I’m a big fan of being outside, no matter how comfy my home is. The heat of the sun, a gentle breeze, and the smell of warmed soil really makes me happy. It doesn’t matter if I am hiking, strolling, or gardening, it’s fun to be a part of nature.
I think it goes back to my childhood. I spent a lot of time outside laying on the ground and looking up at the sky, or skiing, swimming, waterskiing, etc. I grew up on the shore of a mountain lake and was able to take advantage of all it had to offer. In the Spring I could snow ski in the morning and waterski in the afternoon. How perfect is that?
Being out in nature is one of my favorite things–which is something I have in common with the characters in my books. There’s something about the green of the trees, the whispers of the wind, and the sound of my hiking boots on the dirt trail. Do you feel the same way?
Here in the desert, we don’t have a lot of water, but when we do it seems that everyone gets out to celebrate the greening up of Mother Nature’s gown. The water just left this creekbed, but the trees and shrubs are still reaping the rewards of the damp soil.
Now that we are at the end of the summer, things are dry and dusty. Our monsoon season was a bust; hopefully, we’ll have a wet fall and winter. I haven’t been able to hike into the hills because of the intense heat (safety first!), so I’m looking forward to the cooler days. I’ve been asked why I don’t simply drive into the Santa Catalina Mountains to go for a hike. It’s so temperate there, even in the desert furnace. I haven’t been able to go hiking up there since I ran into the bear (that’s a subject for another post). It really scared me, so I am reluctant to meet another one. I probably wouldn’t see one, but I would be so worried that I wouldn’t enjoy the hike. It’s a quandry!!!
