outdoors

Decisions, decisions – a good problem to have ;)

This is the kind of evening I dream of when I feel tense or when it feels like the winter will never end.

I’m sitting on my patio on a warm summer night, deciding whether to draw or to read while I drink my (non-alcoholic!) beer.

A photo of a table with a bottle, an ereader and a sketchbook and markers on it.
Image description: a angled-down view of a small red patio table with a bottle of Corona Sunbrew non-alcoholic beer (which is covered in condensation), an e-reader in a blue and gold patterned case, and an open sketchbook with six markers on top of it. In the background there’s another patio chair, the bottom of the railing, and the end of a string of warm white lights.

Walking Meditation

I chose to do a short meditation while walking today.

I’ve enjoyed them when I have done them before but I usually use a guided meditation recording.

Today though, I decided to just set my timer, breathe slowly, and pay attention to the world around me.

I noticed how nimbly Khalee was walking, how the wind felt on my face, how many different shades of green were surrounding me, the sounds different cars made as they passed, how my legs felt tired but ok and how comfortable my shoes were now that I am using inserts to reduce pronation.

I felt quite peaceful afterwards and I will definitely be doing that sort of walking meditation again.

Selective viewing

Parts of my yard are still a mess but from this angle, things are starting to look quite summery and inviting.

A photo of part of my yard - grass, a fence, a swing, and a lawn chair and some flowers.
A photo of a section of my backyard. The foreground is mostly lush green grass and toward the back of my yard is an orange Adirondack style plastic lawn chair, my green circular swing, some trees with leaves starting to come out, some wildflowers, and a weathered grey fence.

Sunday View

It’s warm enough and bright enough to lie in my swing today.

Here’s looking up.

A photo of bare tree branches, the black rope from a swing, and the cloudy sky beyond.
Image description: a photo of a cloudy sky, bare tree branches, and the black ropes from my swing. I took this photo while lying on my back in my swing.

A sunny day!

Today was supposed to be cloudy and 5 degrees but the sun decided to make an appearance instead.

It’s ridiculous how much better I feel just because it is a bit brighter outside.

Even the winter-dingy mess of my yard can’t detract from the fact that my swing is inviting me to hang out outside for a while.

A saucer swing hangs from a tree in a early spring backyard
Image description: a photo of the corner of my yard on this sunny day. Most of the foregoing is yellowed grass and old leaves with shadows of bare tree branches but at the back, near my wooden fence are two larger trees, one of which has my circular saucer swing with green trip hanging from it.