Snow Bound, Again

Finding beauty in my own backyard.

Watching CBS This Morning helped my mind to relax and focus on other peoples stories of life, and more than that I look forward to their one minute of nature broadcast every week.  The scene of Yellowstone in snow with steam rolling out of misty places captured my attention.  How peaceful, how calming.  If I can admire the beauty of Yellowstone in winter, then why then am I so miserable with our snow and cold weather?

I looked out the window thinking I was caged animal only to see several pairs of Cardinals perched in our evergreen and huddled near to the house.  How peaceful, how calming.    A smile broadened my face and my outlook; I slammed my fist down and turned to our Lucy dog announcing, "That's it.  I'm in charge of my own attitude and I'm no longer going to complain.  I'm missing a beautiful moment out there, one that won't come my way again."

With that I insulated my cold bones and joints with long underwear, added another layer of warm clothing, and when it was finally time to pull on the ski pants Lucy began to do her happy dance.  She knows now that ski pants mean the same thing in winter as tennis shoes do in warmer season:  It's time to explore the outside.

Wind blown patterns in the snow.

The fields might have seemed barren and lifeless to some but we found beauty in the snow blown patterns and in the landscape that stretched to the horizon.  Lucy heard the field mice buried underground but couldn't dig them out no matter how furiously she clawed.

We slowly walked with the wind at our back.  Then we turned into the winds and  toward home.  I was plenty warm and walked without my glasses on, since they steam up on these cold days.

My mind was cleared of clutter, and I sat down in the soft snow to ponder and gaze when Lucy jumped on me.  We rolled in the snow and I giggled as she romped and trampled me.

Patterns in the sand at Hilton Head remind me of a barefoot walk on the beach.

Energized, we returned home.  In my search for photos of our exploration I found another patterned picture from our trip Hilton Head.  Aren't we lucky to be surrounded by such beauty, and all we have to do is go outside.