Tag Archives: outdoors
The world is full
“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” — W. B. Yeats Awhile back we had an interesting discussion with Boomdee in the comments after she mentioned the rabbits in her world changing colors with the seasons. Until then, I didn’t know about the Snowshoe Hare, which turns white …
A logic all their own
“Summers had a logic all their own and they always brought something out in me…they made me want to believe.” — Benjamin Alire Sáenz As incredible as it seems to me, the summer is already beginning to wind down. The days are getting shorter and there have been a few touches of cool weather here …
Come as children
O men, grown sick with toil and care, Leave for awhile the crowded mart; O women, sinking with despair, Weary of limb and faint of heart, Forget your years to-day and come As children back to childhood’s house. — Phoebe Cary Today I invite you to set aside a few moments for remembering what it …
Autumn has seized the countryside
“The magic of autumn has seized the countryside; now that the sun isn’t ripening anything it shines for the sake of the golden age…” ― Elizabeth Coatsworth I would miss so much if I didn’t get out and walk. This neighbor’s yard, like so many, would be harder to appreciate through the windshield of a …
A natural affinity
“Children have a natural affinity towards nature. Dirt, water, plants, and small animals attract and hold children’s attention for hours, days, even a lifetime.” — Robin C. Moore and Herb H Wong One of the best ways to enjoy nature is to tag along with a child or two. They notice things we have forgotten …
In the yard
“My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, ‘You’re tearing up the grass.’ ‘We’re not raising grass,’ Dad would reply. ‘We’re raising boys.’” — Harmon Killebrew This is a perfect time of year for this quote. The All-Star break is coming up, and many lawns …
Always June
“I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June…I feel that it would take me a long time to get tired of it, if it were all as charming as today.” — L. M. Montgomery There’s a good reason Anne’s sunny personality has won the hearts of …
That faint semblance
“That faint semblance of Eden, the picnic in the greenwood.”— Herman Melville If there’s anything more festive than a picnic, it’s a picnic at a fabulous outdoor theater just before a stellar production. The California Shakespeare Theater in Orinda, California, invites audiences to bring their own feasts (or buy food available there) and enjoy al …
Made for kids
“Baseball was made for kids, and grown-ups only screw it up.” — Bob Lemon Those of us who admire the complexity of baseball — or maybe only imagine that we do — might think Lemon has oversimplified things with this statement. But he has far more authority on the subject than I do, and in …
A blissful perfection
“There is a blissful perfection in even the smallest, most mundane facets of everyday life, and appreciating this is an important source of happiness…Humans adapt to any type of experience, but scholars suggest that we’re less likely to adapt to tiny pleasures because, by their nature, they are unexpected and different each time they occur.” …
Autumnal sunshine
“I cannot endure to waste anything so precious as autumnal sunshine by staying in the house.” — Nathaniel Hawthorne “In autumn, don’t go to jewelers to see gold; go to the parks!” — Mehmet Murat ildan As our President would say, let me be clear. Yesterday’s post was about rainy weather. On a gloriously bright fall day, we simply MUST find …
Waiting to be enjoyed
“…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 …
A garden and a library
“He who has a garden and a library wants for nothing.” — Marcus Tullius Cicero Several weeks ago one of our readers sent me this quote, and I immediately thought “That would make a great post for the blog.” What makes the quote so appealing is that most people can have at least a small library and …
So rare
And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days… — James Russell Lowell June has been a blur for us this year, as perhaps it has been for you. We’ve been overwhelmed with hospitalizations, seemingly endless appointments, backlogged tasks indoors and out, and the yearly traffic snarls from summer …
Nature’s way
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” — Robin Williams Surely by now, warm spring weather has started to arrive in even the chilliest parts of the northern hemisphere. Better late than never! What can we do to celebrate springtime this week? Take a walk, plan a picnic, visit a park. Make some lemonade, bake some …
Have a picnic
“…if you have a place where you can go and have a picnic with your family, it doesn’t matter if it’s a recession or not…” — Jim Fowler One of the best ways to make an ordinary day into a special occasion is to have a picnic. It can be elaborate or simple fare, and …
New possibilities
“Play energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities.” — Stuart Brown, MD If you have a favorite hobby, sport or other recreational activity, why not schedule some time for play this week? On the other hand, if you don’t …
On these walks
“It is on these walks that my best ideas come to me. It is while walking that difficult clarity emerges. It is while walking that I experience a sense of well-being and connection, and it is in walking that I live most prayerfully.” — Julia Cameron For several years now, I’ve been walking anywhere from …
Talk of mysteries!
“Talk of mysteries! — Think of our life in nature, — daily to be shown matter, to come in contact with it, — rocks, trees, wind on our cheeks! The solid earth! The actual world!” — Henry David Thoreau I hope nobody’s getting tired of my going on about nature, but the natural world is a marvel …
One day
“I have wandered far upon the desert plain, but in my heart a bird keeps singing, and the daffodils beckon and blow, — and one day I shall wander back.” — Muriel Strode Last week was a good one for me, but it began on a gloomy note. I spent most of the week at …
For the whole day
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” — Henry David Thoreau OK, I can just hear some of you thinking “Great quote – but how would YOU know about early-morning anything?” Good point. However, I’m quoting Thoreau, who supposedly knew it quite well. Still, I think there have been a few times …
Ways of healing
“A woman’s heart always breaks a little in the spring. But spring offers its own ways of healing. Hoe the row a little deeper. Kneel on the ground and dig the roots.” – Marjorie Holmes Even when the heartbreak is more than just a little, spring does offer a degree of healing, however inadequate it may …
To wander
“Wandering is the activity of the child, the passion of the genius; it is the discovery of the self, the discovery of the outside world, and the learning of how the self is both ‘at one with’ and ‘separate from’ the outside world. These discoveries are as fundamental to the soul as ‘learning to survive’ …
In the woods
The bee is not afraid of me, I know the butterfly; The pretty people in the woods Receive me cordially. The brooks laugh louder when I come, The breezes madder play. Wherefore, mine eyes, thy silver mists? Wherefore, O summer’s day? — Emily Dickinson I wasn’t all that fond of Emily Dickinson’s poems when I …
Defeat Despair 