It’s amazing to think of how many hours over the last thirty-five years I’ve spent standing in front of my kitchen window, washing dishes, preparing meals, or just enjoying the world outside my window and being thankful for my world inside. The Great Hunter and I often stand together watching birds flock to the bird feeders. There is a mockingbird that visits  often and for some reason, this bird is a particular favorite of the Great Hunter. Me, I get thrilled to see a blue bird. After all the years I’ve been feeding birds, I saw the first one last year.

The window sill is my mini greenhouse. It’s where I’ve started all kinds of plants, including celery, sweet potatoes and pineapple plants. When my daughter moved into her new house, my granddaughter asked me if I wanted her aloe vera plant. This poor plant was definitely in need of a little TLC and since its joined my window sill, it has begun to thrive.

I found a sprig from my Christmas cactus lying on the floor and decided to see if it would root. I put it into water and it began growing roots. I transferred it to a pot and much to my amazement, not only has it lived, it’s blooming!

I bought two spider plants from a nursery a couple of years ago, and with the help of grow lights, I’ve managed to keep them alive over the winter until they can be returned to the great outdoors. Unfortunately, my one cat thinks it’s great fun to jump up onto the sewing machine where the plants are hanging above and reach up and grab the little spiderettes and tear them off. I don’t know if she eats them or if she just knocks them to the floor and plays with them. I decided to try and rescue a couple to see if I could get them to root, so I made a mini greenhouse on the window sill. So far, so good. They seem to have rooted, but I’m leery of planting them in my big pot for fear that Momma Kitty won’t leave them alone.

The avocado tree I planted last year is continuing to grow, but it has dropped a number of leaves from the bottom. Of course, I looked to the god of all knowledge, Google, to find out what may be causing them to fall off. What I found was that it could be too much water or not enough water or excessive sunlight or poor drainage or chloride build-up or hard water. In other words, it could be almost anything. I thought maybe I was watering it too much, so I’ve cut down on that. I haven’t lost another leaf for a few weeks, but some of them still have brown tips. We shall see.

The centerpiece of my window display is the stained glass hanging in the center of the window. My brother who passed away gave me this piece for Christmas probably fifteen years ago. I think of him when I stand at the window appreciating the plants and birds that are alive and thriving and knowing that he’s living in my heart.