Revising the Dream: The Nature of Things

I am not a nature freak. I'm not even a nature lover. In fact, I shamefully border on being a nature ~~hater~~ dis-liker.

If I had to make a "Horrible Ways to Spend My Saturday" list, it would definitely include:

Hiking.

Gardening.

"Real" Camping (doin' the whole tent thing).

Going to the zoo (which combines TWO of my least favorite things: nature and animals).

Etc, etc.

Here in Florida, we've been shacking up in a beeooteeful townhouse. The interior is awesome, but the grounds are equally as stunning. I often go out on the balcony in the evening to breathe in the warm air and take in some of the landscaping loveliness. The best part is that my sole responsibility is enjoyment. No mowing. No trimming. No planting. No weeding. And when it's nauseatingly hot outside, I can open my curtains and enjoy the gardeners' hard work from my air conditioned vantage point.

Believe me, I am not looking forward to the yard work that awaits me back in Canada. Hmph.

Every once and a while, though, I surprise myself. Sometimes, I succumb to the beauty of God's creation and actually enjoy taking in the "little things". The BIG things are a give-in. Even nature-dislikers are awestruck by the BIG things. When in Vancouver, I often found myself staring out Ellie's hospital window. The view of the Rocky Mountains was truly breathtaking. Every time we go to the ocean, I have to stand at the shore for a few minutes and simply marvel at the waves. More than once, the northern lights have caused me to stop the car at the side of the road. Rockies, Atlantic Ocean, Northern Lights...BIG things.

But, I actually have it in me to marvel at the little things too.

Things like the duck who made a nest right by the pool.

The duck who laid eggs in the nest she built by the pool.

Things like the crane/big bird-thingamajig that I saw in Macy's parking lot the other day.

Things like the purple tree.

Things like the cute little white church on 436. The church I drive past every day on our way to therapy. The church that sits quietly and unassumingly in between Florida Hospital and Costco. The church surrounded by tropical, mossy trees. The church with red doors. The church that steals my breath every time I drive by it.