Life in the Fast Lane

Life here has become brighter, if not warmer. We've had temps in the high 30s, but the sun has shown spectacularly! Sun is something that we got little of this winter which is really hard for some people. I simply appreciate that golden orb in the spring because it means a new season.

So what is it about the seasons that I like? Everything! Each has a beauty all their own and like people, they have nuances within their personalities that aren't all beauty. In our world today there is no part for the things that:

1. slow us down and irritate our schedules.

The world isn't geared for interruptions like a little 'ole snow storm. Where in our drive to succeed and control our personal world did we loose the joy that comes from slowing down and marveling in the natural world? Yea, I know I'm ranting, but I wish I knew how to share the gift of seeing the natural around us instead of a seeing nothing but a huge and continuous hindrance to our way of life.

Eagles Fly!

Here begins the rush to spring. By now everyone is passed even tolerating snow, slush, ice and frigid temperatures! I mean it really makes the journey in to work yucky!

Now, of course that's not true for the real winter enthusiast, they are those who wait for the ski trips and snow mobile rides that make the winter fun. But why is it that we don't like winter as a culture? If you think of the Native cultures that live up in Canada and beyond you know there are many descriptions and names for snow. So why is it that we get cabin fever? Some of it has to do with our culture that doesn't value the natural world much except in a picture frame, or if we do we want to keep out there - in the National Parks, or the wilderness areas. We're in the modern world and we cannot let this winter weather affect our commute to work, or to where ever we have to get right now.

If you died as a wealthy man or woman, but never experienced a sunrise sitting on a porch as a forest came alive you've missed the world. If you haven't watched the birds at a feeder or seen a hawk or an owl on the prowl for food you've really missed out on nature's beauty. John Denver's song is right and fits me perfectly we are so into technology and miss what makes life really tick - the gifts of nature all around us.


He was born in the summer of his 27th year
Comin home to a place hed never been before
He left yesterday behind him, you might say he was born again
You might say he found a key for every door......

And the colorado rocky mountain high
Ive seen it rainin fire in the sky
I know hed be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly
Rocky mountain high................

(Check out the whole set of lyrics the next time you get the chance, and appreciate the gifts all around you.)

Fall in My Garden

This cooler weather is inspiring for me. I often sit on the patio and enjoy most mornings, now. The birds are flocking and along the fence every morning there is a line of sparrows waiting their turn to dip and drink from our bird bath. It reminds me of kids waiting for the bathroom.

Though the garden isn't as pretty as in the spring and early summer some flowers are still blossoming. The cosmos look great, and the asters are beginning to bloom. But I must admit there is much in the garden that looks quite ragged. But that too gives a beauty of its own. The tall brown stems of long dead lilies are now the perches for the goldfinches and sparrows.

The sweet autumn clematis is beginning at the very top to break out in lovely small white blossoms. It covers the trellis at the back of the garden and has often been called the garden "ice cream cone" by neighbors because the blossoms seem to balloon from the top down. There the littlest of my garden birds congregate under the leaves and flowers safe from the local cooper's hawk as it makes its daily pass over the yard.

The fall can be so restive and quiet here in my garden world. It's truly a place to escape as the days speed by. Here I can almost stop my world and take time to inhale the garden that nature creates all around me.