My backyard is such a peaceful spot to grab some “me time” while the little ones are off at school.

There is a gentle breeze flowing through this outdoor space, creating a wonderful display of leaves falling from the trees.  Fall is in the air, and I love it.

I am sitting on my wrought iron chair, with my laptop perched on the matching wrought iron table in front of me.  A large dark green umbrella with a wooden base is providing shade for me on this sunny morning.

Our table is on the back patio, accessible through our beautiful sliding glass door with white trim.

The sliding door is on the east side of our kitchen.  We typically leave this door open during the day to let the fresh outside breezes into our home.  The scents of flowers and fresh cut grass permeate our home through this door.

I see several fallen leaves blowing beneath my feet on the colorful rock/cement patio design below.

I can hear birds from all directions.  There are chirps from my side yard, both of my neighbor’s yards, and high up on the crabapple tree next to my table.

There is a bluejay hopping on the grass to my left.  The blue color on his head and back is beautiful and reminds me of the blues of deep ocean waters.  We see this particular bluejay almost every day, and we named him Arthur.

A plane just rumbled overhead, and reminded me of the sounds created by the lion stretching and yawning at the San Francisco zoo we visited this summer.

I can hear, in the distance, a neighbor trimming his hedges, and I can smell the scent of fresh cut grass.  He must be doing some yard work this morning.

On one of the wrought iron chairs to my left, an aqua and white striped towel is flung over the top of the chair.  The towel is faded from being exposed to large doses of chlorine over the summer.  This towel was used heavily by all three of my kids during this past summer for their swim workouts and pool outings.

On the south side of our yard, we have four large ornamental plum trees lining our fence.  They provide great privacy to our backyard and add a beautiful reddish purple color to the medley of greens and yellows in our landscape.

I can hear the soft rumble of cars going by, and stopping at the stop sign perched at the southwest end of our front lawn.

There is a woodpecker up on the crabapple tree pecking away at the trunk.

The sprinklers for the northwest section of our backyard just went on, and I can see the water left on the blades of grass glistening in the sun.

We painted our house last Fall with a color called “Elemental Green”, and I’m enjoying seeing the morning shadows from the crabapple tree reflected on the side of my house.

I should really come out to my backyard more often and listen to this medley of various sounds from the birds to the hedge trimmer to the sprinklers.  Its a soothing medley that creates a calming atmosphere.

Seeing leaves fall, and watching as tree shadows dance on the side of my house is also very peaceful and serene.

Its these simple sounds of life that have the ability to create a spa like atmosphere, if we just slow down to enjoy them.

Yes, I will visit my backyard again very soon.

This post topic was written for Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop 

I chose prompt #2: Listen to the sounds in your house for 5 or 10 minutes. Write about what you hear. (inspired by The Aums)