No Place Like Home

Life can often be summed up by the wording on the top photo in this post - the photo was taken through the back sliding door with static-cling letters on it.

We have been enjoying our back yard this winter with different activities than those we enjoyed in Minnesota. It's fun to watch a frustrated or irritable child wander out back and lose him or herself in watching wildlife, raking leaves, playing in the dirt or mud, or swinging on the tire swing Grandpa made. There is a calmness and introspection that comes from unstructured time outdoors.

I remember spending hours climbing the trees behind my house when I was the age of my oldest child. Having been away from this area since that time, it has felt natural to me to climb the trees in our yard to hang a tire swing in the oak and to prune the plum tree.