In the Fields

Painting by Harald Boehm, an artist born in 1965 in Bensheim

On Saturday, the cold and rain halted long enough for us to take a long bike ride (and rollerblade) through the villages -- Lorsch, Heppenheim, Bilbis, etc. - and fields of Bensheim. We knew that Sunday would follow with unending rain, so the sun that poured onto our shoulders was a welcome relief. 

Tina flew along on her rollerblades, happy with the sun and the wind. I followed along but stopped often to appreciate streams, horse farms, stray cats, a birds flying overhead, graveyards, and the fields of grain. We couldn't decide if the grain was rye or barley, but it seemed soft enough to hold us for a nap. And the rapeseed (from which canola oil is derived) bloomed all around with yellow flowers.

On one of our stops, Tina said that when she was a girl growing up in Moers, she'd often grab her rollerblades or bike and disappear for hours in the fields around her town. I can imagine now how comforting that must have been and how easy it was to get happily lost so close to home.

Nature heals. No matter where I am living - Charleston, Tennessee, Columbia, Atlanta, or Bensheim - being outside makes me feel peaceful and alive.