Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Bringing Peace To My Mind and Soul

One of my favorite things to do at the end of the day is to spend some time outdoors, enjoying the sounds of the night. 

Last night, after dinner was all cleaned up and Sweetie moseyed on home, I headed outside to end my day on a quiet note. 

I wandered down the garden steps, and ended up sitting in the hammock chair on the lower deck. I stayed there for quite some time, enjoying every moment of peace and tranquility. 


The hammock chair was the very first thing I hung up on that first night in my home, when I arrived with a car load of belongings to 'camp out' at my house after the keys were handed over. 

It was very early April then, and not even remotely warm up here on the mountain top. But, it didn't matter. I bundled up, grabbed a cozy throw and a glass of wine, and headed out to my swinging hammock chair. 

I was just so happy to once again have a home to call my own, and I needed to spend some time enjoying it all alone. 

I still like to do that. 


When I have the house to myself, it brings me great peace to wander the gardens at dusk, enjoying the evening. 

That's the reason I plant so many white flowers, especially ones that release their fragrance at night. 

Last night was so peaceful! I could hear the sound of fireworks in the distance, but not too close to be a bother. 

I had my very own fireworks show going on at my house....in the form of fireflies. It was the first night of the season that I saw so many of them, twinkling and blinking and lighting up the night. 

It brought me back in time, almost like being a kid again. 


It was also the first evening that I saw the bats swooping around at dusk. I had truly hoped they were still around, but I hadn't spotted them yet this season. 

Do you know that a bat can eat between 600 and 1,000 mosquitoes and other bugs in just an hour? 

Bats will always and forever be welcome in my gardens.


I stayed outside until the night got quite cool, and then headed in to wash up for bed. 

Once in bed, I snuggled in to read an old copy of "The Best of Stillmeadow: A Treasury of Country Living" by Gladys Taber. I adore this book, and find it really helps to further quiet my mind before drifting off to sleep. 

It was the perfect way to wind down and prepare for the week ahead. 

What do you do to quiet your mind and soul at the end of the day? 

30 comments:

  1. I read my Kindle with the lights twinkling in the green jar. I planted Moon Vine and it didn't come up. Darn. I would love to take that walk with you.
    Brenda

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    1. And I would love to have you along for my evening stroll, Brenda!

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  2. Very nice way to spend your evenings. I end my day letting the doggies out in the backyard and while I wait for them I listen to the barred owls, crickets and frogs at the creek down the hill. The fireflies are still around and I have two "regular" bats who are usually out. Gazing up at the stars always brings peace as well.

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    1. I have two 'regular' bats also - isn't that funny? I wonder if they mate for life, like some other species. Your evening sounds lovely!

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  3. Sorry I am so behind on reading and commenting on your blog! It's been crazy-busy around here. I am exhausted and need to get to bed, so I'll catch up on your other posts tomorrow. Anyhoo, my laptop and phone goes off about 1/2 hour - 1 hour before bed and then I read before I go to bed. I would love to spend time outdoors at dusk, but the mosquitoes here are vicious. We're having a service coming and spraying next week because we're having Tim's graduation party here on the 16th. You know I'm not a fan of chemicals, but this is an absolute necessity if I want people hanging around outdoors during the party (which I do!). Wish we had lots of bats to help take care of these skeeters. There's a bog only a few miles from here that has a ton of bats, so why I've never seen any around here, who knows.

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    1. That's a shame, Melanie, the mosquitoes aren't that bad here, thankfully. Perhaps it's due to the bats??? I'm not certain. We get a few, but nothing crazy. However, on nights we are dining alfresco I will light a citronella incense stick about a half hour before we sit out there, just to shoo them away. It seems to work! I'll then light a few more when we are ready to sit, and stick them in the plants around the perimeter.

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  4. I ordered Stillmeadow Sampler as my first Gladys Taber book. I think I remember her columns many years ago. Sounds like comforting reading at bedtime. Your home and gardens are lovely to read about and your photos are great. Thanks for sharing, Rhonda

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    1. It is incredibly comforting to read her book at bedtime, Rhonda! That's my first of her books as well....but it won't be the last!

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  5. I like to sit outside by the pool or on the covered porch and listen to the sounds of the evening, too. Sometimes the family joins me, sometimes I'm alone. Either way, with my feet in the pool or watching the fireflies, I feel like a kid again, too. I like that!

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    1. I would feel like a kid again, too, Kim if I was sitting with my feet in the pool. How lovely!!

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  6. Oh this brought back memories of chasing lightning bugs when I was a kid ! Fast forward to when I had SONS....I will never forget the night they and a neighbor kid captured a frog and fed it a lightning bug and you could see it lighting up INSIDE the frog.

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  7. Oh this brought back memories of chasing lightning bugs when I was a kid ! Fast forward to when I had SONS....I will never forget the night they and a neighbor kid captured a frog and fed it a lightning bug and you could see it lighting up INSIDE the frog.

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    1. That's hysterical, Deb!!! I actually didn't know you could 'force feed' a frog!

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    2. Oh....and that should be a children's book - 'Feed a Frog a Firefly' - :)

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  8. I do not get much time alone. Me and my husband are always together but it is nice when I finally do get some time to myself. I like to sit outside on the patio (unless on on the beach). I will have a glass of wine and relax. Often at night, I will cozy up in my recliner and crochet. That is relaxing to me. I do not have much beauty wonders in my yard. The dogs next door continuously bark at me while I try to relax so my outside time is minimal.
    Lisa

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    1. That's rough, Lisa - are the dogs tied outside all the time? How awful for both you and the dogs!!

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    2. The neighbors on each side of us have fenced yards where their little dogs roam. They will bark at their own butts. I get no peace. It also stinks. We are just too close.

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  9. I loved reading this! It sounds like pure Heaven. It's wayyyy too hot and humid here to be outside plus the mosquitoes. :/ I haven't seen fireflies in eons ~ such a delight! Having your beautiful gardens and peace & quiet would soothe my soul. I love that you hung your hammock the first night you were there!

    A friend of mine that used to live in GA had beautiful gardens and she planted all white flowers. Stunning!

    xo
    Pat

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    1. Thanks, Pat! I guess my summers are much milder than yours....but your winters are much milder than mine - it balances out, doesn't it?

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  10. The perfect way to end an evening! I am like you, I like to wander around my garden and yard in the evening, and just enjoy the sights and sounds around me. Your garden is beautiful! You have done a lot of hard work, and now get to enjoy it... and the firefly show sure beats the fireworks any day :)

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  11. Greetings!

    I recently discovered your blog, absolutely love it and am thoroughly enjoying making my way through all of your posts. What a fantastic writer you are! Your words and their accompanying photographs welcome me into your world time and time again.

    While I love entertaining and do so numerous times a year, I am also a loner and must have my quiet-alone-time to recharge. Sugar daddy aka husband resides in Pennsylvania at our family home and has an office in Washington, D.C. He purchased me a house in Florida where I spend a lot of peaceful time. Of course he and our two wonderful adult children visit me here and I return to the PA family house where we spend all holidays together.

    Nights find me curled up on the sofa or in bed with a book, candles and a glass of champagne where I am sequestered and serene.

    Thank you for the beauty you provide with your words and photographs!

    Blessings,
    gerre lynne

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    1. Thank you so much, Gerre Lynne - and welcome to my little mountain top world! Your evening sounds divine, with a glass of champagne, some candles and a good book - that's me in the cold months!

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  12. Your gardens are beautiful and it all has such a peaceful and serene feel. I was just thinking last night that I need to go out and look for lightning bugs as we call them here in Kentucky. xo Laura

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    1. We call them lightening bugs here, too, Laura - or Fireflies! And thank you!

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  13. Sounds like a lovely way to spend your evening! I love to see the fireflies twinkling away! My favorite way to unwind is to sit in bed and read my Daily Bread devotional and a few pages of a novel. Enjoy your summer! Nancy

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    1. What a nice way to end your day, Nancy! I just ordered another book I'm super excited about, but they keep building up on my end table.....my eyes don't stay awake long enough for me to get too far!

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