Poulin Art - Finding happiness in simplicity: everyday joys for simple living throughout the year

GAIL FRASER was a senior executive and corporate consultant for several international Fortune 500 companies before deciding to leave the corporate track for a simpler life. She is the author of five novels comprising the Lumby series published by New American Library, including The Lumby Lines and Stealing Lumby.

ART POULIN is considered one of Americas foremost folk artists. His art has appeared on publications of the U.S. Army and Penguin Group publishing, on Fox Televisions series House, and as gifts in celebrity swag bags at the 83rd Academy Awards. His landscapes blend his love for Americas simplicity with a deep appreciation and knowledge of twentieth-century architecture, offering a perspective and sophistication frequently lost in typical folk art.

O ur deepest appreciation goes to our agent, Jill Marsal, for her encouragement, steadfast fortitude, and confidence in Simplicity. We also extend our sincere thanks to the team at Globe Pequot Press, most specifically to our editor, Holly Rubino, for her advocacy, acuity, and invaluable feedback, as well as those who worked closest on our book: Kristen Mellitt, project editor; Nancy Freeborn, layout artist; Sheryl Kober, designer; and Vicky Vaughn Shea for the cover design.

Finally, a personal note of gratitude to Team Lazy Goose: Debbie Herbert, Eileen Langer-Smith, and John Smith, for their friendship, endless support, and unwavering belief in our small world. You have each gone beyond the call to make our home and our lives that much richer. Thank you.

In order to pull away from the chatter and commotion of our daily lives, sometimes it is necessary to leave behind the streets that are traveled by many to walk the road that is taken by few. We might find this road and the calm it can bring in the country, in a painting, or in a memory.

Some of the signs we pass along the way may be worn and faded, but if we look closely, we might find they point to some longing in our hearts. Thats why even when the final destination isnt known, its important to take the journey nonetheless.

The breeze rustles in the leaves, the crickets sing their morning song, and the stream tumbles over its rocky bed. It is the music of nature. If we breathe deeply, we can take in all the greenness that surrounds us. It is the fragrance of life.

We most often go astray on a well trodden and much frequented road.

Seneca

There may be distant barns to explore and covered bridges to cross, and each becomes a passage to yet another experience.

I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand.

Leonardo da Vinci

If we remain still in our thoughts while moving forward with our feet, we give ourselves the extraordinary gift of time and perspective to see more beauty in the world than we thought possible.

A stone wall that disappears deep into the woods might provide a welcome resting spot for a weary traveler. A hungry traveler might pluck a wild apple from a tree. And a warm traveler might cool her feet beneath a waterfall.

As we gaze closely at the patterns of naturethe rolling hills of open pastures, the arch of a tree limb by the bend of the road, the clouds drifting aimlessly overheadit is possible to feel part of the worlds softly spoken splendor.

When I go out into the countryside and see the sun and the green and everything flowering, I say to myself, Yes indeed, all that belongs to me!

Henri Rousseau

When the days grow longer and the land softens under foot and warms to the touch, young shoots of wild grass announce that it is time for the miracle of growth. Working the loose, rich dirt can help us clear our thoughts as we clear the land. Whether planting one small container or tending numerous raised beds, the wonder is still the same.

no occupation is so delightful to me as the culture of the earth, and no culture comparable to that of the garden.

Thomas Jefferson

Judge each day not by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you plant.

Robert Lewis Stevenson

Within each tiny seed there lies the complete story of what will unfold in the coming weeks. In time, fragility becomes strength. Bareness gives way to abundance. Flowers change to fruit.

The planting of trees is the least self-centered of all that we can do.

Thornton Wilder

It takes time and deliberate patience for the ordinary to become extraordinary. Energy is stored deep within the seed, and time is needed for it to be manifested as one single sprout. A seed requires a great deal of fortitude to germinate and grow, especially under the most adverse conditions.

In offering water to the ground when it is parched, we show reverence for all that makes life possible.

Nature lavishes us with gifts at no cost, as freely as honey flows from the comb. The bees sing their song of life deep within the hive while others dance, telling of nearby fields that are covered in rich clover.