A Green Day

"All was a-shake and a-shiver--glints and gleams and sparkles, rustle and swirl, chatter and bubble. The Mole was bewitched, entranced, fascinated. By the side of the river he trotted as one trots, when very small, by the side of a man who holds one spellbound by exciting stories; and when tired at last, he sat on the bank, while the river still chattered on to him, a babbling procession of the best stories in the world, sent from the heart of the earth to be told at last to the insatiable sea."
--The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

I spent Saturday with three friends at the Royal Kew Gardens. It drizzled and poured, it gleamed and shone, but we had a grand time mucking about in the rain. Like Mole, I was entranced by the beauty of the gardens and wooded glades. I felt my mind unwind and open up to everything around me, instead of shutting down to keep out blaring traffic and crowded buildings.

High in the treetops, on a man-made walkway, I gazed out across the expanse of green, inhaling fresh air and feeling at home far from home.

Where are your favorite spaces? What stories do they inspire within you?