Tag Archives: nature

Memories To Hold On To

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This is just a three day workweek for me since I had a long weekend out gallivanting. No offense to my job or other aspects of my regular life because I’m grateful for all of it…. but … TGIF. 

It’s so easy to get sucked back into everyone else’s troubles, bad work habits, and all the daily annoyances that tug at our brains and demand attention.

For this week, though, I have been working to mentally pull myself away from all of that at least for a moment or two at a time. When my brain starts to latch on to something negative, I take myself back to one particular moment on Saturday night. 

After a glorious day of exploring the shores of a fairytale land called Presque Isle State Park, some light book shopping, and sipping milkshakes, we headed back to the beach to witness the sunset. 

We left our shoes in the car but took towels and jackets. We took books in place of troubles. We took cold drinks instead of worries. 

We staked out a spot on a small peninsula where the waves might trick you into believing you’re at the ocean and not at the Lake Erie shore in Pennsylvania. We dug our toes into the sand and I used my bag as a pillow while reclining to read. 

As the sun began to descend, lower and lower against the horizon, the pleasantly warm day began to feel pleasantly cool. I stood to put on a light jacket. That’s when I noticed a large gathering of gulls on the rocks. All faced the western horizon as though they too were excited to see the cotton candy sky, colors so special that they can only be created by the setting sun. 

And then, without warning, all those gulls simultaneously took off and left us alone to focus on the sky. 

There was a slight breeze and the sand was turning cooler beneath my feet. I shuddered when a young woman waded out into the lake for one last dip in the golden hour. 

I wondered aloud about the water temperature but she was happy doing her thing and I was happy doing mine. 

And this, my friends, is where I am disappearing to in my brain when too much of the real world tries to crowd in this week.  

We all need a happy memory, something with lots of sensory details that we can grab hold of and escape to when the world gets to be too much. I’m grateful for mine and encourage you to dig through your memories for one of your own. If you don’t have one, better go out and make some! 

The Way We See

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The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity — then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.

David Suzuki

Another Life Saved

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If you drove past my house Saturday morning you might have seen me peering at the sunroof on my car with an empty envelope in hand which I was holding at an especially odd angle. There’s no good way to explain some of the things I do.

On that day though, I was trying to save a life.

This sharply dressed guy was seemingly taking a nap on the sunroof and I didn’t want him to get hurt when I went cruising down the road.

I had to Google it but it seems he is a net-winged beetle. That’s not a very exciting name for such a cool looking creature. From here on, I’ll call him Beau.

Beau the Beetle has a nice ring.

It took a few tries but I finally was able to persuade Beau up onto the envelope and he eventually took flight toward the Black Eyed Susans near my back walk.

Imagine waking up to some giant you’ve never met, trying to force you out of where you want to be! Poor guy!

It takes very little to help the small creatures of our world or to at least not do them harm. It’s Monday, friends. Let’s try to do no harm.

Silent Sunday

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Glimmers

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Have you heard of glimmers? 

As I consider my own gratitudes, exhaustion, and seeking ways to soften my own life, I find this concept has been a recurring theme.

The general idea is that a glimmer is something small that sparks joy in your life. We are tallkjng about the truly small things like that first sip of hot chocolate on a fall evening, catching sight of the full moon, or hearing laughter from afar. 

Glimmers usually aren’t typically planned although I suppose they could be.  They are incredibly good for our mental health because they are small reminders that life isn’t so bad and they help us build emotional resilience. 

When you see the good in the world, you assume there is more good beyond what you see. There’s something positive around the next corner. 

A glimmer is the opposite of a trigger. While triggers are the small things that irritate us and fire up lots of negativity, sadness and anger, glimmers will calm and soothe. They make us happy. They make us smile. They spark creativity and joy. 

This week has not been the best but I have been enjoying some glimmers here and there. One day this week I was waiting my turn at a busy intersection and happened to look over to see a little bird splashing in a mud puddle at the side of the road. That little guy was experiencing pure bliss, splashing, ducking under the water, and spinning around before splashing some more! 

That same day, I saw a beautiful rabbit in a neighbor’s yard. 

I was on the road for work yesterday and experienced construction and traffic delays in multiple locations. As I headed home, I impulsively drove right past my turn to come home and headed to the Dollar General down the road. Whoever owns the field next to that store has planted it with sunflowers. It’s a glorious display of sunflowers right there along a busy state route. 

My pictures are terrible because I didn’t want to trespass and had to aim my phone camera through some brush and the iPhone camera isn’t great. Still, isn’t it lovely to think that someone would plant such a beautiful display of flowers just to give me a glimmer one August day? 

Look around you, friends. There are glimmers everywhere. You just have to know how to spot them! 

Back To The Country

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I took a few days off this week and headed north for a little adventure in Cleveland. We chose this destination because a favorite author was speaking and I was dying to go hear her.

We had a nice time but I am a self proclaimed country mouse and the concrete, noise and pollution of that city are hard to tolerate. There are benefits like bookstores, restaurants, museums and other cultural features that are hard to come by where I live. I love parking the car and wandering around a city’s downtown even though I didn’t get to do that this time. 

But the sirens, construction sounds, and challenging traffic situations make it hard for me to relax. Plus, it feels like there is no good way to get anywhere and it’s all incredibly spread out so that’s an annoyance.  

Once we left Cleveland and were headed south on less populated interstate followed by state routes through the countryside, and then backroads home, I noticed I was breathing better with each passing mile.   

As dusk turned to dark, the thick forests which line our rural roads began to crowd in, as though reaching toward the car in a warm embrace. 

We rolled down the windows and breathed in the cool air. It was about 74 degrees and the humidity had broken while we were away. 

Not only did it feel soft and pleasant, it smelled clean. We realized we hadn’t breathed clean air in days. 

And our country air didn’t disappoint. 

It smelled of pine, of earth, and sometimes of campfire smoke. 

It was eerie in places where rain had preceded us and left behind a light misty fog that clung to the pine trees.. 

Two small deer grazed by the road as fireflies danced around them. We didn’t see fireflies in the city. We also didn’t hear locusts, tree frogs or bull frogs where we were. 

We did spend some time at Lakeview Cemetery and were delighted at all the life that is found among the deceased including swans, ducks, fish, turtles and all manner of birds. 

As country people we are told that our life is backward. People might call it quaint or old fashioned. They make fun of us for being so far from civilization and call us hillbillies. They think we aren’t smart enough to know better and to want more for our lives like they have. 

But you know something? A ten minute drive into my county seat gets me to work and to a grocery store, pharmacy and hardware with most of what I need. A thirty minute country drive gets me to a larger town on a road where I’m not in a wall of traffic that’s either sitting still or driving 80 mph. 

Plus, I have nature and clean air. 

I’ll take my country home, far from the noise of traffic, where I’m immersed in the goodness of what the Earth offers over the steel and concrete misery that our nation’s cities have to offer.

It’s nice to visit. The bookstores, shopping options  and museums feel like a destination and a treat that way. Meanwhile, you’ll find me tooling around in my “backward” country life. 

If only those who criticize knew they are actually the ones who have it backward! 

Go breathe some fresh air, friends. If you’re lucky enough to live with it, don’t take it for granted. If you’re not lucky like me, your lungs, mind and spirit need a break.