Waiting to be enjoyed
Palos Verdes, California — one of countless free pleasures awaiting you! March 2004
“…no matter where you live, the woods and parks, the trees, sky and sun are free and only waiting to be enjoyed. You never know what you’ll learn from a walk in the park.” — Tammy Strobel
Whenever the weather is nice — not too hot or cold, sunny with maybe a light breeze, or in the early hours of the evening or morning — I always feel I’m wasting something precious if I don’t spend some time outdoors. Even if it’s only a few minutes, there is something rejuvenating about taking in the greens and blues and splashes of other colors found in nature.
Be on the lookout for the next really nice day. Maybe it will be the first touch of fall for those who live in the northern climates, or an unusually mild day in the southern climates, or just a pleasant evening when the sun is down but still lighting the sky. There is something beautiful out there, just waiting for you to enjoy it. I hope you will find it!
Defeat Despair 
Today is my last day in NYC. Hope to visit the Cloisters museum-supposed t be nice.
That does sound nice. I had never heard of it, so I looked it up and I think it would be fascinating. (I learn so much from people’s comments on this blog!) It sounds like the Cluny in Paris, which I really enjoyed.
Beautiful like heaven…….
Thank you Mona! I love Palos Verdes. My college roommate used to live there, and back in the early 80’s, she took me to Wayfarer’s Chapel (pictured on the “About this blog” page) and around the peninsula. When we went back there years later it was even prettier than I had remembered it. Thanks for visiting here!
Good Monday morning, Julia. I suppose Jeff will be running on “Grady Fuel” this week. I was so glad to learn he was able to go for that visit. I hope a good week is forthcoming. We are invigorated after enjoying family and good times for three days with perfect temps for doing anything outdoors. My sister-in-law took me over to Abingdon, Va. for a lunch on a quaint little porch of a restaurant; then we were off to the Abingdon Olive Oil Store. I thought of you, as Bill and I had lunch outside on State Street, in Tennessee looking across at Virginia. We spent some leisure time in Benjamin Walls Gallery, viewing his photography. You would love it! I’m sharing this, wishing you could enjoy the same. Love, Sheila
Sheila, I enjoy just reading about it and feel almost as if I am there! I just love these charming small towns and we’ve never been to Abingdon, but now we will have to make it a point to go there. I’m so glad you had lovely weather – it feels as if fall may arrive early this year!
Actually, Jules, you were very close when you were home with me years ago in Shady Valley. I was born, as were all my sibs, in Abingdon. It is a lovely town home to the Martha Washington Inn. It is right off interstate 81 if you guys make it to TN again. State Street is very cool too as it straddles both TN and VA state lines…thus its name.
Wow, I definitely want to go! You took me to Bristol (which I loved) and Mountain City, too, I think. But your home was my favorite place! Such beautiful country. Fond memories!
It’s hard not to enjoy these last days of summer (here in the north). The weather is milder but still nice and the evenings cool off earlier so you can sleep easier. We went to a historical house tour yesterday, the trees and gardens are all beautiful but the best part of the day was a little squirrel who lingered on a tree longer than usual, just staring at me. I think he was as smitten with me as I with him. So darn cute!
It is amazing how cute these little animals can be. And I do think they are often as curious about us as we are about them. I’m so glad you are enjoying lovely weather!
A good Monday morning to you. I think I can get one more morning on my pouch before it gets to hot again. That’s my plan when I finish here, with a cup of coffee. The week end went by fast but it was an enjoyable one. A friend , of 37 years, spent Friday night with us. We were in Alaska together and have stayed in touch of these years. Sat. evening we helped Josh celebrate his 7th birthday. Time is passing so fast. I hope that you all had a great week-end and Jeff is feeling good and enjoying his ice cream. Close for now and have my coffee. Love to all.
Carolyn, thanks for stopping by! Isn’t it wonderful to have those reunions with friends that go WAY back? One thing about moving around so much is that we really do establish ties all over the place and it creates some great times when we are able to see these folks again. It’s almost always instant fun, as if we had never been apart. Jeff and I have been back to pretty much every place we have lived, except for Ohio, where we do hope to visit soon. We still stay in touch with people from every place. Hope you have a wonderful week!
Julia,
your blog and the comments of your many visitors are so interesting and varied that I find it difficult to add anything meaningful. Please know that I welcome it each day.
Daddy, thanks so much! You have ALWAYS been able to make interesting observations, but I agree with you that the people who comment here really add so much to my day. It’s great to hear from such a wide variety of people; it makes life so interesting! It’s like being able to travel a bit each day without leaving home – and you know how I have always loved to travel. I am so happy to know you are visiting here!
Walks in gardens or even out in the fields are always such fun and relaxing, especially in the early evening.Even when I was younger cutting hay, a job I always enjoyed, the animals you would see and especially the barn swallows as they were swooping around you as you caused insects to fly up for them. Plus the smell of new cut hay.
I’ve never had the experience of cutting hay, but I do love the smell of it. My Daddy used to have an old bale of hay that he used for archery practice. It sat in our backyard and I thought everybody had one until I would hear people asking what it was, and whether we had a horse someplace. I would love to see birds catching insects mid-air. For me, though, it would be hard to concentrate on getting the work done if there were lots of animals to watch! Thanks for visiting here, and for your comment.
Just this week I had a chance encounter on a walk. A 90 year-old man I’ve seen walking around town for years was on the same trail as me. We had the most lovely conversation and I was so glad I chose to walk instead of drive to work that day.
Isn’t it wonderful when we have these unexpected gifts? Some would probably call me fanciful, but at such times I always think to myself “Aha! this is why I was walking today.” I do believe that many such encounters are the product of intentional grace, not chance. Thanks for sharing this one with us!