Looking out the kitchen window and the traffic of life.

My kitchen window is over the sink and I always keep the shades open.  This enables me to look out into the backyard a lot during my day.  In the morning there are squirrels and birds eating at the feeders or on the ground.  The winter view is stark with bare limbed trees and brown grass.  Spring is the most fun with the greening of plants and increase in bird activity.  Summer is also very busy with the bird bath being frequented and fought over sometimes by the nosy blue jays.  Fall is beautiful with the changing colors of the leaves and the way they fall silently down to the ground.  I love my back yard.

We had company last night.  A friend who had just recently killed a beautiful buck and a feral hog on his seasonal hunting trip.  He then spoke of his love of the outdoors and how he could sit for hours waiting for the opportunity to see wildlife.  The way the squirrels and the birds behaved without knowing he was present. My thought was that I have that,minus the deer and hog, without traveling.

He then started to complain about the noise of the traffic that passes in front of my house.  I said that you stop worrying about it after awhile.  You hear it but its like the ticking of clock or the snoring of a dog.  Its sometimes brought to your attention when your worry about what time it is or where exactly is the dog and what is it doing.

The traffic noise is part of the background to my life and I can  gauge how the weather is just by listening to the sound the tires make on the pavement.  The shhhhhhhing noise of the wet.  The silence when it is so very icy and the occasional crunching when someone is brave enough to traverse the ice.  Morning is always about the traffic.  It makes me feel connected and helps to realize I am not alone. 

My mom complains about traffic in front of her house.  I don't think she likes being surrounded by others.  I want to always be surrounded by things I care for and the rest of the world is part of what I care about.    Life does exist for others and they have jobs, children, relatives and responsibilities that require they get in their cars and travel down the roads in front of peoples houses.  Sure, some people will hide away on roads with less or no traffic and pat themselves on the back for their good sense.  But for myself I like where I live.  I like thinking about the lives that are passing by and hoping that today is a good day.