Back to Nature

"Evergreen Home and Garden Showplace," Kingsport, Tennessee

"And what is so rare as a day in June? Then, if ever, come perfect days."

-James Russell Lowell

What a wonderful time of year! June is my favorite month, and I try to embrace its beauty for as long as it lasts.

Being in nature is good for us, and we need its influence throughout the year. Being indoors too much can be detrimental to our mental and physical well-being.

You don't have to go far to enjoy nature. You could just open the door and walk outside.

Notice how this tree is not perfectly symmetrical, and yet it has a graceful beauty. In fact, nothing in nature is perfect, including people, yet in our own unique way, we are beautiful, too, part of God's world.

One could go to a park and sit on a bench and contemplate nature, walk, jog, or ride a bike.

The "Greenbelt" in Kingsport, Tennessee

Some parks have neat playground equipment.

Some parks are educational, like this "Veteran's Memorial Park" in Abingdon, Virginia.

Dining outside might make your food even tastier!

Visiting "Evergreen" in Kingsport

Planting Flowers

Growing Vegetables

Working on indoor projects outside can make the project more fun.

Even having a calendar with pretty nature scenes like this "Wild & Wonderful Virginia" calendar can make life more enjoyable. Also, nature DVD's and videos on the Internet are good.

However, nothing is as good as being in the great outdoors because it helps our "chi" or life force.

"Today, just take time to smell the roses, enjoy those little things about your life, your family, spouse, friends, job. Forget about the thorns, the pains, and problems they cause you and enjoy life."

-Bernard Kelvin Clive

Positive thoughts:  

(At "Evergreen")

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, June 5, 2020, Becky

Fantastic Tennessee Parks

Welcome!

"And the adventure begins..."

Especially during this time of year, Greg and I love going to some of the fantastic parks right here in Tennessee.

There are so many interesting places to explore in our Tennessee parks-

and fun things to do-

picnicking

swimming, boating, hiking, etc.

Some parks have restaurants-

with delicious food! Yum!

Some have bridges with water features.

All have gorgeous scenery-

and wildlife-

Recently, Greg and I, along with several of our family members, enjoyed visiting a pretty park in Knoxville-

"We are living our adventure."

Also, we're planning to return to a park which we visited several years ago, Fall Creek Falls, during the next few weeks. It's one of the best parks in Tennessee with its beautiful waterfalls.                                                                                                                                                      

Tennessee State Parks is celebrating 80 years this year so for this reason the parks are being featured in several publications, including the current issue of the AAA magazine, "AAA Living."

A great site to check out not only for Tennessee and its parks, but for any state that you'd like to visit is www.onlyinyourstate.com. This is our favorite go-to website to look up places that we might like to visit. (Thank you, Lynn, for telling us about this wonderful website!)

Later this month, we'll be traveling outside of Tennessee to visit a park in another state, Kentucky, which I might feature in an upcoming blog post.

Have a happy, safe Fourth of July!

Be sure to check out my latest "Spirit Photographs" blog post at- www.spiritphotographs.blogspot.com

Positive thought: "In nature one receives far more than he seeks."-John Muir

Thanks for visiting! Until Sunday, August 6, 2017, Becky

The Healing Power of Nature, Etc.

Welcome!

Greg and I have really been enjoying the summer, especially the parks.  We seem to be the happiest when we're close to nature.

As you may know, as I mentioned on my last blog post (August 9, 2015),  my mother passed away just recently, and being out in nature seems to have helped me the most to heal emotionally.

There are some beautiful parks in Tennessee.  If you haven't tried them yet, it's still not too late this year.  And, the colorful fall leaves will be here before you know it!  (If you can't come to Tennessee, every state has nice parks, city, state, and national ones, that you might want to check out.)

One park we really liked was beautiful Burgess Falls in Middle Tennessee.  Actually, there are four waterfalls at Burgess Falls!

 

Greg, at Burgess Falls

Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee is also very scenic.  It's Tennessee's largest natural lake.  We really enjoyed our boat ride when we went a couple of years ago.

Sight-seeing Boat at Reelfoot Lake

Of course, in East Tennessee, we also have favorite parks-

Sycamore Shoals State Historic Park has a reconstruction of Fort Watauga.

Becky, at Fort Watauga

At Warrior's Path State Park (not pictured), Greg and I always enjoy walking and riding the paddle boats.

All of the above parks are a photographer's dream.

Other types of healing for me were:

-The "365 Promises" which my thoughtful, supportive friend from Tennessee has been forwarding to me daily.  Not only do the "Promises" have healing scriptures, but beautiful photographs of nature, as well.

-Aromatherapy, which I researched online, was good for me.

-Youtube has some beautiful healing music such as harp music which someone suggested that  I try.

-Talking and/or emailing with a trusted person or counselor can also be helpful.

People, as a rule, seem to be happier when closer to nature.  It's easy to forget about that in our busy, hectic lives with all of our electronic devices, but it's never too late to turn all of that around and discover (or rediscover) the healing power that nature can have for all of us in this big wonderful natural world, just waiting to be explored.

Positive thought: "Walk in sunshine."  (From an episode of the old "Bonanza" TV show.)
Thanks for visiting!  Until Sunday, October 4, 2015 (or sooner!), Becky

A Positive Mixture of Things

Welcome!

Today, I have a positive mixture of different things to share with you.  First of all, I'd like to continue with some more healthy ideas from Patricia, my friend from Tennessee, and some ideas I have incorporated into my life to make things more positive.*

The following is from an email Patricia sent me:
"To promote a healthy, tranquil environment, we think it is important to surround ourselves with nature.  We are completely dependent on the earth and the earth is dependent on us.  From the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe, nature is our lifeline...Air is something we must have to stay alive, but in 2,014, the American Lung Association reported that nearly half of all Americans live in counties with unhealthy levels of pollution."  (She went on to say that "NASA did a study and found that houseplants actually clean toxins from our indoor air" and that some are better than others at doing this.  She also cautioned that some plants can be toxic to pets and that some children and adults could be allergic to specific plants.  Therefore, research, etc. would be valuable before obtaining any indoor plants.)

Patricia went on to say, "Scientific studies have proven that being connected with nature is vital to human health.  College students perform better on tests if their dorm rooms view green spaces.  Children with ADHD have fewer symptoms when allowed time in outdoor activities surrounded by trees, grass, and bushes.  Public housing complex residents have better family interactions if they live near trees.

We eventually suffer physical, psychological, and social breakdown if we live in unnatural environments.  It is good to integrate plants, flowers, or a bowl of fruit or vegetables into every room, making our home a more tranquil, beautiful and inviting place to live."

Well stated, Patricia!  Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful insights with us.

I don't know about you, the reader, but after all this talk about nature, Greg and I decided we'd go celebrate Labor Day (tomorrow) in a beautiful park.

Now, I'd like to mention a couple of things that have made a positive difference in my life.

One thing is a new website I discovered, and that is Nuts.com. (www.nuts.com)  They sell bulk nuts, dried fruit, snacks, etc. by the pound.  The item I ordered was of good quality, and it arrived in only a couple of days.  They have some organic and gluten-free products.  The people who own the company have a great sense of humor, and their clever packaging proves it!  I smile every time I look at the package I ordered.  Things like that make life so much more enjoyable.

Also, I tend to be the world's number one procrastinator on things I must do, but don't really want to do.  I should correct that and say that I used to be a procrastinator, because I now have something that motivates me to do things I should be doing, and I'm actually doing them.  How?  It's a simple idea, but it works for me.  I'm really impressed with the Home Depot ad on TV that shows a bucket with "LET'S DO THIS." on it, so I wrote the words down and put them in a prominent place that I see often.  It's a visual cue that puts and keeps me on track, and I love it!  Whatever works!

Please click on the link below to see our latest photos on iStock:
www.istockphoto.com

*Disclaimer: As always, I want to say that I am not a health expert.  The ideas, etc. presented on my blogs may be right for me, but I'm not responsible for the results of anything anyone tries as a result of reading my posts.

Positive thought: Have a happy Labor Day!
Thanks for visiting!  Until next Sunday (or before or after), Becky