the river.

On June 8, we took off and spent the day on the river in Decorah.

It was better than it's ever been.

I was more aware.

Awake.

In tune with everything around me.

The trickle of the water, the birds chirping. The wind in the huge trees overhead. The sun peeking in and out behind the clouds just enough to warm my skin, but not enough to to make me sweat. 

So peaceful.

Calm.

I learned things: Ever wondered how silver maples got their name? The under sides of the leaves are silver which you can see as they blow in the wind.

We saw a lot of things:

Bridges

Wild yarrow

Orioles 

Goldfinch

Snake

Cardinal

Cows

Deer

Fox 

Trout

Barn swallow nests on the rocks

Carp

Wild roses

Waterfall 

2 geese with babies tucked back in the grasses

Bald eagle

And a blue heron escorted us down the river, swooping in ahead of us along the way, perching as we approached, then flying off ahead of us again.

He was with us.