Feels Like Spring!

The weather on Friday and Saturday was absolutely amazing! When you stepped outside, you almost had to laugh at the groundhog, because winter was nowhere to be found!

Beautiful sun up above, but already shady in the canyon.

I walked up the Frey Trail on Friday, partly because it felt so good to be outside, and partly because Rob was walking home, so I knew I would bump into him en route. I made it to the top when he came walking towards me, and we enjoyed a nice walk down together.

After a quiet winter, it appears as though lots of people have taken this trail lately!

There have been a lot of deer and elk in the area lately, so I was kind of hoping to see some out and about, but they must have all been enjoying an afternoon nap. There was plenty of evidence of their presence, though. Maybe next time. 🙂

Eleven

Being down in the canyon, our house gets very little direct sunlight. But every afternoon, for a very short period of time, the sun shines in the living room window, landing perfectly on Charbie’s kennel. And for those very precious moments, that kennel becomes Charbie’s favorite spot…

Charbie’s ‘little patch of happy’

Scene from Saturday

The sun finally decided to make an appearance today after what felt like weeks and weeks of nonstop rain. It was warm and bright and refreshing. None of us wanted to come inside, so we spent as much time as possible outside. We read down by the river, squealed at a big snake (which Rob thinks may have been a cottonmouth…), watched some rafters, wrote letters in the grass, and started our annual farmer’s tans. It was a glorious day, and I am so excited that tomorrow is supposed to bring more of the same.

Welcome Autumn!

Hello, my friends, and Happy Autumn!

I must confess that autumn and I have not always gotten along. I love the changing of the colors, the harvesting, the crisp air, but it is what follows autumn that I fear: the dreaded winter. And, in always being aware of what comes next, it has made autumn and I have a somewhat strained relationship. She tries her very best each and every year to make me see her beauty, to embrace her for what she is, but my blinders have always been on. I have failed to fully appreciate the transformation taking place right before my very eyes.

This year, however, I  have a feeling will be a little different. While some trees have begun to change, most have not even started yet. The air has a definite crispness to it in the evenings, and mornings are brisk, but the warm days still allow for you to soak up the sunshine. Summer lasts a little longer here in Kentucky, which can only mean that winter will last a little less. Perhaps there is a chance that I will not sink into my desperate longing for spring and warmer weather and sunshine, as I seem to do every year. The desperate longing that consumes my entire soul. The desperate longing that makes it hard to breathe.

The warmth and sunshine called to us today, beckoned us to join them. So, to celebrate this first day of a new season, we took a drive, and what a beautiful day it turned out to be. We played outside, had a picnic overlooking a lake, the kids gathered acorns for the squirrels and ran free as the wind. There was a carefree feeling in the air today as we soaked up all there was to see. I have only just begun to realize what I have been missing all these years.

Rather than fear what is to come, I am embracing what is. I am enjoying all that this beautiful life has to offer, without fear or anticipation of what tomorrow may bring. I am living in the moment, and that, my friends, is the best place to be.

As we were pulling out of the campground earlier today, Rob handed me an old fortune he found on the floor of the van. This could be an almost perfect day, it said. I think it was right.

Welcome Summer

When I look out the window this morning, summer is the last thing that comes to mind. The sky is grey. It’s cold. Raining. Gloomy.

I am a lover of summer. I crave the heat. The feel of the warm sun on my face. Rob says I am solar-powered. I think perhaps he is right.

So here we are. The official beginning of summer. The longest day of the year. And it feels as though fall has arrived. Fall. At the end of June.

Luckily it is supposed to warm up starting tomorrow. Hopefully the sunshine will come back out to play. I miss him terribly. The warm season seems too short around here as it is, but I guess sometimes cold’s grip is just a little too strong.

I think I will spend the first day of summer curled up on the couch, buried under a warm blanket, good book in hand, hot cup of cocoa within arms reach.

Welcome summer. I have been waiting for you…

My 52: Week 14

It was a perfect afternoon for napping in the park. Just ask this beautiful boy, who found a perfectly shady spot under a tree.

A Taste of Spring

“It’s spring fever.  That is what the name of it is.  And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”  ~Mark Twain

It is a mucky mess outside. The sidewalks are pooled with water, the grass is soggy and muddy. Three days in a row the kids and I have come home with soaking wet shoes and socks. There is just nowhere to go to get away from all the standing water. But you know what?

I LOVE IT!!! It means that it is WARM! And the SUN is OUT! Who cares if it is WINDY? It means that the snow is MELTING! It means that the temperature is finally out of the single digits! It means that this long, cold, dark, miserable winter is ALMOST OVER!! It means that SPRING might actually come after all!

I know we still have a couple more months of unpredictable weather, but I confess that I am hopelessly in love with spring, and sometimes just knowing that it is right around the corner is all I need. Just a taste is enough to keep me going. We will just call this pre-spring. There’s no telling how long it will last, but I am soaking it up, and it feels oh, so good…  

“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”  ~Doug Larson

Sunshine And Happiness

“I’m not a doctor and I don’t know the technical terminology, but I do know that sunshine activates our happiness glands.”  ~Jessi Lane Adams

Beautiful, warm sunshine, how we have enjoyed your visit. The past few days have been absolutely perfect. Unfortunately, the weatherman has informed us that you won’t be back for a while. I know this is true, because the walk to school today was completely different from the walk home. The sunshine that brightened our morning was replaced by gray skies and a cold breeze.

I thought though, that if you could see how much we all enjoy your visits, we might be able to convince you to hurry back. It is only while you are here that Remi will sleep on the kitchen floor, and oh, how he loves it.

But you are not ours to keep, and so with great fondness, we say farewell. Others love and deserve your warmth as much as we do, but please hurry back to us. Things just aren’t the same when you’re away.