a hacienda-style building which now houses the Tohono Chul Garden Bistro—an inviting spot where I hope to lunch another day.

“At first, we just went out and put down some lime to make a path and marked the names of some plants and bushes, but then it started to snowball,” the Wilsons said. “Snowball” may be an odd choice of words to describe the progress of a desert garden, but grow it did and Tohono Chul Park was formally dedicated on April 19, 1985.

The trails that wind through Tohono Chul are full of enchanting discoveries from the stately saguaro cacti to the smallest desert wildflowers. One unexpected turn of events was that I had sprained my ankle on a walk the day before, so the kind volunteers at the garden offered us a wheelchair. Not only did I quickly grow more empathetic toward friends and relatives I love who must spend their lives in wheelchairs, I realized Jim and I have a lot to learn about navigating with one.

We entertained other visitors with my cries of, “Wait! Back up!” or “No, I want to go this way!” A patient husband is a wonderful gift indeed, but I suspect there was some eye-rolling I didn’t see that elicited the smiles of passersby! My hobbled status gave me a unique perspective on this new kind of spring, however. When I realized how blessed I was to have a husband who made sure I got to see the gardens I wanted to see—and that I never would have noticed that a lizard friend was shedding his skin had I not been closer to his level—the verse from 1 Thessalonians 5:18 came to mind: Be joyful always; pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Thankful for family celebrations. Thankful for a caring husband. Thankful my injury was only temporary. Thankful for the walking stick I purchased in the gift shop—made of real Colorado aspen! Thankful for the warm memory of a Sonoran desert spring as I watched the snow fall back home.

(For more information on Tohono Chul, look here.)

Bring on the Pomp and Circumstance

May 7, 2019 by Nancy 18 Comments

Liam's Class in 2014 — Liam’s Class in 2014

A quick tally reveals that since my husband and I have been together we will have attended 22 graduations for our kids and grandkids by the end of this month. And that doesn’t include the sweet kindergarten graduations with cherubic faces grinning under precariously perched construction-paper mortar boards–or all the “moving up” ceremonies to middle school and high school.

Sitting through the list of names from Aker to Zimmerman, and listening to all the speeches about learning from the past and reaching for the stars in the future, were all worth it, however. Even if the auditorium was stifling hot and we were seated behind a large post. Why? Because of the graduates we loved and wanted to celebrate fully!

And yes, we’ll have more pomp in our family this graduation season—under different circumstances! I know it’s true because two graduation invitations are on our refrigerator. Granddaughter Sophia will graduate from Del Norte High School and granddaughter Morgan will graduate from the University of Arizona–a year early! Both girls will be adding all their hopes and dreams to that cumulative pile formed by 2019 graduates everywhere.

I haven’t been asked to give a graduation address since I was in high school, and frankly I hope I never am. I’d have a hard time sticking to the expected “worldly advice” and “it’s all up to you” script. I wouldn’t be able to keep myself from offering Biblical advice that matters—something with substance like: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Sadly then, in many schools today, the “politically correct police” would drag me from the podium and out the back door of the auditorium. But I might have time to toss over my shoulder a few more words of practical advice I’ve heard or learned—my honorary academic gown flapping with every step, and my honorary mortar board tassel bouncing up and down:

“Don’t worry about what other people think of you, because they don’t think of you that often!”

“Start your day by making your bed and no matter what you’ve accomplished something!”

“Wear sunscreen! Skin cancer happens.”

“Stay in touch with your parents! They’ll always love you.”

“Show up where you’re supposed to be and when you’re supposed to be there!”

“Look for opportunities to help or encourage someone else! Be kind and humble.”

No, I won’t be giving any speeches. But I will be sitting proudly next to my husband taking in all aspects of the celebrations: Graduates hugging one another and high-fiving, cell phones flashing, parents and grandparents beaming in that foolish way we do so well. And why shouldn’t we? Graduations are great milestones worth celebrating on this journey we call life.

Come to the Cross

April 17, 2019 by Nancy 10 Comments

In a sense, the entire Christian life is a series of steps closer and closer to the Cross of Calvary—with each step an arrival. Only as we draw close in prayer and meditation to the truth of what Christ did for us by willingly dying on that cross can we realize the enormity of the gift we have been given. And for many, that journey is a lifelong process.

Yet even from a distance, where we may have stood terrified and huddled together under some tree, we can see the love Christ displayed on the cross that day. Love for His mother as He asked His disciple John to care for her once He was gone. Love for the believing thief on the cross next to Him as He promised, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Love for every man and woman created by His Father throughout history and beyond as He made the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. That means love for you and for me.

What do we see as we draw closer? That Jesus didn’t just pay the price for our sin, rather He took on all the sin of the world so that nobody anywhere would have to suffer eternal consequences for being less than perfect. When John the Baptist first saw Jesus on the shore of the Jordan River he said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Believe. Come to the cross, and your sin, past, present and future, is gone. Not rationalized or sugar-coated in some way. Gone. As is the guilt of that sin. You are completely forgiven.

One step closer and we see the abject humility of the one who is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. We see His wounds and the blood flowing down. He lowered Himself to the very pit of hell—separation from God—so that we might go higher than we could ever go on our own. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8)

The Bible promises that if we also humble ourselves in the eyes of the Lord that He will lift us up. Are you there at the foot of the cross? If you haven’t taken that journey, there’s no better time than this Easter. Fall to your knees in humility and worship the One whose resurrection from the dead we celebrate on Easter Sunday! Accept His unconditional forgiveness. You are welcome at the foot of the cross.

Easter Eggstras

April 12, 2019 by Nancy 9 Comments

I embrace and revel in the true meaning of Easter as much as the next redeemed sinner. Soon we’ll be singing “Christ the Lord Is Risen Again,” and lifting our alleluias high to the One who sacrificed all to save us all. But in the days leading up to Easter, I have to confess that I enjoy all the secular sensations of the season, too—what we might think of as the Easter eggstras.

At the top of my list are the bunnies. I’ve loved rabbits since I raised them in junior high and showed them at the county fair. There are a few decorative rabbits tucked here and there around our house all year ‘round, but many more hop out of storage when it’s time to decorate for Easter.

When we were a newly blended family thirty plus years ago, I found a family of rabbits in a catalog with a mom, a dad, two boys and two girls—just like us at that time! They’ve taken up residence in our dining room every Easter since—with only one bunny ear broken and glued back in place. Fat rabbits, skinny rabbits, a joyous Rosenthal rabbit purchased in Germany that once adorned the christening cakes of both my boys as infants, bunny cakes with jelly bean bowties—all bring me joy each year.

And then there are the eggs! We actually have an egg tree which takes about as much time to decorate as a Christmas tree, and a collection of alabaster eggs gathered from many different places on long ago travels. I’ve loved dying Easter eggs with children and grandchildren through the years. Last year I died them all yellow so each person at Easter dinner could create an Easter emoji! Early morning Easter egg hunts with baskets full of colored eggs and day-after-egg-salad are also eggstras I’ve enjoyed in years past.

What else? Little girls in new Easter dresses and bonnets and dapper little boys in bowties and Sunday shoes. A spiral-cut ham with all the trimmings for Easter dinner—all these things create memories that grow more precious as time goes by.

I know the Lord wants us to appreciate all of His creation, so I think it’s fine if we enjoy the Easter eggstras—so long as we don’t forget the main reason for all the joy and celebration. “He has risen, just as he said” (Matthew 28:6). That’s what we acknowledge on Easter, and as we embrace the truth that Jesus came to close the gap between us and God that we might have eternal life, we have more than enough reason to celebrate Easter—with all its eggstras.

What a Wonderful World

March 29, 2019 by Nancy 14 Comments

As our world begins to come to life with all the beauties and promises of springtime, I’m reminded of a song that holds special meaning for me. A month before my mom passed away in 2008 I was visiting her in Tennessee. The assisted living facility where she lived often had live music events in their dining hall, and my mother loved to attend them. Since one was scheduled while I was there, we went!

Men were in short supply, so the ladies often danced alone or with one another. With the first strains of “What a Wonderful World,” the song made famous by Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, Mom turned to me and said, “Let’s dance!” We did, and I’m forever grateful for that memory.

May the lyrics to the song remind you, too, that there is still so much beauty, so much wonder in our world to celebrate! And so much for which to be grateful to the Lord who created it all (John 1:3).

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world

The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people goin’ by
I see friends shakin’ hands, sayin’
“How do you do?”
They’re really sayin’,
“I love you.”

I hear babies cry, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll ever know
And I think to myself
What a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself
What a wonderful world

Listen to Louis sing it here!

A Burst of Springtime!

March 14, 2019 by Nancy 14 Comments

As we dig out from a blizzard here in Colorado I’m longing for the early signs of Spring I remember as a child. Each year in late February or early March my dad would come into the kitchen of our Tennessee home carrying long branches he had cut off the forsythia bush in our side yard. To my sisters and me the branches looked just as lifeless as all the others on the trees and bushes outside, but Dad placed them in a vase of warm water on the windowsill.

The next day, we would marvel at the tiny buds beginning to appear. Within three days the branches would be alive with radiant yellow flowers! Although it might still be gray and gloomy outside, we had a burst of sunshine in our kitchen window, and a promise that Spring was on the way.

How can we bring that kind of springtime into the hearts and lives of people we know? We can do it literally, by forcing bulbs and delivering a basket of blooming tulips or hyacinths to a friend having a long winter of the soul. Or by planning a visit to a botanic garden where she can breathe in the sights and smells of a green spring long before it’s in full bloom in her neighborhood.

We can also bring springtime feelings into the souls of others, especially older adults, by helping them remember times in their childhood that were carefree and happy, or by listening patiently as they share fond memories of loved ones lost and days gone by.

Or maybe it’s the more permanent message of springtime renewal that we hope to deliver, one that will have long-lasting, even eternal effects. Martin Luther wrote, “Our Lord has written the promise of the Resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf of springtime.”

Let the crocuses pushing their way through the late snows, followed by the tulips standing tall and the trees covered in bright green leaves, be the signs we need to remind us that Easter is coming! Easter, the day where believers everywhere celebrate the truth of John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

So if, like the yellow forsythia, you deliver a burst of springtime to someone this year, consider adding a message of eternal hope. Remind them that Easter is coming! It could be just the encouragement they need.