Happiness Lives Here!

Where necessity ends, desire and curiosity begin;

  no sooner are we supplied with everything nature can demand,

than we sit down to contrive artificial appetites.

                                Samuel Johnson

The gentle sounds of water splashing against the rocks protecting the shoreline, the soft hum of motorboats trolling the water, a chirping bird high in the trees above me and the interrupting bellow of the auctioneers speaker, these are the sounds surrounding me as I sit on a fossilized hunk of limestone at an auction on the bay.

It is beautiful here. I can only imagine how wonderful it would be to live here. The people who lived here probably jumped out of bed first thing every morning and ran to their big window, much like I do every morning on our farm, to enjoy this incredible view. This was once a Clydesdale horse farm with the best view I have ever seen, oh to farm in this place would be incredible. Happiness lived here.

I plan to never leave my beautiful view and they did not either but now someone else will be enjoying this view; all farmers stop farming at some point in their lives and someone else will take the reins. I talked to the Granddaughter and she was smiling so I knew happiness did indeed live and will live here again.

The sky is overcast and there is a high chance of rain, I sit here on this rock with pen and paper in hand smiling and thinking about the happiness that would surely live here. It is Bass season in this area and the bay is full of boats with fishing lines cast out into the cool water waiting for some fish to snap hold of that line and be pulled in. Children and adults sitting and waiting patiently enjoying each other’s company and making memories, I can see them watching me watching them. They are happy and so am I.

Memories flood back and I think about how much I miss sitting in a boat with my Mom and Dad during Bass season and those feelings of not really caring if I ever caught anything, making those memories and enjoying unforgettable conversations and that soothing feeling of security and love. The parents I see today are giving that same gift of memories that their children will never forget as their lines dangle in the water and a bobber floats on the waves enjoying conversations and laughter that floats into the air. A big splash in the water frightens me and I turn quickly.

There stands a Blue-capped young boy smiling while throwing another rock into the water. I say to him, Hi that looks like fun; I set down my pen and paper.

He picks up another rock and skips it across the water I watch it skip over the water seamlessly. Good job, I say to him. “Thank you” I ask, him if I could try. “Sure” I stand up walk over and I search the shore for a couple of flat rocks while I try to remember how to do this. With three, that I thought were perfect, rocks in my hand I throw, splash… straight to the bottom, I try again throw skip..skip. I watch the Blue-capped boy throw and we count together one…two …. three…four.. Wow you are very good at this. His reply “I live on a creek and practice most days” Well that explains it then; I live on a cow pond and don’t. He laughs. I pick up another rock I throw we count together one…two… sink, I am getting there; he smiles and I assume he is trying hard to hold in the laughter. He throws another rock we count together, one…two…three…four… five it sinks to the bottom  Wow! He turns to look at me with a big grin on his face.

His Grandmother who was standing behind us on the hill shouts down “It is time to go.”  He throws one more rock but it makes a big splash and disappears below the water then says “Bye, nice to meet you.” Nice to meet you too keep practicing. “I will.” I pick up another rock and throw it just like I saw him throw it one..two….sink. I walk back to that fossilized rock and pick up my pen and paper then walk over to the wooden dock, I sit down.

This farm is up for sale and while sitting on this wooden dock I dream about how nice it would be to live here. The price is high but on the waterfront with this view I knew it would be a little out of my price range. I dream about waking up every morning jumping up out of bed and rushing to see this incredible view then immediately running down the stairs, pulling my boots on and running down to the water to just sit and listen.

The gentle sounds of water splashing against the rocks on the shore, the soft hum of motorboats trolling the water, a chirping bird high in the trees above me, these are the sounds surrounding me I am smiling………. the loud bellow of the auctioneers voice crashes through that silence “Do I hear 40.” Back to reality.

Honestly, I don’t think Annie and I could handle all that relaxation. It is starting to rain, but yes indeed I am still smiling. Happiness did and will always live here. Read part 2 here.

Happy Canada Weekend, July 1st, to all my fellow Canadians. Be safe and have fun I know for a fact I will be going back to this same auction and sitting on that same dock with my pen and paper and wondering why we are not doing hay but not minding one little bit. There will be plenty of time for that round and round driving the baler. My Hero and I may be found standing in the rain enjoying every moment and the good news is there are no ladders in sight. We will also be looking for more of those unexpected Garage Sales I honestly hope it keeps raining. See you all Wednesday.

Later.