DH and I went for a walk in the swamp tonight. The first time we have been down the swamp road since our visit with Lois and her hubby. It always amazes me how quickly time can get away from me.
The sun was setting (it was 8:30 pm) and still plenty of light left for the next hour. Yep, it's fall and it gets dark enough to see the stars now, though not until almost 10:00. I was hoping to see caribou as it is the time of migration. No such luck. But, what I did get to do was ponder life a bit.
How often we get caught up in the day to day part of our lives and forget the big picture. Living in this wonderful land, I am blessed with so much that we Alaskan's take for granted when others can only imagine what it must be like.
Just before we left for our walk, a new moose (to our yard) wandered into the back yard. Of course we had to stop what we were doing to watch her. After about a half hour, we chose to leave the house, even though she was standing about 50 feet from the door we were exiting. We had watched her long enough to believe she would not be a threat to us.
While walking toward the new gate across the entrance to the swamp road, we saw a number of domestic rabbits hopping around. My first comment was, "There's coyote dinner." Because there were at least six of them, I'm guessing the owner is aware that they are loose. They seemed to stay pretty close to the driveway and would not let us get close to them.
So, here we are, walking along a deserted road, listening for wildlife, looking at not so distant, snow covered mountains. (three of which are volcanos, and one of those is becoming active agian) We have moose that visit our yard often, coyote howling in the swamp late at night or early morning, sometimes we get to see a wolf track in the swamp too. At each turn there is always new an wonderful sights to behold. Some might call this God's Country.
But, we are living in a sheltered view of this land. Yes, there is beauty every where you look, but there is also, pain and sorrow for many of the people that live here. The main topic of our converstion on this walk is about a friend who is struggling with life at the moment. The huge weight on her shoulders is more than any one person should ever bear. DH and I will step in and do what we can to ease her burdens, and pray for the best outcome. But, you see, the contrast is so great.
Mother Nature provides us this all of this beauty and wildlife, yet we humans can get lost in the troubles of our lives. Even while walking down this peaceful road, with the glory of our surroundings, the weight of the world can bear down on our shoulders.
Tonight, I think the Alaskan wonderland just isn't enough.
Rose
