The Great Outdoors
Alfresco
Alfresco (adj.) taking place or located in the open air.
Whatever protective gear you might require, don it... and get outside.
Wear layers, for it's always wise to be prepared for what nature can unleash. She demands our respect. No matter the season, there are wide open spaces to see, where you can feel the wind on your face, and find a plethora of things to do... in the great outside!.
Climates and activities change with the season. Humans simply adjust.
Whether your local area is enjoying the new budding and warming of spring, layers start to come off; if it is at the height of the year's last vestige of summer - indian summer - this earthen phenomenon can be enjoyed in t-shirts and shorts; if it experiencing cooling temperatures and hints of snow, the layers go back on; but get out and partake in any manner of moving sport - biking, ATVing, walking, hiking, skiing, cross-country, RVing (hmmmm, another story).
Whatever your heart's desire may be - a thrilling mountain-bike ride, or a leisurely walk in the cool fall air - make it a consistent happening. The wide expanse of the great outdoors beckons...
It can become an addiction. Stamina builds, muscles tone, lung capacity expands... just an overall feeling of well-being. Never mind the vistas witnessed, or the thrills experienced... Just once, you might meet up with a lone coyote, who stares at you for a moment... then saunters on his way. Well... out here in the West, anyway...
The dirt of the earth beneath your feet (or tires), the blue of the sky above you. The only intervention into this open-air addiction? ... possibly the company of a like-minded soul-spirit. No chattering, no cellphones, no MP3s or Ipods... just nature, and the sounds of your own breathing, maybe your lithlely placed footsteps, or the whirr of your pedals as you maneuver rocky steps and switchbacks. One note of absolute caution... always bring plenty of water, and maybe a PowerBar or two - for a day trip.
The nods of fellow enthusiasts who have already been to the end, and are returning... say it all.
Wading out into a smoothly-flowing river in waders, armed with equipment geared toward fulfilling the catch of the day, might be your chosen weekend excursion...
...or the silent thrill of discovering a buck's fresh hoof-print in the decaying earth, and you - ready and waiting.
That's what the weekends are for. Seeking a quiet and serene place to escape to surrounded by nature. Or awakening all the primordial senses during the thrill of a hunt.