“501 Must Visit Natural Wonders Of The World,” is a book I have that has extraordinary accompanying photos on glossy paper.  I think this book was a Christmas present to my wife.  I am sure I bought it in the discount bin of a big book store.

Every once in a while I open it up and view one amazingly beautiful photo after another.  Travelling is not an option for me.  It is not that I would not mind.

If you can’t view the beauty right in front of you, a trip to one of these spots would be a waste of time and money.  I do not feel impoverished.  I am still thrilled every spring when life awakens.

For that matter, winter has its own beauty.  The Susquehanna River viewed from the top of the valley still takes my breath away.  Snowfalls isolate the street I live on and all the trees that are covered with white.  This only happens a few times a year.

I still love watching the birds come to and fro my feeders I view out side our large living room window.  It was not that long ago that the slate covered juncos came back.  I have a friend that calls them ‘snow birds’.

I have no need to go far to see beauty.  You first have to see what is in front of you before you travel at great expense to see the foreign and the exotic.  I will leaf through this book but I will not lust after these places depicted in glossy photographs.

I know there is much to see in my own backyard so I don’t have to go far to see beauty.  I just have to open my eyes and pay closer attention.  Wonders are all around.

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.