Sitting out on the front porch, on a little wooden bench like in the movies, under the evening sunshine, listening to the birds chirping as I read and write is quite different from how I was spending my evenings this time last year.  At best it would have been on some terrace in front of an overcrowded, over-priced café with the sound of traffic, and the rumble of the metro beneath my feet.  If there’s one thing about the rural Canadian lifestyle that can’t be beaten it’s this.  Peace and tranquillity.  Don’t get me wrong; if you want something a little more lively, there’s always something going on not too far away, but the point is, unlike in many places if you want to escape from it all, all you have to do is switch off your phone, go and sit out on your front deck and take a look at what nature has to offer.

Birds are the creatures that nature has decided to show off this evening with their  fiery red breasts and jet black wings fluttering in and out of the tall bushes.  Small brown speckled sparrows twittering and swirling playfully make a welcome change from the ominous giant crows that have been hanging around throughout the bleak winter months.  A cool breeze shuffles through the tall grass displaying the first butterflies of the season and a little way down the dirt track by the house a dam shows evidence of an elusive beaver.  I must remember to take a walk again tomorrow to try and catch him off guard.

Opening the back door onto woodland, complete with woodpecker, muddy trails, pond-sized puddles filled with fish and even a friendly little squirrel jumping from tree to tree is not something that many of us can experience every day.  There’s no need to switch on the radio as a birdsong accompaniment is softly playing.  Even the sound of geese squawking is a more musical weekend wake-up call than car horns blasting on city streets.  All that’s left to do now is navigate my way through the flock of birds busy pecking, back to my bench and finish off soaking up the last of the day’s sun.  It’s a hard life!