Random Reminiscence

I was just reading through some old posts and see that I have mentioned my issue with sleep. I have been trying so hard to overcome it, but tonight, I was just lying there and just got fed up. So, even though I know it's bad to stare at a lit up screen and expect your brain to settle down, I am here...

Certainly sharing some anecdote of some kind will inevitably bore me enough to crawl back to bed.

The weather is unseasonably warm these days, which I have no qualms about. But I haven't actually done anything to go out and enjoy the weather for several weeks. I was just reminiscing about the last time I did go outside and explore.

One of my most favorite things to do is grab my dog, hop in the car, and get lost outside of the city limits. Most times, I think I am heading for some state park that I'm vaguely aware of, and we end up at some little-known hiker's paradise where I just love to let myself bask in the beauty of nature, as cliche as that sounds. Each day goes by and I can get so caught up in work and the goings-on of people around me that I don't leave time to just stop and appreciate the small beauty around us like I used to. So at the risk of sounding cheesy, I admit that I do love to find wooded trails and walk slowly 'cause I want to be aware of the smallest beautiful detail that someone walking briskly by might not notice.


I think I learned this appreciation from Grampa. While he didn't live on farm, he owned farms and one in particular was a gorgeous tree farm that he liked to tromp on every Thursday. It had a cave, creek, ponds, oak and walnut trees, prairie fields, and wildlife if we sat quietly long enough to see them. I always missed the turkeys, but I saw lots of beautiful deer. He liked to stop his truck in the middle of a field, pop open Pepsis for the two of us and just sit in silence to take in the beauty around us. And every single time, he acted like it was the first time he was seeing it all.
"Isn't this just something?" he'd say in awe, everything single time.

And I'd look with him, at the different shades of blue in the sky, the different shapes of clouds. Then the way the blue met the sharp greens of the distant trees and how the various shades of green trees slowly became prairie grass. Then see how the breeze gently made the grass dance and notice how soothing the breeze was on my skin, 'cause we *usually* went on a humid summer day.

One time, we were sitting by a pond, closer to the timber on a fall day. It was that time of year when the oak trees look like cozy little bonfires with their oranges, yellows and reds and the air is so crisp on your nose and cheeks. I was taking in the reflection of the trees in the pond and Grampa showed me how there were slight ripples moving in one direction and then would suddenly change and go in the other direction. He told me it was caused by the movement of the biggest fish swimming in the pond.

We listened to all of the leaves brush against each other in the breeze, a soothing sound like a mother hushing her baby to lull it to sleep. We hoped a deer would glide out from the timber to enjoy a treat from a salt block that was sitting out for it, so we stayed pretty quiet while we took in our surroundings.

It was so relaxing and it's what I look for now when I take my dog for a trip to escape the city limits. And it's what I found the last time I attempted and came upon some trail that I've already forgotten the name of.

But I was looking at these pictures and remembered what a pretty day it was and how I could feel Grampa with me that day. :)