Looking Out at the Landscape (From Inside Where It’s Warm)
By Max Phelps
With the coldest weather of the season upon us, pushing aside the drapes and looking out into the yard sounds more appealing than taking an adventure outdoors. As a child I loved to play in the snow awhile. With the passing of years, that eagerness to get out in the cold has diminished. But just because I am inside does not mean my mind and thoughts don’t wander outdoors. If you have the option of staying inside during the coldest days, you understand about looking out the window or door and dreaming of what you’d love to do when the weather warms or when spring returns.
Maybe you would love to see a big evergreen tree where you currently see the neighbors are home. Or wouldn’t it be nice to have a little waterfall and stream to watch the birdies get a drink and splash around?
Maybe a sunken garden, where you are less obvious when you want to relax or get some sun in the backyard. In the cold times, if you venture outside, wouldn’t that firepit or fireplace or that pizza oven be nice to stand close to?
Perhaps you dream of a patio or a deck. Maybe an upstairs balcony. Or wouldn’t it be nice to have a walking path in your own yard, and not have to pass down the block where the dogs bark every time you go for a little exercise. I am dreaming from inside while the ground is frozen this week, and you may be doing the same.
Tired of watching commercials or the same-old, same-old on TV, I turn it off and my mind goes to things I’d love to be doing in the outdoors. My place or someone else’s. I’d love to be planting, building, trimming, picking berries, even raking leaves—too many days indoors can mess with your sanity!
A mountain stream, like the little ones I used to wander through the woods and see when I was a child. I miss those times. Children, spend some time in the woods, in a park, by the lake or on the beach. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone say, “I wish I hadn’t taken a wilderness hike or a stroll on the beach”.
Anyhow, as you look outside on a cold day, you may dream of trees and grass turning green again, you may be thinking of weekend cookouts or just sitting beside the frog pond and having a cup of coffee, at least I imagine this is you since it’s my own perspective on wintery days.
The bees and butterflies and hummingbirds, perhaps they catch a whiff of your perfume and check you out too, then they wander back to the flowering shrub or bed of blossoms.
As you stare outside, maybe you holler at your honey, “…wouldn’t it look lovely to have a (fill in the blank with something you dream of) in our yard…..?”