There's something truly wonderful about being outside. And there's something even better about being a part of the outside. I think many of us rush around from place to place and being outside briefly is just a part of our journey rather than the destination.
Last week the patio furniture we ordered arrived and needed to be assembled. Since it was a beautiful 72 degrees I set to work and eventually got it all put together. After two hours of hard work I sat back in the shade on my new loveseat, drank a glass of water, and became part of the outside. Soon a hummingbird came along and hovered on one side of the yard and then the other. I think he was watching me too because I had to flinch when he flew right at me and then quickly away. I didn't even know we had hummingbirds around here. As I continued to enjoy the warm afternoon I heard more birds chirping and watched the bees buzzing from yard to yard. I looked at the tall palm tree peaking over the rooftop and then over at the cell phone tower disguised as a eucalyptus on the other side. Maybe the melodic sounds of the freeway aren't intoxicating to everyone but it's become white noise to me. Ahh, what a life.
The next morning came the icing on the cake. As my hubby and I sat out back- him journaling and me eating my Cheerios and admiring the progress of my micro-farm- I saw Mr. Lizard. We have tons of little lizards that run around outside our apartment complex but there's one in particular I've noticed that is very dark, almost black. He's about eight inches long and he likes to jut out from behind things in my backyard and nearly give me a heart attack. But today I spotted him sunning himself on our doormat. I said to Kyle, "He better not go in the house!" Instead of closing the door I just watched as he did several push-ups on the patio. It was really cute, like a cartoon or something. Mr. Lizard wasn't interested in going inside. He was too busy being a part of the outside.
