My Back Porch

If you would have told me 20 years ago, that I would wake up most mornings before 7am without an alarm clock, I would have laughed in your face.  Heck, probably even 5 years ago.  Suffice it to say I was NOT a morning person back then.  Now almost every day, I am up before 7 and if I "sleep in," it is rarely past 8am.  One of my greatest joys in the mornings is taking my coffee and Kindle to my back porch.  I sit and sip and read often catching up on all your wonderful blogs.

As you can see to the left, I also take my camera (phone) with me and I sometimes get lucky to get pictures of the various flora and fauna that flutter by.  My home is surrounded by woods on 3 sides.  I enjoy listening to the forest wake up around me.  The squirrels run and jump and make racket in the trees.  The birds sing and the crows startle me me when they "caw" loudly over head.  The deer eat peacefully wandering along the edge.  They have long lost their fear of me.  There's even a bunny I catch hopping across the bright green of the lawn on occasion

My back porch is also where my weight loss journey began 2 years ago.  I would take my MP3 player and dance with the man in the moon.  However, little did I know this year, I would have a chance to begin my very own dance craze.  One lovely day I went out and plopped down on my rocking chair.  Suddenly I felt something on my thigh and swatted it away.  Even more suddenly I realized that tickling feeling was swiftly making its way up my shorts!  I quickly jumped up and thus the Lizard-In-The-Pants dance craze was born! No, not THAT lizard in your pants..the cute lil guy to the right.  What are the steps you ask...simple!  You shriek and scream like the devil is after ya!  And yes...I wish I had it in on video too!

Of course I don't get to start every day there.  We've had so much rain this summer!  The porch isn't covered except for the bit covered by the eave of the roof high above.  But even when raining I'll sometimes step out to enjoy the soft sound of the drops falling amongst the trees.  One such morning I was on the step when I realized there was a line splitting my vision.  It was

Perfectly straight and vertical and I shook my head and rubbed my eyes thinking it was an optical illusion.  When I opened my eyes again, it should have been gone but it was still there.  I stepped back to gain perspective and it was then I realized what I was seeing...a spider web...perfectly formed.  It was floating in the air attached to a tall rose bush and that one perfectly vertical gossamer string extending 10 feet! To the eave above.  I quickly grabbed my camera and got the best shot I could knowing it wouldn't do it justice.  Later before work, after the rain cleared and it was sunny again, I stepped out into the yard to see if the web was still there.  I hoped it hadn't been destroyed by the rain.  It was there but I could barely see it and I don't think I ever would except for the gift of the rain that day.

I go to the back porch to begin my day, to end my evening, to dance, to eat, to catch the sun and if Im lucky, the very rare snowflake.  I go there to think, to socialize, to worry and to grieve.  I can sit there and worry or I can get up and dance, dance, dance.  And then. Then there are days when I step out and am completely blessed to see this... from my back porch.