A Ride to Nowhere

A Ride to Nowhere

During this time of pandemic, my husband and I sometimes take car rides to nowhere to get us safely out of the house. We drive through local places we haven’t explored yet, looking at the vegetation and the houses, getting a general feeling for the area. Sometimes, if there aren’t any people around, we’ll take a short walk through a nature setting and enjoy the birdsongs that float out of the trees.

We recently came upon a local setting that was so peaceful, we had to stop.  A gently flowing lake beckoned on this hot day. Gentle waves moved slowly in the breeze. It was a welcome  environment where we could, for the moment, forget about what was going on in the world and take some deep, rejuvenating breaths.

It’s necessary to balance personal needs with a broader awareness of our safety and the safety of others. We would love to go to museums and theaters and concerts but that is not yet feasible. So we do what we can to find the positive in this difficult time; taking a ride to nowhere helps.

Former monk Jay Shetty offers help on how to deal with this pandemic:

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/13/jay-shetty-how-to-be-calm-happy-during-covid-19-pandemic.html

Day Lilies and Deer

Day Lilies and Deer

There was a visitor to our neighbor’s front yard the other day. A deer was enjoying the daylilies that greeted visitors to their front entrance. It was munching away peacefully and only looked up occasionally to check out its surroundings.

This wasn’t the first deer that has visited our street. We occasionally see one behind our house enjoying the flowers that pop up each spring. Sometimes there will be several deer walking from backyard to backyard, snacking on the plantings along the way. I think they come from a township set-aside nature path about half a mile away.

Wild animals seem to be getting more used to people around here. Years ago the deer would spring off if they saw a person anywhere nearby but now they just watch to see if there is any danger and then continue eating. I do qi gong exercises out back and have noticed a rabbit watching while it munches but it doesn’t dart away.

We chatted with our neighbor as we watched the deer enjoying its treat and when it darted off, we felt we had experienced something special. It’s nice to know that we can coexist peacefully with other beings. I hope we can remember that it is also possible to interact peacefully, to respect and value each other, and to remind ourselves that we all share this incredible earth.

About day lilies:

https://www.friendsofthewildflowergarden.org/pages/plants/yellowdaylily.html