My selfish wish list includes books, movies, and music, and the time to enjoy them. I am consciously making more “pleasure time” for myself and I highly recommend it. Lying on a comfy couch with one, two, or all three of said items is a gift we all should give ourselves. What else is on my list? I want my boys to appreciate the material goods they receive, but I want them to always know that the relationships behind the presents are the real gift. I am pretty sure they do.

I want every child to know the joy of unwrapping a package that holds a longed-for item. It does not have to be expensive, just adored. I will never forget my young niece last year exclaiming, “Oh Grandma, I LOVE bubble wrap!”

I want every child, of all ages, to know the Spirit of Love. Flipping through the catalog does nothing for me. Sure, I like jewelry. And shoes. And coats. I like stuff as much as the next girl. As I tossed the magazine into the recycle bin, I remember pouring over catalogs as a kid and marking pages to show Mom. My wish is for happy childhood memories for everyone. That may be a tall order, I know. If it’s cold, I want every kid at the bus stop to have mittens.

If it’s hot, I want every kid to have a sprinkler or a hose to play in and someone to play with. If it’s raining, I want a deck of cards and a board game and neighborhood kids devouring a pan of brownies. If you are old and alone, I want you to have someone to talk with and share your stories. If you are sad, I want someone to make you giggle. If you are sick, I want you to feel comfort and peace. Most of these things are not in any catalog. The “Hot Items” this holiday season may not include hugs, sharing meals, or peace-love-and-understanding, but it is called a wish book after all. Nothing starts if not first a dream.

I want people to see possibilities instead of being negative. In the movie, “My Life in Ruins,” Richard Dreyfuss threw out a line that stuck with me. He tells Nia Vardolos, “You are looking for obstacles instead of looking for the magic.” How many of us go through life with that outlook?

If I had just one wish, it would be for all of us to look for the magic. To see the magic in the everyday events of life; to hear the magic in laughter and lyrics and melody; to smell the magic of flowers, cologne, or freshly washed hair; to feel the magic of a simple touch; to taste the magic of our favorite foods.

In the recent letter he told of a large snapping turtle which crossed his yard in June, over two driveways and under a spruce tree. There it stopped and dug a depression in the soil until only its head and back of its shell showed. He assumed it was laying eggs. He didn’t bother it and didn’t know when it left. On Sept. 22 he was on his driveway walking to his mail box and there was a very small turtle, “about the size of a 50 cent piece” heading north - towards the Little Sugar River about a half mile from Jim’s house. Jim went back to the house for his camera. That picture is still in his camera. He said the little turtle was about 40 or 50 feet from the spruce tree where he last saw the adult.

He also had wood ducks nest in his nest box about 60 feet from his deck at the edge of the woods. He said one morning he was reading in the sun room and the wood duck pair walked by close to the glass doors about three or four feet from him. He didn’t dare move to get the camera.

He doesn’t know when the young hatched since he was away from home quite a lot. He found egg shells at the base of the tree in mid-August, so assumed they hatched ok and left for the river.

About the first week in Sept. Jim was working in his garage with the door open and heard the call of a bob white quail. Quail numbers have dropped in recent years and Jim hadn’t heard one in many years. He imitated the call of the bobwhite he remembered from many years past. At the first try the bird answered him. It actually walked toward him, then went behind a spruce tree. Jim went into the house, got his camera and quickly returned and took the same position by his truck, stood very still and continued the quail call. He took pictures as the bird walked within 10 feet of him. He sent them for me to see. He said the bird, “looked around to find his buddy that was talking to him.” Then it slowly walked away and disappeared in the cornfield. The bird hadn’t been heard since.

Jim’s birdbath is a great bird attraction. Many blue birds as well as a variety of other species. Flickers were feeding on ants on the lawn. One day he heard a pileated woodpecker. It was near the top of a 75 to 100 foot tree. He also noticed honeybees have a hive in a tree. It is the first bee tree he has seen since he was a youngster living in West Virginia.