Images Of The Country By Day And By Night

Just before dusk, the country comes alive with a musical Morse code. First, you'll hear the chorus of cicadas and the deafening, antiphonal throngs of tree frogs and bull frogs singing through the night. If you listen carefully, you can hear the sound of the howling coyote and great horned owls calling to each other. The air is thick with every type of insect imaginable. As the sky fades from light blue to navy, the night is aglow with the twinkle of thousands of fireflies. Bright constellations poke through the darkening sky. It is the magic hour. Country nights are all about sunsets, fragrances and feasts. It is a whole new world. Snakes, lizards, coyotes, bobcats, rabbits, racoons, muskrats, opossums, skunks, deer, mice, moths, and frogs abound.

In the silvery morning light the striking silhouette of the surrounding hills emerges.The gentle cooing of mourning doves and the percussive tapping of woodpeckers builds. This cacophony of bird conversations builds as the opalescent moon disappears Soon, the gregarious cardinals and crows join in the chorus. Above the pastures, a hawk zeroes in on its prey with razor-sharp vision.
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The countryside is remarkably beautiful with rapidly moving clouds causing sriking variations in sunlight and multiple rainbows. The land, fields and hills are extraordinarily vivid in color. Summer in Tennessee is a time of wonder and abundance. I have never seen so many fruits and vegetables in my entire life. Tender June peas, snap beans, Irish and sweet potatoes, okra, collards, lettuce, sweet onions, turnips, squash, beets, cabbage, limas, speckled buttter beans, bell peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes, peaches, watermelon, cantelope, strawberries, and blueberries abound. Walking through country gardens and farmers markets in Tennessee is like walking through the Louve with an art connoisseur, except you can touch, smell and taste the still lifes.

To dwell close to nature is to comprehend the presence of a creator. The slow turning of seasons, the rhythmic cycles of planting, growth, harvest and decay, the extraordinary order of every detail is amazing. In order to see this one must commit to a slower contemplative pace. Maybe it is that we are wired for greater simplicity as we mature.

Tennessee country is beautiful and bountiful. God continually and with infinite variety reveals his laws of balance, rengeneration and continuance in the midst of change.

Out in the Fields With God

The little cares that fretted me,
I lost them yesterday,
Among the fields in Tennessee
Among the winds at play,
Among the lowing of the herds,
The rustling of the trees,
Among the singing of the birds,
The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what might pass
I cast them all away
Among the clover-scented grass
Among the new-mown hay,
Among the rustling of the corn
Where drowsy lilies nod,
Where ill thoughts die and good are born-
Out in the fields with God!
-adapted from The Treasure Chest
by Charles L. Wallis

Take Me Home Country Roads

"The South we belong to is a good country, a valiant country; it always has had valor, and it has had industry and thrift. Our house is painted, our grass is green. For those of us who bend our backs and put our shoulders to the wheel, the South is still Canaan land; it is milk and honey......" -Ben Robertson,
Red Hills and Cotton

Over the past four months I've spent a lot of time journeying down country roads. I never would have imagined how much I craved to be on them, or how much of a part of me they could become. This didn't used to be the case. I used to dream about the magic of big city lights, the promise of fame and fortune, living in famous bohemian neighborhoods where I could practice my craft. The city, I thought would provide me with significance, purpose and professional success.

These days, my older, city self seeks out quiet people and plain houses. More and more I need to bathe in softly filtered sunshine and undisturbed moonbeams that cast a blue glow on the earth beneath.

A charitable, unreserved Southern hospitality lives deep in this beautiful countryside where people who just happen to moseying along the same road at the same time greet on another with the forefinger of their steering-wheel hands. You find no strangers here. No horns honk. Nobody whizzes past you. You drift with the road. You are one with the rhythm of the curves. My city self lived years just feet from neighbors and only knew their names from their mailboxes. I was surrounded by people, but completely alone.


While winding with the road up and down gently rolling pastures, I want to stop, to snap a mental picture of the weathered barns and black timber fences to dream about all night. It is the esssence of enchantment.

The Backroads of Franklin, Tennessee

After months of unpacking, getting settled into our new digs in Franklin, TN and getting everyone into new routines, I was in need of a little fresh air and a road under my feet, well under my wheels. The warm day was bright with blue skies, so I went for a drive amid the lush spring greenery of our new neck of the woods. It is an amazing sight to watch all of the wildlife roaming free in the country. Can't wait to find some new hiking trails.

A Bittersweet Hike

A group of five families embarked on what will be my family's last hike in Arizona for a while (until we visit again), a post-Thanksgiving hike on the Lost Dog Wash Trail in the McDowell Mountain Preserve in Scottsdale.
It was a fun, easy, 6.8 mile hike in a gorgeous desert landscape along the rugged McDowell Mountains. The trail was well-defined and led us gradually up to an old jeep trail,


that ended at the spectacular summit with breathtaking views of the
valley.

It was a very poignant hike for my family and I. We feel as though we are on a path of obedience toward God's will as he leads us away from our home and beloved friends in Arizona to adventures unknown in middle Tennessee. We felt the first tugging about a year and a half ago and have been trying to follow God's leading, kind, then stern, tender and tough, faithfully firm, patiently urgent, eagerly tolerant, softly shouting, gently thundering. We may not understand His hand, but we can always trust His heart.

I always feel very excited about heading out to a new destination. The uncertainty, it's like opening a present. I always feel that way when I'm starting a new hike also. Sometimes I can't imagine the blessings as I'm toiling and rockhopping up the trail, but when I get to the part where I can see the amazing views, it makes it all worth it. I know from experience that when I follow God's leading, the blessings are unbelievable!

I was pondering at the summit as I looked over the valley and felt that even though the universe may seem huge and the rift between friends on opposite sides of the country may seem a great distance, I realized that all the mountains and valleys in the world cannot separate friends whose hearts are one.

Happy Trails,
Gwenn, Jerry, Tori and Alex

Peace Through Simplicity and Exercise

"The richness I achieve comes from nature, the source of my insipiration."

-Claude Monet

Sometimes a solution to overcoming stress can be as close as the nearest hiking path.

A recent study at the University of Colorado found that physical activity may prevent stress to the immune system, lowering your risk for bacterial and viral infections. (Who needs the H1N1 vaccine when you can exercise??)

After holiday dinners, I always feel as though I have been hit by a truck the next morning. I suppose it's all of the nitrates, gluten, MSG, free radicals, etc. etc. etc. zipping around in my system that make me groan and want to go back to sleep.

This year, I"m going to pull myself together and go for a hike. The thing is, once my feet hit the ground, I feel energized. Once I start hiking, my thoughts drift freely and gently, exploring new thoughts that enliven me or put me in a good mood. Being with good friends adds to the fun.

The simplicity of nature does give us that ispiration we need in order for us to move casually and peacefully through our daily lives.....especially during the holiday season.

Join us on Saturday, November 28, 2009 at the Lost Dog Wash trail at the end of 128th Street North of Via Linda in Scottsdale at 7:45 AM under the shelter just north of the parking lot.

A Little Glimpse of Heaven

I have always been enamored by the simple beauty of empty roads. Of course traveling north on I-17 from Phoenix towards Flagstaff on Labor Day weekend, it was pretty much impossible to find an empty patch of highway. After the curves and turns at 70 miles per hour on steep mountain grades that terrify me (when I don't have the wheel in hand), I was more than relieved to get off the highway and head west toward Sedona. I could feel the stress slowly releasing as I took in the majesty of the red rocks, and mentally, I was rubbing my hands in anticipation of the beauty that awaited me on our 6 mile hike on the West Fork trail of Oak Creek, a chance for a little glimpse of heaven.

The West Fork Trail of Oak Creek is hands down my favorite hiking trail in Arizona, perhaps in the whole country. The beauty of the area inspired novelist Zane Grey to write "The Call of the Canyon." The pace of the hike was perfect for us "joy is in the journey" types. It is more of an amble, or perhaps a walk. I always feel like I'm living life to it's fullest when I spend time with family and friends, building relationships in the great outdoors, breathing the pristine mountain air, and enjoying and marveling in God's beautiful creation. I relish the chance to step back and regenerate and savor every moment of our hikes.

The trail began with an easy stroll down a paved sidewalk enclosed on both sides with brilliant yellow flowers teeming with bumblebees, over a footbridge that crossed a sapphire pool and across a scraggly grove with a few tough crusty old apple trees. The kids and adults alike played a while amongst the ruins of an old hunting and fishing lodge. The trail abruptly changed to sand as we passed through a nurturing fern meadow unaware of the spectacular views that were about to hit us in the face.

We followed the twisting, turning sandy trail as it took us deeper into the canyon .We rock- hopped across Oak Creek at numerous places on the mossy green rounded stones that glowed gold under the white dolomite and red sandstone walls that rose us and loomed all around and embraced us. Some people hiked through the creek most of the time, across the boulder strewn streambed, sometimes ankle deep, at other times knee deep. At one point, the narrow enchanting gorge required all of us to wade down the creek. This is when the child inside everyone was released. There came a point when you just can't get any wetter. It was a cool refreshing atmosphere surrounded by the lush vegetation; the lichen draped evergreens, towering ponderosa pines, fir, box, elder, oak, willows, maples and cottonwood trees. The dense trees provided a welcome relief from the harsh desert sun that we all have been experiencing throughout the AZ summer. The plethora of boulders, unique rock sculptures, patterns of the canyon walls, the unique cantilevered overhangs were stunning. Some of the kids explored hollows in the cliffs. There remnants of spring columbine, lupine, sumac and wild grapes all along the trail. Butterflies flitted and hummingbirds rocketed around us. Birdsong spilled from high places. One hawk even held a two way conversation with some of the hikers. We trained ourselves to look for the rock cairns perched precariously on boulders and marked the trail. The aroma of wood rot, vanilla, and pine drifted through the canyon.

It wasn't long before the monsoon rain deluged us. The rolling, rumbling thunder in the canyon juxtaposed with the gentle musical sounds of the water flowing through the forest glades and spilling over the smooth red rock was a treat for the senses. The water made wonderful geometric designs in the water. The fog creeped up on us, gently penetrating the pine trees on the cliffs. Before long, the rain became a gentle, but incessant companion, the creek flowed a little harder, and the plants responded with a lavish explosion of color as we neared the end of our hike. After a welcome change into dry clothes, and a fabulous Mexican dinner we were treated to a blazing sunset as we drove out of Sedona through the dense fog that enveloped and shrouded the red rocks and made us feel like we were driving in the clouds.

That's what happens when the journey is the destination, a little glimpse of heaven.