And I Said To Myself…

Louis Armstrong nailed it when he sang that it was a wonderful world!  Spring has sprung in the most amazing fashion these past few weeks and soon the glory of Summer will be upon us. 

The trees are bursting with green leaves that dangle and dance in the wind.  The tulips and azaleas are past their bloom, the wisteria is barely hanging on as it drapes itself up, down and across our old barn foundation. I’ve made several trips to Skylar’s Greenhouse for hanging baskets, flower urns, and flats of cheerful Pansies.

Every morning after I climb out of bed – and I literally have to use a stepstool to get out of our high, old-fashioned 4 poster bed, I pause to peek out the upstairs hallway window that overlooks our front lawn.  I check on the status of our grass – my spouse and I have spent hours and hours, not to mention $$ in getting the lawn to flourish and grow again.  (We do NOT use any harsh chemicals, weed or pest control!). I spy on my early birds (literally) who are already feasting at one of the 32 bird feeders I have around our house.  Often, like I did this morning, I dash out of the house before 6:30 am – in my pajamas and housecoat, to photograph the sky. Many mornings there are blue skies with fluffy clouds that create the most amazing shapes capture my attention. Other times, the rain pours from the heavens and a soggy marsh develops in my back yard and creates a stream of running water that cascades down to road.  This morning I was awakened to a thick fog and I felt as though I was in an enchanted forest as I meandered here and there, with only the sounds of migrating birds as my companions.

Six nights ago I was treated to an occurrence that I have only dreamed out and never thought I would see – a display of vivid hues of pink, purple and green – the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights and I watched this mystical event at our Homestead!  I spent 1.5 hours just standing in awe of the beauty of the night sky! I captured many photos with only my iPhone camera and did not use any filters or photo editing.  Are the photos amateur? Absolutely!  But I beam with such joy every time that I look at them and remember the wonder that I experienced standing out in my yard, gazing up at this celestial event.

I didn’t really sleep at all that night – I kept climbing out of bed and dashing outside to see if the Northern Lights were still visible.  I was so sleepy the next day, that after I took the grandkids home after their sleepover with us, I climbed into bed in the late afternoon and took a 4 hour nap.  I sleep through the rain and a gorgeous double rainbow, which my husband captured on camera.

The following day was Mother’s Day and I began the day by driving up to a marsh 45 minutes away to do some solitary birding.  I spent 4 hours walking and reminiscing about my Mom.  I heard so many birds and even photographed some of the elusive warblers.

Two days later, I sneaked out of the house early in the morning to travel to Moraine State Park to do some more birding before work.  I walked 2 miles and was treated to a morning serenade of songbirds. The highlight of my morning was when a Mama doe and her fawn leaped from the bushes and cross in front of me on the bike trail.  I was further up the trail from them but I managed to rapid fire off several images on my camera.  I was able to stroll into my office only 15 minutes late.  I tacked this newspaper deadline with invigoration.

Ohhh yes, tis indeed a wonderful world!