# What in nature has a calming effect on you? Do you find some things upsetting?



## Ruth n Jersey (Jul 23, 2018)

Do you like sunsets, the ocean, new fallen snow? I love the sound of a babbling brook and the quietness of a forest.  The sound of peepers in the evening and the smell of burning leaves in the fall. Sitting around a fire and watching the flames. 

Violent storms with intense wind upset me but I like to watch lightening. My Dad hated the ocean. He said it gave him the feeling of turmoil and a feeling of unrest. 

How do you feel about what Mother Nature offers us?


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## RadishRose (Jul 23, 2018)

My state put a ban on burning leaves many, many years ago so to smell that aroma again would just be nostalgic.  I do relax at the sound of gentle ocean waves. I did enjoy watching the flames in the fireplaces when I had them.


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## Don M. (Jul 23, 2018)

We like virtually Everything about Nature....that's why we moved to the country when we retired.  Watching the deers and other critters is interesting.  Living in the deep forest with minimal human noise and traffic is very restful.  Currently, we are being 'entertained" by gobs of hummingbirds buzzing around the feeders.  The air is clean, the well water is pure, and life is good.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jul 23, 2018)

I agree Don, and it sounds like you have your own little piece of heaven.   





Don M. said:


> We like virtually Everything about Nature....that's why we moved to the country when we retired.  Watching the deers and other critters is interesting.  Living in the deep forest with minimal human noise and traffic is very restful.  Currently, we are being 'entertained" by gobs of hummingbirds buzzing around the feeders.  The air is clean, the well water is pure, and life is good.


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## Warrigal (Jul 23, 2018)

Birds, whether a single bird at our bird bath or a flock of them somewhere out and about.


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## jujube (Jul 23, 2018)

Moving water.  If that water is moving over a waterfall, all the better.  Waves are good, too.


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## AprilT (Jul 23, 2018)

Nature is one of my most favorite things in the world, I love many things about it's why I enjoy my camping trips.  I used to hike, go for long walks, spend lots of time at beaches and parks.  Invite me to spend a day which involves the outdoors temperatures allowing, I'm in.  My tent center, April this year.



beach camping trip Oct last year


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## hollydolly (Jul 23, 2018)

I too find waterfalls very calming... 

I love to walk through the wood and forests close to my home.. and in the still of the night here the muntjacs in the woods barking to each other like dogs...


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## StarSong (Jul 23, 2018)

The ocean, watching it from the shore or a cruise ship balcony.  Not from a small boat though - they make me very seasick.


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## Lara (Jul 23, 2018)

Falling Snow in otherwise silence with a light blanket of snow all around is most calming for me in nature as long as I'm comfortably warm. What upsets me in nature is the survival of the fittest instinct as seen on National Geographic. I can't watch it.


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## SeaBreeze (Jul 23, 2018)

I absolutely love being out in nature and find it very calming and beautiful.  Walking through the forest, scent of pines, sounds of birds and other wildlife, rustling of leaves in fall or the sound of gentle rain falling on the trees, beams of sunlight peeking through the canopy.  I love watching the wildlife and have been blessed to see many, bears, deer, elk, moose, and many smaller creatures and birds. 

 I love sunsets and sunrises, and the peaceful vision of the heavens at night, stars, moon, northern lights, etc.  I love the rain and a good storm, and the fresh smell of the air afterwards.  I love the first snows, always a pleasant experience to welcome winter.    A slow running river or small creek with beaver dams and waterfalls is very calming.  I also love the ocean, the waves are powerful but peaceful, have bobbed over some big ones with and without a boat.


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## Gary O' (Jul 23, 2018)

*Calming
*
Oddly, storms, preferably on the coast
My mother owned a motel in Rockaway OR
I was the (free) on call maintenance/fix it guy
I’d usually get calls after a storm
But, there were times
Best place to sit and watch was near the jetty north of Garibaldi.
Fascinating 
I could sleep in the rage

For a scheduled weekender, I’d check the forecast, and grab a beach front place
Just me and my lady
Some soul warming spirits, a cracking flame in the stove, feet up, slouched into the couch beside my curled up lady, watching the fury of nature displaying her frustration and rage against the immovable rocks
Beats anything for me
Guess I’m the odd one

Also, fall, when leaves fall, the crispness of the air, crunching thru a path...I do like that and miss it...quite calming for me

I now have to settle for winter quietude out our back door










*Upsetting 
*
Nothing in nature upsets me
She has her ways of providing balance
It’s up to us to discover the whys
Sometimes rather difficult due to her not caring so much about time

However

As much as I enjoy the hunt, taking a soul grieves me to my core
It’s rarely a necessity anymore
But I still shoot them

With my Nikon


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jul 23, 2018)

Such beautiful photos and posts. Calming to me just to read and look at all of them. Thanks for sharing.


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## terry123 (Jul 23, 2018)

Love the sounds and smells of the beach.  Anything to do with water is very calming to me and renews my soul. Would love to live somewhere for a year to experience all 4 seasons.


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## Camper6 (Jul 24, 2018)

Just walking through the woods does it for me.


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## dkay (Jul 30, 2018)

I love nearly all nature has to offer. Water (lakes, ponds, rivers, oceans etc) is calming. I love birds, wild flowers, trees, animals. I love hearing coyotes sing and watching prairie dogs play. Even critters like tarantulas, lizards, turtles are interesting to watch.  The only things I really dislike are mosquitoes, horse flies, fire ants, hornets, some wasps...anything that is aggressive and out for my blood. I find weather events to be interesting but sometimes kind of  violent and frightening(baseball sized hail, tornados, floods, etc)  I love to watch meteor showers. Some sunrises and sunsets are stunning to see.


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## gennie (Jul 30, 2018)

Almost any of nature's wonders work for me.  Walking through the redwoods in northern California was like being all alone in a huge cathedral.


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## twinkles (Jul 30, 2018)

setting at the beach in the evening or walking thru the woods has a calming effect for me


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## ProsperosDaughter (Jul 30, 2018)

I know it sounds simple; but just the blue sky does it for me. I think of the sky above my house as being my property and I love to look up at the sky through the trees in my back yard. Peek out the back door look up and instant peace.


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## DaveA (Jul 30, 2018)

Quiet falls such as this.  Beede's Falls in Sandwich Notch, New Hampshire.  Shaded, quiet, and you can stand under the lip of the falls.  When I was a child, my family and I used to visit here when on vacation back in the 1950's.  The road to the Falls was dirt back then and was still dirt in 2016 when my wife and I paid a visit.


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## Marie5656 (Jul 30, 2018)

*I love lying in bed listing to a steady rainfall.  I find it calming.  I do enjoy a violent thunderstorm (so long as it is not distructive). My favorite childhood memory is being told that when it thundered, the angels were bowling, and the lightening flash was either a strike or God taking their picture, depending on who told the tale.*


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## Falcon (Jul 30, 2018)

I love to play in the sky  flying  a small  aerobatic  rental  airplane  in a traffic free sky area.

Can't do much of it now though.  Costs  too much for me.  My Uncle Sam  used to treat me  but not any more.


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## C'est Moi (Jul 30, 2018)

Thunderstorms and the clean ozone air that comes before them.  

Also beer.  I think that's natural.


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## AprilT (Jul 30, 2018)

DaveA said:


> Quiet falls such as this.  Beede's Falls in Sandwich Notch, New Hampshire.  Shaded, quiet, and you can stand under the lip of the falls.  When I was a child, my family and I used to visit here when on vacation back in the 1950's.  The road to the Falls was dirt back then and was still dirt in 2016 when my wife and I paid a visit.



Lovely, me like very much.

I love the sounds of water in its various forms, rain falling as others mentioned is wonderful too.  Listening to it while lying in bed is quite a delight.  In my youth, I loved taking walks and running in the rain.  I still like the feel of it dropping on me and I won't rush to get in the door if I don't have packages.  

I agree Marie, the sound is very calming


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## Ferocious (Aug 10, 2018)

When I'm having a lovely dream about a beautiful woman, then my sleep is interrupted by the need to go to the loo.......that upsets me.....but when I return to bed and resume my dream and the beautiful woman is still there.....that 'calms' me.....well maybe not 'calms' me....more like excites me.....I'll stop now......:hatlaugh1:


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## Wren (Aug 10, 2018)

I’m fortunate enough to live by the sea and the sound of gentle waves lapping as the tide comes in always calms me


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## Pappy (Aug 10, 2018)

A long walk in the woods use to do it for me. 
Now, earphones on, listening to nice music.


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## Pam (Aug 10, 2018)

A walk along the nearby channelside does it for me.


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## RadishRose (Jul 12, 2019)

Not only the sea, but the light scent of ferns in the forest.


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## win231 (Jul 12, 2019)

I don't get much of a calming effect from scenic surroundings - trees, a brook, flowers, etc.

But I've NEVER been able to look at any animal without smiling & being calm.


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## norman (Jul 12, 2019)

*A Key West sunset cruise.*


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## terry123 (Jul 12, 2019)

The sea, lake, any kind of water soothes me.  Also, any type of ferns.  When I had a greenhouse and a multi tiered patio, I had 40 ferns in pots, hanging baskets and beds.  My mother actually counted them and I was surprised to know I had that many.  They are so easy to grow and I naturally see a piece on the ground and put it in a pot of soil an another plant is born.  I miss that so much but still have 4 pots of Boston fern on my patio.


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## RadishRose (Jul 12, 2019)

win231 said:


> I don't get much of a calming effect from scenic surroundings - trees, a brook, flowers, etc.
> 
> But I've NEVER been able to look at any animal without smiling & being calm.


YouTube is full of wonderful animals and funny ones too. I watch some every day.


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## Ruthanne (Jul 13, 2019)

I like to watch the snow fall in the Winter and take a brisk walk if it's not too cold.  Love the sound of rain falling and the smell of the air after.  Love to watch the sun rise and set.  Like the feeling of a coolish breeze on a warm summer night.


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## Judycat (Jul 13, 2019)

Those drops of water hanging from evergreen needles and long grass in the morning just after dawn. The angle of the sun causes a prism effect and if you move slowly, side to side you get to see all the colors of the rainbow individually.


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## toffee (Jul 14, 2019)

find watching artists painting  very calming  / upsetting watching lions going in for the kill switch it off -


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## hollydolly (Jul 14, 2019)

Me too..I can sit and watch an artist painting all day and just enjoy the calmness of it.especially if they have a soft gently  voice as they describe what they're painting!!

I wish there were more TV shows with artists just painting and and no competitions like some of the shows here now.. just something like Bob Ross...


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## treeguy64 (Jul 14, 2019)

Put me out in the great outdoors, in any natural setting, whatsoever, and I can feel an inner peace, almost immediately. The air in Austin is terrible, getting worse, and once Janet and I get away, and into an area where the air is relatively clean, I feel so much better.


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## squatting dog (Jul 14, 2019)

Watching the sun sink into the horizon. Anything to do with nature, sitting around a warm fire in the wood stove on a winter night, soft music, the list goes on and on.


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## Marie5656 (Jul 14, 2019)

*I am revisiting ths post. I know I answered about the calming things in nature, but the OP also asked about anything upsetting.  I do not know if this is really considered upsetting, but since I have had the deck , I have been sitting outside a lot more.  A couple weeks back I could not sleep, so about 10PM I went to sit outside. Did not turn on the light, so it was pretty dark out.  I was a bit creeped out by some of the night sounds that I am not used to hearing.  Maybe because I could not identify them.
One thing I noticed was no crickets.  I though they were everywhere.  I asked a neighbor, and he agreed..no crikets.*


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## johndoe (Jul 14, 2019)

Lara said:


> Falling Snow in otherwise silence with a light blanket of snow all around is most calming for me in nature as long as I'm comfortably warm. What upsets me in nature is the survival of the fittest instinct as seen on National Geographic. I can't watch it.


Falling snow in otherwise silence perfectly describes the ideal ice fishing trip. Today no ice, but I sat in a shaded spot by a local lake and fished and just listened to nature's and not people's sounds.


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## Lara (Jul 14, 2019)

thats beautiful john. i used to live in bucks county in an old renovated creamery on a pond...many fond memories there. i broke my shoulder last week so can't do caps on keyboard


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## hypochondriac (Jul 15, 2019)

tall trees
birds tweeting
running water/brook
hint of rain
humid climate
rainforest trail
hills/mountain climb


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## jujube (Jul 15, 2019)

Upsetting: a howling, whistling wind.  Creeps the bejeezuts out of me.


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## AnnieA (Jul 15, 2019)

Soft, cool rain instead of blazing heat in Mississippi in July.   That's today thanks to the remnants of TS Barry!   Also love wind.

I don't like lightning close up and hate tornadic fronts.  Even without the formation of a tornado,  there's a primal feeling that a beast is lurking ...some sort of atavistic fear due to barometric pressure, swirly wind patterns, dewpoint levels etc.


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## Liberty (Jul 16, 2019)

Rocking on the swing on the back deck.  Nothing is as calming as that back and forth, gentle movement...looking up at the trees and sky.
Life is good!


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## Bob1950 (Jul 16, 2019)

Morning fIshing on the calm lake.


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## nan (Jul 16, 2019)

The far outback south australia camping at a sheep station no noise except for sheep, birds, and running water in the creeks when they have had rain, and the beautiful stary nights, and no mobile phone cover.


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## nan (Jul 16, 2019)

One of the stations we have stayed at  is Almerta it has been very dry there this season and the landscape looks very dry, it usually looks very nice in the spring time its great camping there and our dog can run free, but is a bit wary of the kangaroos as they are not familiar to him.there is another Station that we have stayed at called Alpana, https://www.facebook.com/alpanastation/
https://www.facebook.com/almertastationSA/


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## Pappy (Jul 17, 2019)

Calming.....a long walk in the woods.

Upsetting....getting lost in those woods.


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## Liberty (Jul 17, 2019)

Lara said:


> thats beautiful john. i used to live in bucks county in an old renovated creamery on a pond...many fond memories there. i broke my shoulder last week so can't do caps on keyboard


Laura, so sorry about your shoulder.  Presume you are having it reset?


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## RadishRose (Jul 17, 2019)

Marie5656 said:


> *I am revisiting ths post. I know I answered about the calming things in nature, but the OP also asked about anything upsetting.  I do not know if this is really considered upsetting, but since I have had the deck , I have been sitting outside a lot more.  A couple weeks back I could not sleep, so about 10PM I went to sit outside. Did not turn on the light, so it was pretty dark out.  I was a bit creeped out by some of the night sounds that I am not used to hearing.  Maybe because I could not identify them.
> One thing I noticed was no crickets.  I though they were everywhere.  I asked a neighbor, and he agreed..no crikets.*


@Marie, I think the crickets make noise during their mating season. Maybe it's over now up where you are? I haven't been out on my deck after dark in a long time, so I'm not sure about here. (I'm afraid of mosquitoes)


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## Keesha (Jul 17, 2019)

Don M. said:


> We like virtually Everything about Nature....that's why we moved to the country when we retired.  Watching the deers and other critters is interesting.  Living in the deep forest with minimal human noise and traffic is very restful.  Currently, we are being 'entertained" by gobs of hummingbirds buzzing around the feeders.  The air is clean, the well water is pure, and life is good.


Ditto.


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## Liberty (Jul 18, 2019)

Keesha said:


> Ditto. ❤


Nothing like the balm of nature to soothe your soul.  We've lived in a nature setting for many years.  For years, we used to go stay for the month of January in a SW Florida beach front condo...it was only then we realized how much nature and  privacy we enjoyed on a daily basis. Seems like everyone that comes to stay with us really relaxes and sleeps like babies, too. Nothing like it.


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## StarSong (Jul 18, 2019)

Although not a calming experience, I do love when a heavy storm hits, especially when there's thunder and lightning, and presuming that I don't have to be out in it.  They only occur once or twice a year here, so it is a rare spectacle.


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## fmdog44 (Jul 18, 2019)

Powerful rain storms that we get living near the Gulf Coast. I step out on the balcony every time they occur because it gives me the feeling life giving water refreshing the planet.


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## Liberty (Jul 18, 2019)

Not a fan of lightning. We took a lightning hit last month...the big white bolt struck the ground not far from the house and it came into the lines.  Fried our phones and one bedroom TV and A/C's.  Luckily the A/C's could be repaired for less than $1300.  It took a day and a half and replacing 2 thermostats. Replaced surge protector on the big screen and bedroom TV.  Found out you should get new ones now anyway as the old power surge protectors take the spikes and are worn out and ineffective even though the light still shows they are ok.

That's the downside of lightening of course.  Florida has the most lightening strikes. We don't live in Florida. We've lived here in Texas for almost 40 years and have had an indirect hit twice in that time.  Years ago, it hit a big oak tree by the garage. Believe it or not that big old tree is still alive. It peeled a strip off the bark all the way down the tree about 2" wide and 1/2" deep. We're on a hill, in the woods.  This year it seems there have been way more "cloud to ground" lightening events going on.  About 1 in 10 lightening events are cloud to ground.


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## RadishRose (Jul 18, 2019)

Liberty said:


> Not a fan of lightning. We took a lightning hit last month...the big white bolt struck the ground not far from the house and it came into the lines.  Fried our phones and one bedroom TV and A/C's.  Luckily the A/C's could be repaired for less than $1300.  It took a day and a half and replacing 2 thermostats. Replaced surge protector on the big screen and bedroom TV.  Found out you should get new ones now anyway as the old power surge protectors take the spikes and are worn out and ineffective even though the light still shows they are ok.
> 
> That's the downside of lightening of course.  Florida has the most lightening strikes. We don't live in Florida. We've lived here in Texas for almost 40 years and have had an indirect hit twice in that time.  Years ago, it hit a big oak tree by the garage. Believe it or not that big old tree is still alive. It peeled a strip off the bark all the way down the tree about 2" wide and 1/2" deep. We're on a hill, in the woods.  This year it seems there have been way more "cloud to ground" lightening events going on.  About 1 in 10 lightening events are cloud to ground.


What a pain the strike was for you!


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## RadishRose (Jul 18, 2019)

Ice storms are upsetting to me.


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## Liberty (Jul 18, 2019)

RadishRose said:


> Ice storms are upsetting to me.


Yeah RR...ice storms were upsetting to me too...when we lived up north.  Some areas of the country seem to have a lot of ice storms.


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## Camper6 (Jul 18, 2019)

Marie5656 said:


> *I love lying in bed listing to a steady rainfall.  I find it calming.  I do enjoy a violent thunderstorm (so long as it is not distructive). My favorite childhood memory is being told that when it thundered, the angels were bowling, and the lightening flash was either a strike or God taking their picture, depending on who told the tale.*



We were told they were washing clothes in heaven and dumping the barrels.


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## Liberty (Jul 18, 2019)

RadishRose...know what the funniest thing was about the lighting strike?  When the AT& T guy came and re set the internet box - he said "al the phones are smoked' ... but just then the oldest landline phone we had - an old office phone from the 80's, started ringing.  My hubby answered it and it was a meadicare scam call asking for his # so they could send him a new card.  How funny! Hey, the phone is fried but the scammers can still get through?!


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## RadishRose (Jul 18, 2019)

Liberty said:


> RadishRose...know what the funniest thing was about the lighting strike?  When the AT& T guy came and re set the internet box - he said "al the phones are smoked' ... but just then the oldest landline phone we had - an old office phone from the 80's, started ringing.  My hubby answered it and it was a meadicare scam call asking for his # so they could send him a new card.  How funny! Hey, the phone is fried but the scammers can still get through?!


That is too funny @Liberty ! And tells me that telephones were probably built better back then. But of all the calls to get...a scammer. LOL


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## Liberty (Jul 18, 2019)

RadishRose said:


> That is too funny @Liberty ! And tells me that telephones were probably built better back then. But of all the calls to get...a scammer. LOL





RadishRose said:


> That is too funny @Liberty ! And tells me that telephones were probably built better back then. But of all the calls to get...a scammer. LOL


You got that right RadishRose...so cooL!  Perfect timing


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## Patio Life (Jul 28, 2019)

Just being outside is calming. Forest, ocean, desert, looking at the sky, stars, birds. I enjoy wandering around with no destination in the urban core too, the tall buildings humans have designed and engineered fascinate me as well.


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## Liberty (Jul 28, 2019)

Patio Life said:


> Just being outside is calming. Forest, ocean, desert, looking at the sky, stars, birds. I enjoy wandering around with no destination in the urban core too, the tall buildings humans have designed and engineered fascinate me as well.


Wondered if anyone else ever notices that when you go outside - say on a porch or deck, sit down and just let your mind/eyes/senses scan over the nature scenery around...your breath naturally slows down and all at once you feel lifted up and a part of all you are taking in? I've done that sitting in our gazebo.  Got to watch, because a half hour can go by in what seemed like the twinkling of a cloud passing overhead.


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## DaveA (Jul 28, 2019)

A view across the lake to our cottage on the far side. hardly any people, no traffic, no lights at night, and only the sound of creatures moving about.


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## Liberty (Jul 28, 2019)

DaveA said:


> A view across the lake to our cottage on the far side. hardly any people, no traffic, no lights at night, and only the sound of creatures moving about.View attachment 73446


Looks like there are some fish in that beautiful lake!  Great place to "kick back".


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## Seniorinva (Jul 28, 2019)

This is what brings peace to me. And walking in fresh snow at night with a full moon. Like daylight....


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## Sassycakes (Jul 28, 2019)

A Beautiful view of a clear sky. Just looking at the clouds calms me. What upsets me is the sound of loud thunder and then seeing lightening.


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