I had so many special hideouts in nature growing up – tucked behind the boughs of Grandma’s weepy plum tree, under the cedar beside the frog pond on Huckleberry Lane, on the cool patch of grass inside the heady lilac thicket. Perhaps you did, too. Treehouses never quite captivated me the way a quiet spot beneath a live tree could. In first grade, I would frequently get in trouble for wandering far from the playground into the woods by myself, and for bringing back leaves and pebbles for safekeeping in my desk. Those teachers just didn’t understand.
Mom likes to tell the story about the time I responded to my grandparents’ question about what I’d been doing out in the backyard with a shrug and a careless, “Oh, you know, just drinking in life.” (I was nine.) Nature has always held so much magic for me, as I’m sure it does for many of you. Sometimes I just can’t believe how lucky we are to live with such profound beauty.
I hope you don’t mind if I share a few of my favorite places and scenes from around the world. Let’s just take a moment to be grateful for this incredible planet we get to live on. Take a little break, share, and enjoy. This is what we’re all working to preserve, after all – and how beautiful it is. We live here. Wow!
Halla, Olof S
Marksburg, Germany, zemzina
New Jersey at the Delaware River, joiseyshowaa
Maldives, Ahmed Amir
Mt. Rainier from Tipsoo Lake, Washington, Alaskan Dude
Fremont, California, Tony
Unidentified field, kwerfeldein
Monteverde, Costa Rica, Adam Baker
South Haven, Michigan, James Jordan
Top image: Munnar, kcbimal