Crafts, Cooking, Farmers Market Addictions: Feeding the Soul

Clapton in front of Lake Rush

January is typically a time of reflection so I'm going to do something a little different for this month's post. I gave up making resolutions several years ago but last year I listened to several different podcasts that discussed goal setting and keeping track of them on a monthly basis so I set several goals for the year and tracked them every month in a little notebook. This month I looked back at my goals to see how I did, several were completed, the majority I at least worked on consistently and a few weren't addressed at all. I set new goals for this year most of them the same as last year, things like reading so many books a month, crocheting items to use up my yarn stash, organizing and cleaning out areas in my house, writing monthly blog posts and things of that nature. One of my favorite goals from last year that I'm continuing with this year is visiting and keeping track of visits to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge that is about 25 miles from us. It is part of the National Wildlife service, with over 59,000 acres of mountains, prairie and abundant wildlife to include buffalo, longhorns, elk, eagles, and prairie dogs to name a few.

The scenery is breathtaking, views of lakes, mountains, and prairies. There are a wide variety of hiking trails, plus various outdoors activities. They also have a really nice visitors center and gift store. My family and I have been going out to the wildlife refuge for years, ever since my girls were little and it's still a family favorite activity. My oldest daughter, Tabitha, calls it refuge therapy and she often goes out by herself to photograph and video various scenes in all seasons. We also take our dog, Clapton, out in remote areas so he can run around and explore without being on a leash, it's his favorite place to go.

Prairie view

Longhorn grazing next to road

A couple of Sundays ago, when I got out of church and the sun was shining and the temperature was 69 degrees, which is fantastic for January, I decided that Clapton and I needed a little refuge therapy. My husband and daughters had gone out of town so I was spending a quiet weekend alone with our animals. I drove out with Clapton who was very excited in the back seat and we found a remote lake that we hadn't been to before. There was just us and a man fishing so we had the place to ourselves to walk around and I took pictures. We then drove over to another area that is a favorite of ours that has great vistas and I walked a bit while Clapton explored on his own. It was such a beautiful day and we really enjoyed ourselves. I felt a peace come over me after spending a hectic week at work. Being out in nature is really therapeutic for me which is why I decided to take advantage of the weather and just go. This year I've decided that I need to visit each month if possible, even for an hour or so, just to feed my soul and enjoy God's creations. Last year we went out at least 10 times during the year, mostly in Spring and Fall, but there's things to see and do in every season.

Clapton on the prairie

My hope for you in 2018 is to find things in your life that feed your soul and that you take the time on a regular basis to take advantage of the beauty around you. If you're a nature lover like me, find a local park, National park or wildlife area near you to visit. Another thing I like do is to visit National and State parks when I'm traveling so I include nature time in my tourist schedule to just have time to unwind.

This year take some time to indulge in your favorite pastime in order to feed your soul. It will be time well spent.

Enjoy,

Bamah