Its a perfectly sunny day, and I’m sitting on a redwood bench in a local park that is tucked away in the corner of my small town.

The bench is painted a chocolate brown color.

The large screws that hold the seat to the base are painted over with the brown paint as well.  This must be an older bench.  It appears to be on its third coat of paint at least.  It is secured to the cement ground by large steel legs.

In front of my bench is a large expanse of beautiful, perfectly manicured green grass.  The shadows from the surrounding trees are all moving along the grass, signifying the flow of life and movement through this secluded park space.

There is a wonderful breeze whipping through the large maple trees to the right of my bench.  The breeze is so strong today that the movement of the leaves and branches reminds me of angry waves collapsing on a sandy beach.

To the left of my bench are giant redwoods.  Redwood trees are absolutely magnificent.  In contrast to the maple trees, they stand strong against the unyielding breeze and release little movement.

There are birds chirping all around me that seem to be chatting with each other from one end of the park to the other.  Some of them sound happy, while others sound a bit snippy.

I hear off in the distance someone hammering.  I also hear a leaf blower from the group of large homes off to the right in the distance.

I have come to this park many times with my husband and three kids, but have never noticed that it  actually sounds like a busy aviary.  Very peaceful and soothing.

Maybe the birds flee to the hills when the kids overrun this park after school.  🙂

There is a playground set about 500 feet to my left, where I hear the happy laughs of a toddler going down the new windy slide that was just installed a few months ago.

Behind the new playground is a sand volleyball court.  I remember one summer attending a “camp out” here with a large group of our friends.  I say “camp out” in quotes because our homes are all within 2 miles of this park.  We were not exactly in the wild roughing it. 🙂

I remember during one of those camp outs, I had to leave at 10pm, because Imagineer was 3 years old and was unable to get comfortable in our tent on the sandy volleyball court.  I was actually relieved to “have” to leave early.

I think now that the kids are quite a bit older, I should probably try the whole camping thing once again.  I might be pleasantly surprised.  As long as I can bring my air mattress.  🙂

I hear cows mooing on the grassy hills behind me and a rumbling plane just passed overhead.

The drinking fountains in this park are green and stand out as a refreshing spot on sweltering days during the summer.

There are picnic tables to my right that remind me of the last day of school parties that we have attended here over the years.

This particular picnic area plays host to many exciting parties to celebrate momentous occasions including birthday parties, soccer parties, swim team parties, graduation parties etc…

There is a 4 foot wide paved path circling the large expanse of grass that visitors use every day for walking or running or walking their dogs.

Bam-Bam, Imagineer and Broadway have all utilized this path to learn how to ride their bikes.  It provides the perfect “fall”space with the fluffy grass on the left side of the path.

This park has been very special over the years, and will continue to provide a wonderful nature retreat for many occasions ahead of us.

I love visiting my local park, especially during the quieter moments. 🙂