I have my eyes open for the two cottontails we saw in the backyard last week.  We tossed out vegetable cuttings in the bushes for them.  They were two plump rabbits grazing in back.  We do see them occasionally around but I had not seen any in awhile.  I wonder where they come from and whether they nest under that large white pine in back.  Ever since I saw them I keep peering out my kitchen window for them.  It is going on a week since I last saw them.  I just wonder where they go in the winter, whether they hibernate, or what?  It has been months since I last saw them.

I don’t want to go far away.  Last I checked the temperature was seventy.  This could be the last time this year it hits seventy.  I want to enjoy the weather here.  If I can’t enjoy it in my own backyard, how can I possibly enjoy it any where else.  So I will stay put, walk around my property and see what I can, enjoy the sun here and every thing else around me.  I will watch my four dogs run around our fenced yard.  I don’t want to have to go any where but my backyard.  I don’t want to go far away.

Somewhere in the backyard buried in the woods is at least one large box turtle.  Every year he visits us.  Last year I saw him sunning himself on the concrete one hot simmer (summer???) day.  He must be at least eight inches long.

He must have seen quite a few winters.  When I think of box turtles I usually think of small ones.  I did not know they grew so big.  I am waiting to see if he will appear again.

It is just another mystery like those toads who also appears at our doorsteps all sizes from tiny to humongous and everything in between.  They like to feed on the insects the porch light attracts.

I wonder whether they hibernate in the cold weather?  I don’t know.  And how old do they get?  They appear when I least expect them to and I make sure none of the dogs harass them.  I want them to come back.  As well as the turtles.

Familiarity breeds discontent.  Sometimes paradise is in your own backyard.  For example I had no idea a large patch of raspberries lay in the furthermost right corner of my yard.  I discovered that accidentally when a surveyor came in because we had to know the exact boundary of our property.

I considered driving twenty minutes to go to a state park to go fishing.  I looked around and realized I only had to drive a few minutes to be at the shore of the River, which usually was deserted.  Paradise is always somewhere else.

I decided to stay put.  I plan on watching the sun go down on the mountains of the nearby Susquehanna River.  I simply will bring my Coleman lantern for light.  I may even build a fire to enjoy the darkness which will descend on the River.

I also considered camping there.  There is even a closer area for me to camp only mere minutes from me–Lake Heron.  Sometimes you have to take a closer look at your surroundings to determine you do not have to go far to find paradise.

Toads of all sizes keep appearing in front of our garage attracted by the night light.  You never know when a box turtle will turn up at our footsteps.  We discovered that another bird built a nest only steps away from our door.  Today I saw a bird alight on it but was not able to identify it for it flew away too quickly.

There is so much beauty in our own backyard.  I simply have to open my eyes to see what is actually in front of me.  I really do not have to go far to land in paradise.  It is here.  Right in front of me all along.  I just have to pay attention.