[CottonBall]

What good times we had!! Cooking over a campfire, catching frogs and tadpoles, counting stars, watching for shooting stars, counting the calls of a whip-poor-will before he stopped to catch his breath. As I look at my great-grand children today, I feel so sad for what they are missing as they carry around their I-Pods, play computer games and text on their cell phones. Their parents, my grand children, are frantically trying to keep up with the Jones, hiring landscapers and never taking a minute to smell the roses.

That was beautifully put. I don't understand how people can't understand that their lives are not rich, despite all the money they spend on material possessions and entertainment, when they don't have nature as part of it. I have not gone for a walk in the forest once this week and am all out of sorts because of it. I've been getting ready for winter - staining the decks and building up the burn piles with rotten wood and bark. And have been neglecting the real purpose I'm here for. ;(

[upcountry miss]

If I am outside, no matter what nasty chore I may be doing, my spirits are high, but keep me in for any length of time and I get very depressed. My better half of 60 plus years recognized this long, long ago and found life was much easier for him when I wasn’t depressed. Consequently, we usually do inside chores together, so I can get outside for longer periods each day. In the winter, if house bound for several days, as I get quieter and quieter, he suggests a walk in the woods and miraculously, my foul mood disappears. Best and cheapest anti-depressant ever!!