Querencia

   It is a place where I can relate to nature and help my problems disappear.  I step out of my backyard and into my world of happiness.  This is my querencia.

   I hear cardinals chirping.  I smell the fresh made soil, bark and wood.  I feel the crisp chill on my cheeks from the north wind.  I hike with my dog and can feel the peace and quiet of the woods.  We go past streams, rivers, and lakes.  I can see the flowing, swirling ice in the waters below.  As I take a step, I hit a deer print in the frozen snow.  I climb on fallen trees with roots sticking out of the frozen soil.  My dog races after a squirrel he sees in the distance.  My querencia is the peaceful and soothing woods.

By Sam