Surrounded by Gifts

Look around you and observe the gifts that are there.  They don't have to be grand things, or big things, or flashy things.  These gifts can be as simple as a warm meal, a well-loved and often used pocket knife, a hedge of bushes that cuts down the biting wind when you step outside, or a picture of you and a friend from many years ago.

I won't pretend to know what things mean something to you and I can't know if you are struggling mightily in such a way that gifts seem to be few and far between.  But, I will remind us all that our our willingness to feel gratitude, awe, and wonder can suddenly make so many things feel like pretty darned good presents!

Over the past year, we have taken the time to observe and appreciate more of the gifts of the natural world beyond those we experience on the farm.  This is not to say that we don't have plenty on the farm to enjoy.  But, sometimes the work on the farm obscures the beauty that can be found there.

So, we took some short trips and took a few walks - hauling a camera along for the ride.  The camera isn't the reason for the trips, but it sure does help us pay more attention to what we are seeing and it makes us slow down so we can get a real feel for a place.

We actually visited Backbone State Park twice this year, during two different times of year.  Once when green was a prominent color and once when brown was the dominant hue.  

It was as if we were visiting two different places.  Yes, we did concentrate on different parts of the park, that is true.  But, everything felt and smelled and (of course) looked different during the second visit.  It really was as if we had never opened this gift in the first place and we had been given an entirely new one - whether we deserved it or not!

We had a rare opportunity to get off of the farm in the middle of the Summer this year for a couple of nights.  Now, before you start to think a couple of nights isn't much - two nights in the middle of the production season on our sort of farm is actually a VERY big deal. 

We do know a few growers who have made a point of taking a short break in the middle of the season and leaving the farm for others to manage for a short while.   We, ourselves, have managed it sporadically.  And, every time we succeed, we get so much benefit out of it that we wonder why we don't force the issue a bit harder.  (Well, we don't wonder too hard when we consider what it takes to get someone to manage the farm for us)

This year we had a couple of days at Korsen Cabin on Seed Savers Exchange property near Decorah.   While there, we experienced the gifts that are rolling hills, trout streams, and the distant voice of a meadowlark.  Things our farm does not feature.
 

Even our Fall trip to Chicago found us seeking nature at Busse Forest, not far from the location we were at during our short stay in November.  The weather cooperated and allowed us to stroll and observe at our leisure.  

While the event we attended was a huge positive, I am certain the whole trip would have been something much less if we had not taken the opportunity to go outside and commune with nature and the world around us.

Tammy and I even managed to find her "annual birthday present" with a nice, late Fall hike at Malanaphy in northeast Iowa.   

While we enjoyed that hike immensely, it comes with a sense of satisfaction that does not necessarily follow from the hike itself.  Instead, it has more to do with the fact that our hike led me to share a blog post about Pileated Woodpeckers.  Then, suddenly, several other people started to recognize these amazing birds.  My bro even sent me a text with a picture from their back yard of one such sighting.

Have I mentioned that giving gifts can be every bit as satisfying as receiving them?

Some views the world affords us are a bit more spectacular than others.  A rainbow in the Kalalau Valley certainly qualifies.  But, the sheer magnitude is often enough for some who visit to miss out on the gift as they dash to the overlook, take their selfies and their quick snapshots and then dash back to their vehicles to see the next wonderful thing.

It is good to go see.  But, it is better to go and absorb, feel, hear, smell and fall in love with the land around us. And, if you are not currently somewhere where this is possible, then I hope you can extend your senses to all of the gifts that DO surround you right now.

Listen to your partner as they tell you a story.  Play a game and appreciate the companionship that comes from it.  Gaze at the coffee mug a friend gave you that you really did not need and still appreciate the humor and the connection you have with this person that is reflected on the saying that is on the side of that mug.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Rob & Tammy

Genuine Faux Farm - Tripoli, IA