Let the Beauty We Love Be What We Do

"Let the beauty we love be what we do."   - RUMI

How many times have I walked along these gravel roads in the country where I grew up as a girl?  I still feel like that girl who reached down to pick up rocks along the way looking for fossils trapped inside.  I still do it.  I think I always will.  

The sounds of the country surround me as I walk along the cows lowing in the fields, the birds overhead in the trees, the smell of fresh mown hay and the crunch of gravel underfoot - these are sounds of my childhood.  

How I long to be back in the country so I could walk along these gravel roads every day - what a gift that would be.  I do appreciate the paved walking trails that lead through the city parks, but there's just something about the crunch of gravel underfoot that pleases me more.

  The days seem longer, happier and more full in the country.   

I love the bluebirds that live in the birdfeeders that my Uncle Dale Roberts made for me.  He is a dear man who used to go on hikes with me when I was little to hunt for arrowheads in the fields along the creeks.  He always understood my love of nature bits, arrowheads, and rocks with fossils.  

The bluebirds moved in within two weeks of being placed.  They fly about the lawn all afternoon bringing bugs to their babies.  My Uncle Dale brought three of the bluebird houses for me so that I could place them in different areas about the farm.  I have one outside my kitchen window so that I can see the birds fly in and out while I am at the sink working.  One out by the barn and the last in the front yard where I can see the birds from the deck while I drink my morning coffee.

Here is a side view of the bluebird house in case you would like to have some made for your home.  They are approximately 16" tall, 8" wide and 6" deep. 

Dale and my parents have known each other since High School and have built a long lasting friendship.  Although their lives lead them in very different directions they have maintained a close friendship and spend more time together now that they are retired.  It's nice to see them together laughing which makes it easy to imagine them as teenagers sharing jokes together.  I love to hear them tell the stories of their childhood and teenage years.

My favorite moment is when my Dad starts laughing so hard that he has to wipe tears out of his eyes - he has a great laugh.  He's the best Dad.
I find that the older I get the more I delight in simple things from my childhood like these simple yellow flowers growing along a gravel road in the country - we are surrounded by beauty - it's everywhere if we just stop to look.