A special place in nature

What are your memories of being outdoors as a child?

Did you have a special place in nature where you spent time?

My family moved a lot when I was a child. By the time I graduated from high school, I had lived in five different homes in three different states. In contrast, my husband grew up in the same farmhouse until he went to college and married.

Our childhood experiences are extremely different and yet, we have one powerful thing in common.  For both of us, our fondest memories of growing up are related to the outdoors.

He remembers the sights and sounds of running through fields, haying, herding the cows into the barn, and playing in the woods while his dad cut firewood.

I remember something distinct about each of the yards at the various houses, the sound of the creek that flowed along the edge of one of them, and the small area of woods at one house where I had a special tree in a clearing. I can feel the wind against my cheeks, the hard trunk of the tree against my back, the warm sunlight filtering through the treetops.

Nature provided me with many things-an opportunity to explore and discover on my own, a place to think and dream, and to feel secure and protected.

These are my “memories made green”. What are yours?

Nature Mamaw