It’s just a flowering plum tree, only it’s not just that. For ten years we’ve watched a flowering plum tree with dark burgundy leaves grow in our backyard. Each spring it delights with pink clouds of plum blossoms. Today, we noticed that for the first time, the tree is loaded with cherry-sized, sweet plums. We picked seven pounds of them this afternoon, and we barely made a dent on the fruit hanging in the tree.

Nothing is just a whatever. It’s always something much more.

We all want to be comfortable. For Rusty, that means a whole body scratch against a concrete block.

For Svenda, comfort is digging a big hole in the garden and sitting in it. It’s cool in the hole. Chickens enjoy finding cool spots for their afternoon siestas. Nothing beats a deep hole in the shade.

What is about the outdoors that is so full of happiness? What is about a hen sitting on eggs that makes you smile?

What is it about fuzzy, blue flowers that make you giggle? What is it about a curious hen that makes you laugh?

Why do our eyes light up when we see bees gathering pollen on flowers? Why do we find it so soothing to lie down and look up at the flowers?

Why does the fresh scent of mint flowers calm our minds? Why does the sight of ripening plums and apples fill us with such hope? Why? Why? Why? The answer is outdoors where happiness is.

After a brief lull in our warm, summer weather, the sun is back out in full force, and I’m weeding the pea patch. Fortunately, I’m not alone. I’ve got help. BB is nearby keeping company. Sometimes just being there is all that matters.

It’s early July and the alder leaves are falling steadily. Usually, they don’t cover the ground like this until mid August. Every year is different. We never experience the same season twice in our entire lives. Each spring is subtly different than the one before it. Each summer is warmer, drier, wetter, cloudier, happier, sadder, windier, calmer, never the same twice.