Flat Land, Tall Sky Perspective

I come from hill country. Here we have hills and hollers and far more trees than people. There’s not much flat land and the farms are pretty small.

That may be why I’m so fascinated with flat places. The western part of Ohio is very flat and fertile. Here you find large farms and expansive lawns. Everywhere you look it seems people have landing strips for their small aircraft.

One thing that always amazes me about flat places is how big the sky seems.

I live high on a ridge but tall trees block the view so the sky I see doesn’t appear that expansive. In places like Highland County, Ohio and in the western states, the sky goes on forever.

The other great thing about this kind of farmland is the abundance of barns and silos. I saw many on Saturday’s journey and stopped to admire more than a few.

The barn pictured above was among my favorites because of its simplicity. It’s nothing fancy but has been around a long time and looks sturdy. It gets the job done and proves that utility can be beautiful. As big as this barn is, it seems dwarfed by the sky as well.

I offer all of this as a reminder that we all live under the same sky but it doesn’t look the same for everyone. Mull that over as you go about your business today. It can be an eye opening exercise to think about the world from someone else’s perspective.