Comments from the canyons: An hour in the country is worth a week in town

If you didn't drive around in our county Sunday, you missed one of the most beautiful afternoons of the year. The pastures now have grass, wild flowers are blooming, and all mesas are beautiful no matter what.

Near Quay, Prissy and I stopped to visit with Jenny, a white donkey, who so proudly carries the cross on her back and shoulders as did her forebear who carried the Holy Mother and Christ Child. She was standing amid her bovine friends when we stopped nearby, but her ears came up as she looked at us. She then came to the fence to receive her treats, which her owner had told me she likes. She ate as many as I would give her and managed to spill quite a few on the ground. Of course, she let me rub her ears and pat her back. As I turned to go, some of the cattle dared to join her in cleaning up the leftovers. One received a sharp kick, and all decided to leave her alone.

Prissy and I then did a little more driving, took our walk, and just enjoyed the quiet beauty of our surroundings. Not even a breeze was blowing at that time, so we could relax as we ambled along thinking our own thoughts. She had the energy to chase a few butterflies and grasshoppers, none of which she caught, and I had the energy to keep up with her without being dragged along. We were two happy companions just enjoying life.

Nature is a major healer of the mind and the heart. A muddled mind can become more settled, thus making semi-sane thought possible. Problems begin to seem almost laughable as one muses about them while amid those beautiful elements. How can troubles remain overwhelming when one is looking at the beauty, breathing the clean air, and relaxing with each step? Although the heart may be troubled, it, too, begins to beat to the quiet sounds in nature and lets a person know that the emotions causing a bit of sadness will lessen in time, and that all will be okay one day.

Sometimes, we don't realize just how fortunate we are to live in our Quay County. We may not take the time to appreciate the beauty and to let it change our negative thoughts into positive ones. Some of us seem to enjoy being negative and trying to drag those around us to that same level. Others of us would rather point out the positive reasons for existing, thus, trying to lift those around us to a higher level.

An hour in the country is worth a week in town, and gives us a chance to face that week in the event something untoward should happen. A brief visit with that beautiful white burro is worth far more than a week of listening to negative comments. Just watching her lift her ears when she knows she is going to receive a treat lets us see what a little attention can mean to a very old friend. If she has been able to carry her cross so gracefully for all these years, we should certainly be able to remain in a positive mood most of the time.

Lynn Moncus is a Tucumcari resident and can be contacted through the Quay County Sun by calling 575-461-1952.