44 NEBRASKAland • NOVEMBER 2016
them appearing so beautiful and alive.
I remember being under the stresses of nursing school months
before, looking forward longingly to the moments I was planning
to share with nature. I could hike alone, make photographs as
I pleased, and relax by a small fire. It seemed so far away at
the time, but as I finally sat barefoot and alone along the bank,
tending that small fire, I couldn't help but smile, knowing that
when I had imagined these moments they seemed absolutely
perfect.
And they were.
■
These tiny fl owers, no bigger
than a dime, are an example
of the beautiful world right
at the feet of all of us if we
stop and look.