A COUNTRY NIGHT

One of my favorite things to do is watch a sunset. I love to watch the sky turn it's bright oranges and reds as the sun disappears beneath the horizon and then the sky slowly darkens to a deep dark blue, until the first stars start to wink and sparkle.

 Twilight always carries with it an aura of mystery and I love to sit on the porch and watch the light slowly fade as trees and bushes become shadows and the sounds of night take life. We have a few owls here in the forest that call to one another and there is no greater wonder than sitting back and listening to that conversation as it echoes through the woods. I always wonder what they're talking about. Owls are wise so it must be some pretty good stuff.



This is our owl that comes to visit now and again

Living in a rural area really brings you back in tune with the nature that surrounds all of us. If you sit outside at night and listen, you realize that the forest isn't silent at all. There's a whole world that goes on out there while we sleep. In the mornings I can see where the deer have crossed the yard nibbling plants and grass as they go, leaving only their hoof prints behind. At night you can also hear the howling and yipping of coyotes in the woods and their cries echo through the night as they howl at the moon.

When my kids were quite small I used to read them a story called A North Country Night by Daniel San Souci. It's a story about a small cabin in the woods, and as the people in the cabin go to sleep the forest comes alive with all the different animals that live in the North Country.

It's one of my favorite children's books, and even though the kids have outgrown it now, I still keep it around and flip through it now and again because it brings back so many memories. When I first bought the book I was still living in the city, a young mom with one son commuting back and forth on busy freeways through rush hour traffic and falling asleep at night to the sound of cars and airplanes flying over head. When I read this book to my little one at night, I would dream that one day I could hopefully live in a place where there was a forest with animals and night sounds just like in the book. The wonderful thing is, my dream came true.

I asked my oldest son the other day if he remembered the book, and he smiled and said "Of course I do! It's the book with the cabin in the forest, and all the beautiful pictures of the animals that are out at night. You know Mom, we kind of live like that now."

You see, the great thing about this life is, if you want something badly enough, you can make it happen. Go after your dreams and follow them. It may not seem at the time that you are getting any closer to that goal, but once you arrive you can look back and connect all the dots and see how every decision led you to where you are today. Life isn't always easy, but the journey and adventures it can bring are worth everything.