When I was sixteen, my world changed like every other teenager with a new driver’s license. It wasn’t just my freedom and ability to come and go more easily, but also my perception of the natural world around me. Driving piqued my senses and made me much more aware of my surroundings, and being artistic, that included the way I saw my world.

I remember one mid-summer day, I was heading out of the house and into my mom’s 1964 Ford Fairlane 500 to meet up with my friends. As I turned to close and lock the door behind me, I was suddenly captivated with the way the sun caught on the huge forsythia bush by the back door. While the brilliant yellow of the spring blossoms was long gone, the verdant green foliage was so intense, it almost hurt my eyes. I stood in wonder and let that moment wash over me like watercolors on fresh, velvety paper. I can still, at 63, close my eyes and see that scene in my mind.

I awoke yesterday as the sun broke briefly through the rain clouds of the past few days. My eyes instinctively moved to the ridge of the hill across the road as I watched the morning sunlight work its way down through the woods. That’s when I caught sight of something that took my breath away. Overnight, as if by magic, the large, bare, nondescript shrub on the creek bank outside the bedroom window had exploded in a riot of soft pink blossoms. I sat bolt upright and stared out the window as I marveled at this sudden appearance of spring right under my nose. I smiled and my heart exploded with joy. I cannot recall noticing this bush in all the springs I have visited the farm, but the gift of the moment was not lost on me. I thought of my grandma and all the many mornings she woke up in this bed and saw that first blush of spring out her window. She always said there was nowhere else in the world that she would ever want to live and I can surely understand now what she meant.

Awareness. Mindfulness. Deep appreciation. Gratitude. I live and breathe these on a daily basis here on the farm in the home of my heart. Who knows how long I will be blessed with the opportunity to live in this little slice of heaven…but, while I can, I will cherish every moment I am given here. ❤️