Outside

Little Harbour, Nova Scotia Sept. 7, 2017, 4:30 AM

“Outside”. A single word. Filled with hope. From experience.

One of the first words my first grandson learned. Now he knows sentences.

It meant he wanted to go for a walk with his Dad and I got to go with them. In the suburbs. Far different from the city where I live in the states and where his Dad grew up.

It’s even more different here. And though I’m used to it, it always surprises when I go outside.

And when I first arrive from the long drive up from Baltimore. How quiet it is when I first get out of the car.

And when I go outside. Even though you can look out the window and see what’s out there, it's different being outside.

It sounds different. The sound is not loud. Not like when a car goes by. That’s different and spoils the effect. Man made sounds of machines are unpleasant. Not soothing. Disruptive. Mostly.

The sounds of nature. The wind in the trees. The faint, soft, distant rumble from the dam across the road. A pleasant comforting sound which means there’s plenty of water.

Different from last year when half the wells in Nova Scotia went dry. It’s not just “water over the dam”. It’s what we need to survive. Plentiful this year.

It rains a lot up here. Or did until last year. I like the rain. It means I can work on my sun porch without the feeling I should be outside. And not missing out on the good weather. Or trimming the shrubs or cutting back the trees. Signs that nature would take over if given half a chance.

I’m not sure what I’m hearing now as I’m writing on my sun porch. It sounds like rain but I’m not hearing it beating on the roof. It could be the wind in the trees blowing hard. Or the waves crashing on the exposed shore far down the road which I can hear occasionally when there is a storm at sea even though that exposed shore is far away. Not like the protected cove at the edge of my property.

When the rain stops the air becomes crystal clear. A sunny day here is a joy to behold. And experience. I think it gives me energy. I don’t mind working outside and exhausting myself. It feels good and I know it's good for me.

It’s still dark outside and cold as I see when I open the door and I can’t tell for sure what I’m hearing. It sounds like the wind is blowing. And there is a gentle rain. And I think I may be hearing the brook with the water flowing heavily over the rocks from a storm last night while I slept. And maybe the distant faint roar of the sea from the shore down the road. Or all of these things.

But I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see. 

When it's light out and I can go outside.