Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. Both my COVID isolation period and the subsequent masking period have come to a close. It felt wonderful to walk to the grocery store tonight naked-faced until I went inside.

2. We had a thunderstorm last night, the sort where the sky cracks right overhead. This is our first of the year, and while I know it can be a violent storm, particularly for those living unhoused, I had the privilege of witnessing it from the safety of my couch and did not have to dread it. (Corey, on the other hand, definitely was not thrilled.)

3. As I was walking home Sunday evening, I noticed a large bird suddenly flapping against the wind just above traffic ahead of me. At first I thought it was an eagle or an owl, but then it came in for a landing on the ground, making me almost certain that it was a wild turkey. The jogger in front of me paused and turned around, incredulous, to confirm that he was seeing what he thought he was, as the hen looked back at us and then crossed the road. Because it was heading toward one of the busiest roads in our area, I followed, hoping to corral it back to safer climes. It paused by a decommissioned bus stop, as if hoping an alternative mode home might arrive. It walked on a bit more, before darting across the street, in front of what I can only assume was a very surprised driver, and up into the neighborhood that would likely put it back in the direction of its nest. While I live in what many would still consider to be a downtown area, I’m also two blocks away from the woods, and it’s easy to forget that until the wildlife materialize to remind you.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?