Gifting

When your sweetie makes a comment on one of your blog posts that makes a specific request, it is normally a good idea to listen and act upon said request.

Ok, Tammy - here are some waterfalls for you!

We featured Dunning's Springs back in a Learn Something New blogpost that featured Jewelweed as well.  Since both of us went to college nearby and lived for a time in the Decorah area, we are pretty familiar with this beautiful waterfall.  We should walk there again (and again).

Speaking of walking - the first time we saw this waterfall, it was not the easiest hike for me, but I was willing to go with Tammy to find it because - well - she wanted to - and you do things that are difficult for you because you love someone.  Since that time, we have visited the same waterfall and taken the same hike - getting easier each time to deal with feeling that the edge of the cliff is going to reach up, grab you and toss you into the wide expanses.  Next time we should just go and plan to hang out there for a couple of hours...

Sometimes a waterfall can be mesmerizing.  Drawing you back over and over again.  You stop to look at it "for just a second." Before you know it, a half hour has gone by. 

There are other moments in time that you remember to take advantage of circumstances and make sure to take an opportunity that is offered.  What is gained if you don't give yourself that gift of visiting a waterfall?  Nothing.  What is lost?

Well, you might never know the answer to that question.  So perhaps we should not dwell on it.  Instead, we should consider what was gained and what it means for us. 

The two of us have taken to referencing Bilbo Baggins as we tell each other that we are ready for 'another adventure.'  It doesn't have to be a big thing either.  Little adventures can have as much value as the big ones.  Just as long as you be sure experience them together.  

Some of these photos adorn the walls of our home, bringing the adventure into the secure bubble of our lives at the farm.  These are reminders that we can be brave and we can be content and calm at the same time.  They transport us back in time and to other places - where the air is moist and cooler than it was just five hundred feet down the road.

And these photos also show us what focus can do.  Feast your eyes upon the waterfall and crop out the surroundings that don't please the eyes or feed the soul.  Suddenly, there is only the waterfall and the surrounding natural beauty.   There is no bridge with a railing.  You don't see the vehicles driving past and the rest area, signs and parking lot are no longer in view.  The helicopter on the horizon?  Don't see that either.

It's just water following gravity to a pool down below.  And a light breeze.  Some sunshine.  Rock formations and trees.  Maybe a few birds.  And a chance to enjoy it all with a good friend.