Pursuit of Spark

August evening chorus by Pursuit of Spark

Tea in the garden engaged all my senses this morning. Perhaps make a cup for yourself and listen with me?

The birds were singing their winter songs this morning. My tea tray was a symphony of green.

A mourning dove was sitting on my bench when I stepped into the garden for tea, and flew away at the sight of me with nervous chirrups. The air was cold but the sunshine was warm, and my tea was the same lovely red-brown of the oak leaves lit up by the sunlight.

I pondered the mock orange seedpods as I had my tea on this cold wet morning. They're spiky and beautiful in their severity, and made me think of the flowers spilling over the porch rail last spring.

The inflorescences of the ornamental grasses captured the bright winter sunlight and held it so they glowed in the wind. I held my teabowl in gloved hands, absorbing the warmth on this cold morning.

The tea was deep red in my teabowl, and then glancing again I could see the tips of the Japanese maple and a glimpse of blue sky. It’s cold and very still this morning, just the cardinals and sparrows calling to each other and the distant sound of a street being dug up. Two bowls of Elevation Red tea warmed by the sunshine. #teameditation #morningritual #reflections #pinchpot #teabowl #tealife #teatime #cha Elevation Red #tea from @globalteahut

The sun burned through the low clouds as I sipped my tea. Our garden is full of winter birds: a pair of cardinals peeping to each other, one in the serviceberry and the other in the holly near our kitchen door; sparrows swooping in and out of the Norway maple; mourning doves grooming themselves in the dogwood branches. The ground is soggy and the grasses droop from all the rain yesterday. Squirrels chased each other across the leaves as I sipped two bowls of Puerh tea, stroking the smooth ribs of my teabowl.

Perched on the edge of my chair to avoid the snow collected at the back for two bowls of tea. The lawn looked like a platter that had been glazed with white, then strewn with leaves, then glazed again, then sprinkled with more leaves. The zinnia in my vase offered more surprises - petals that have turned from orange to pink and now to yellow. Listened to a nearby snowblower wheeze to life as the sun came out.

I know where the squirrel is making its nest. I watched it nibble still-green leaves off the tips of the branches and stuff them in its mouth, clamber up to a huge silver maple limb and disappear inside, quickly emerging to do it all again. Two bowls of kamairicha tea, surprised that the orange zinnia is turning hot pink at the tips as it fades. . . . #teameditation #morningritual #squirrel #gettingreadyforwinter #zinnia #kamairicha #tea