It's been a long, long, long week.

But, the snow is melting, and that means I can finally get out and run. I love my quiet surroundings, when all I hear are my shoes pounding the pavement, my breathing (in for two steps out for two steps), and the birds chirping.

Hopefully it will stay that way, but I know my solitude will end. The land across the road is being developed and more people bring more noise with their four-wheelers during the summer and their snowmobiles during the winter.

The deer no longer come around; the bunnies will leave too. And I'll be back to having too many neighbors.

It's a shame we can't preserve open spaces but instead litter the world with houses and pollution. I would have liked to see God's original creation before we made a mess of it.