Barefoot in the Park

 

As older folks, sometimes we do nothing all weekend, or at least nothing of any consequence anyway. This was one of those weekends. 

Although, during the puttering around the house, my creative man asked if I wanted to go for a picnic in the park. Of course, this meant a bit of bundling up because of the autumn chill in the air, but that's okay. I was good with that. Off we went to the store to grab bags of chips and then to the local deli where they have good Reuben sandwiches for Terry, and for me, the thought of a Hawaiian panini sounded so good. Before leaving home, I threw some salami and a tray of various cheeses into the mix. 

The park was beautiful and welcoming as always. Our favorite leaning spruce tree was inviting once again. We placed the bags, cooler, and chairs near our tree, took up our positions in the chairs and spent time looking around at the amazing fall beauty the park provided. Stunning.

Terry, under our favorite tree, giving it a hug as we typically do when we arrive. If you've never felt the energy of a tree, try it some time. put your hands on the bark and take it all in. Yes, you can call us tree huggers and we are perfectly fine with that. 

Trees of every color lit up the park environment. Stunning beauty our Mother Nature gives us in every season. 

The vibrant colors of fall, along with the crisp, clean air creates a gorgeous, serene place to be. Terry's idea of a picnic was wonderful, and I'm glad we did it. Chilly? A little. But the surrounding eye candy is so worth it!

Even the trees that have leaves ready to fall to the ground add color to the scene. 

There are many varieties of trees in the park, and with the juxtaposition of the bright colors against the evergreens growing in between, it's a perfect mural Mother Nature has painted for us to enjoy. 

With fall comes the early darkness. We positioned the chairs and bag, cooler, and ourselves to prepare for dinner. But we had much more than dinner tonight. It was dinner and a show. 

This magnificent boy walked through the park in front of us, making an attempt to avoid people and find a spot to bed down for the night. 

We spent time oohing and awing over the beauty around us. The buck was a topper to the picture. Terry opened his Reuben and began to eat his dinner. I opened my Hawaiian panini and began to enjoy each warm bite. 

Dinner almost done and just in time. Dusk was among us, giving us a hint that our outing was almost done. We spent a few moments discussing things about life in general, then realized that dusk sky was turning to darkness. It was time we ended our picnic in the park. 

What a beautiful way to spend time together. Dinner seems to taste better in the crisp air of fall and the scenery is unbeatable. Great company, as always, and the placement of our chairs in our front row seats to see all of this amazing beauty is a wonderful change to sitting in front of the television, watching our show. 

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Tomorrow Terry returns to work for the day. I have a house to clean and jewelry to work on. But this weekend, even though there were no spectacular events in our life, we have each other to enjoy, along with the trip to the park. I love this park and to have dinner there is an opportunity I do not want to miss. 

Our Oregon Ducks won the game against Iowa on Saturday. That is another crazy game they pulled out of the gym bag for the second time this year. A field goal took us home with a win. We scraped by with an 18-16 win. That field goal saved us from losing. Kudos to our kicker, Atticus Sappington, for kicking 39-yards of sheer excitement. Great win. 

Thanks goes to Iowa too, for such an exciting game. Definitely a nail biter. 

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Outside of the close call of the game and our picnic, this is our weekend. The rest of the time we spent puttering around the house, Terry went to get his haircut, and we went to the store a couple of times. Heart-stopping excitement, yeah? 

It's okay though. We enjoy having weekends where absolutely nothing happens. It calms the soul and gives us time to spend together. We seem to do that well. Our home is comfy, without drama, and that is perfect in our world. 

Until our next dramatic, fun-filled weekend and post, we wish all of you well. Our hope for you all is plenty of love, kindness, and peace in your lives. If you haven't yet, take a walk through a park or downtown. Enjoy the splendor of fall and all it has to offer. 

Until next time, take care. 

Terry & Vicki Macrae

Partners in the Park