"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle.  But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth.  Everyday we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, curious eyes of a child--our own eyes. All is a miracle."
-Thich Nhat Hanh

A friend blessed me these words that she shared on facebook today.  I plan to frame them for my wall of inspiration!  They speak right to my heart and soul. 

My father shared this description of his solitary day yesterday (Easter Sunday), which illustrates the point in the above quote beautifully:

Spring is a bit later here in the mountains than the rest of this latitude and much more so than further south.  The leaves are not on most of the trees but some are blooming and some have small leaves.  The redbuds are going strong and some dogwoods are out too.  The crocus, daffodils, and tulips are blooming or finishing up doing so and both the purple and white lilacs are now in full bloom.
All the fields look like well manicured very lush grass lands as the weeds are all still quite small.  However, there are broad expanses of wild flowers, sometimes a sea of yellow, the wild asparagus is just beginning to sprout (had some raw stalks today, yum, an Easter treat).
A few bugs were out at the pond and only a few fish were cruising and feeding.  It is in a deep hollow that is shaded for much of the winter.  The little pond is higher than usual and all the streams are running briskly.  It seems there was a real gully washer recently, so the little creek behind the old house was washed clean to the rock bottom by the previously high rushing water.  There was no damage and only a few trees and limbs on the many roads and trails that traverse the place.
Lovely little flowering plants dot the woodlands everywhere.  There seemed to be little wildlife moving, only the prints of deer everywhere but they were lying low this afternoon.  Did not see any there or en route where twenty or more is typical.  Same for the squirrels.  It seems they all took the day off too.
The wind was constantly singing as wave after wave rolled through the trees.  I saw a few plants and flowers that I had never before seen.  There is water seeping out everywhere.
SPRING is SPRINGING!
Yesterday on Saturday, while in the nearby mountains picking up a new portable saw mill, I had the distinct pleasure of spending the afternoon learning to use it while stationed in the middle of a small Amish community in a rather isolated mountain valley.  What a wonderful experience it was to be among gentle but industrious folks.
At every break while looking about, there were teamsters hooking farm equipment to their horses in the paddock nearby or working them in the fields.  An open buggy rushed by with a gentlemen and two children in it.  A young lady in the distance appeared to be tending to rabbits in a line of hutches and crews of women and children were planting gardens or hoeing fields.
When I washed up before towing the saw mill away late in the day, I saw the inside of a building next to where I had been working.  It was a school house built of hand peeled and shaped logs with exposed beams and rafters.  There were benches and desks in the very large room and obvious lesson materials on the walls and such.
All in all, it was a busy well tended industrious and peaceful place of smiling and apparently happy people.  I did so enjoy it there.  I asked about visiting again some time and was told I would be welcome. 

Happy Easter again to all and good night.