January 2026

Reflections From a Backyard Garden -Taking a Moment to Be Still

By Bridget Brewster
Posted: 08/26/2025

Sometimes I find it soothing, often cathartic, to put words on a page.  Whether the words are rambling or focused, it just feels good.

This morning, (and many other times throughout the days that I actually pause) I simply allowed myself to observe, listen, contemplate and form a few random thoughts . . . unrelated to politics, economy, disasters, business, entertainment, people.

We have a vegetable garden in the backyard and just beyond the metro speeds past.  I like sitting in the outdoor furniture we salvaged from the fire (and my daughter completely refinished) and watch life happen.  

From this comfortable position, I see the squirrels sneaking away with whole chunks of tomatoes, cucumbers, squash and they can go through an ear of corn faster than I could shuck it.  I see their tails vibrating furiously while they seem to delight in this boundless treasure of food.  I’m reminded of the life-giving importance of nourishment.  

The various species of birds provide the frantic, and sometimes melodic, music as the soundtrack of life happening in the backyard, The loud crows sit determinedly on the cables reminding me that balance and steadfastness are assets worth emulating. There are the smaller little birds who chirp and call their friends to join them in a delicious meal of sunflower seeds and whatever else they excavate from the soil.  I see a gathering of family and friends sharing time over a potluck dinner.

And the metro, with its insistent speed and regular schedule, whirs by before I can even focus on the people inside headed who knows where or why.  There’s something almost soothing about its regularity and the blur of color . . . a reminder of lives being lived in myriad ways. Families being united, workers providing services, tourists taking in new venues and vistas.  A reminder of diversity and unity as well as the unknowable challenges and rewards of each life.

The framework of this scene is provided by the lush foliage . . . stunning giant trees whose leaves flutter in the breezes and limbs provide homes for the families and neighbors of the wildlife.  There are fruit trees, blooming flowers, sometimes green grass all adding to the beauty and very existence of life.  I’m learning that nature must never be taken for granted . . . it must be loved and nourished for without it, we perish.

I’m a very fortunate woman to have the leisure time to simply sit, be quiet, listen, observe and acknowledge my wee small place in a vast universe.  

I give thanks for this profound privilege.