Nature Out my Window

I’m dedicating this post to the act of slowing down.  The apartment Andy and I are temporarily sharing with our girls Tessa and Bella (oh and our dogs…) is on the third floor. The walk up the stairs is brutal but the view out the apartment balcony window is quite lovely. Because we are high up you can’t see the houses or the streets below (you can hear them, but you can’t see them), At this height we are surrounded by treetops and the occasional telephone pole. What I love the most, weather permitting, is having the balcony door open so I can hear the birds in the surrounding trees accompanied by the sounds of my two wind chimes that I brought with me from our house. For an added bit of lighting in the evening we found some solar powered bistro lights and Andy hung those for the girls (and me too if I’m being honest). 

We had a little bistro table and two chairs set out on the balcony during the summer months but with the air turning chilly I put them away and moved the bird feeder that was hanging in the fair right corner over to the left so that it is visible from inside the apartment. During the summer months I could hear the birds at the feeder when I was inside, and the door was open, but they mostly stayed in the trees when we were out on the balcony. If I didn’t hear them, I still knew when they were there because the bistro lights would sway – turns out the lights also make for the perfect perch for the visiting birds.

With the feeder more in our line of sight I can both hear and see the birds when they visit the bird feeder. I’ve come to really enjoy their daily visits. In the morning with a cup of coffee, I will often just sit quietly, or take a moment to pause if I’m working on my laptop on the couch and watch them eat. There is something about the quietness of the moment, the calm stillness that brings me great joy and a sense of peace. Connecting to nature even if it is just as an observer is something I’ve come to value over the years – perhaps this is one reason (of many) that we are moving to the small town of Palisade on the Western Slope. It is a slower pace there and I will have even more opportunity to commune with nature. I will definitely bring my bird feeder when we officially make the move!