Saturday, June 23, 2012

Breakfast in the Urban Forest

This morning I had my breakfast of oatmeal and blueberries in the midst of the Urban Forest.


As I have mentioned before, we live on the prairie in a semi-arid climate. Trees cannot grow naturally on most of the prairie. But, in town, people have planted and watered and cared for trees.

My home is an apartment built as the second story of an over-sized three-car garage. My back doors open onto a large deck. This deck is more than ten feet above the ground. When I sit on the deck my view reaches across the treetops. I feel like I am sitting in the midst of a forest!

My pots of flowers are thriving; while they have not reached their fullness yet, they are filling the pots with foliage and flowers. And my one potted cherry tomato is growing vigorously--it has several little tomatoes on already.

As I sat on the deck with my breakfast, I was surrounded not only by tree tops and pots of flowers, but a variety of sounds. There was a light breeze rattling the cottonwood leaves. The air was filled with bird conversations from many different kinds of birds. Until I sit quietly outdoors, I forget how much cheerful noise birds make! To the south I heard the trains. I am so accustomed to the sound of trains carrying our coal throughout the land, that I rarely notice it on a conscious level unless I am just sitting quietly taking in the day. From time to time one (or more) of the neighborhood dogs speaks.

 Later in the day the air will ring with the sounds of the ballgames and BMX contests taking place to the north on the city recreational fields.


Hooray for summertime!




1 comment:

  1. You painted such a lovely picture I actually think I feel more relaxed.

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