Winterwood: What Are Those Sounds?

Today is my birthday.  Right now I am sitting high above ground on a porch overlooking the beautiful Beaver Lake at a cottage near Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  The name of this cottage is actually Winterwood Lakeside Cottage.  Ron and I began coming here years ago because I wanted a place with "a porch overlooking a lake" and this spot just happened to have a recording studio on the property.  For those who know my history, this is where Piano Prayers cds were born.

(The beauty of this area is beyond words and if you really want to know more about it, then go to:
Winterwoodlakesidecottage.com and read all about it.)

Ron and I arrived here on Monday evening and immediately recalled why we come up this mountain, take many turns, and still wonder when we will ever get here.  But, once we do, we understand why. Here you find nature waiting for you as you enter the property and if you let it, the doors to the outside world close behind you figuratively.

So back to those sounds.  Does one truly understand what "quiet" sounds like anymore?  I am listening to the conversations of birds going on right now that are so lyrical and sweet.  I know we have birds in our backyard at home.  But, they are pretty well thwarted out by the bulldozers, tractors, and uprooting that is going on behind our fence.  Here it is as if the birds have an undistrubed front stage.  They are backed up by the sound of the waves rippling up to the shore, the soft breezes as they pass through a blanket of trees with more colors of green that my friend, Cathy, could ever find in her paint box, and only an interruption now and then of an owl or a woodpecker wanting to join in on the conversation.

Then there's that new sound:  the crunch of the rocks, gravel, and leaves as our feet have taken long walks down the road or down the 92 steps to the lake.  Ron and I have walked a lot, challenging my fitbit every time to see how many steps we can get.  We have talked without the interruption of mindless tv shows or commercials about medications that will almost kill you if you take them. Now, don't think we have totally cut ourselves off here.  There is wireless internet and, yes, we have checked social media, played games, and watched a movie each night.  But, not constantly. I think they call this totally relaxing.

Five years ago both of us were prisoners in our own home due to illnesses that neither of us truly knew we would survive.  But, through the grace of God, we did.  We are two very fortunate and grateful people and every day is a celebration.  But, sometimes you have to go over the top with where to celebrate, and for us, that place is and always will be Winterwood.

The sounds of the rain are making me a little sleepy, so I think I will go inside and get another cup of coffee....and maybe grab a sweater.  After all, it is 64 degrees here this morning and one can get a little chilly!