Awesome! Spent the first weekend back at the farm, so good to be "home." We spent the weekend pruning trees, planting bulbs and sunflowers and riding the atv all over. This season promises to be one of beauty again and lots of work! After the winter it is always fun to see what is popping up that is new (in town it is a Walmart :) and we found several dogwood that we had not noticed before. Lots of trees and bushes and plants that were hidden by scrub and overgrown trees are coming to life. I have promised my self that each weekend I will spend some time just sitting and listening. I received an art pad and pastels for Christmas so that I could attempt to capture what I see onto paper. Like my photographs, my scribbling doesn't begin to do justice, even in an abstract sort of way, of what I am witnessing around me.
This weekend I chose to sit by the creek down behind the barn. I drove my atv into the woods as far as I could get and then walked along the creekbed until I found a sunny rock that invited me to sit. The creeks are really running at the moment. Since they are all springfed, the amount of water cruising the bed varies from time to time but in some places I think the water was over a foot high. As I sat my observations included the gurgle of a happy creek, the unique curvature of a tree, the maze of branches against the sun lit blue sky. Ferns are slowing uncurling and ants were very busy. Tiny bluettes and lacy little white flowers littered the ground just begging to be pressed for cards later this year and some fascinating purple flowers that looked like a jonny jumpup were hiding in the center of a pile of leaves. Did you know there were so many different shades of brown? To know me is to know that I always have a song or ditty in my head and as the creek gurgled along here is what my brain sang, "Give said the little stream, give oh give, give oh give, give said the little stream as it hurried down the hill. I'm small I know but wherever I go the grass grows greener still." It has a catchy little tune as well so feel free to sing along.Since I had not told farm boy where I was heading (and didn't want him to worry that the bear got me) I packed up my crayons and headed back to find him hard at work and not even knowing I had gone. We both jumped on and took off for a ride around the farm so I could point out some of the treasures found in my exploration.
I think I owe my little trailer an apology. (you can see it peeking out behind the trees) Obviously it has provided a lovely and more than adequate home for a family of spiders and a host of ladybugs and even a mouse or two over the years. Yet, in my mean spirited heart I called it names like red-neckville and white trash house, even when our neighbor told us it was the nicest trailer in all of Appomattox. Since the economy is holding us hostage for the moment and our log home is not going to built this year, it appears I will have to make peace with my little trailer -home away from home- and start to appreciate it for its finer points - like electricity, running water, hot showers, and flush toilets. To thank it for its faithful service in spite of my attitude I put some curtains on the windows and hung a picture or two on the walls and am beginning to grow quite fond of the front porch for sitting.
Other highlights of the weekend included listening to the little country church's bells as I planted my dahlias. I received quite a concert for almost 30 minutes - maybe the organist was practicing for services the next day. The butterflies were incredible and spent all day fluttering in and out of the lilac bush next to the porch. They could be found elsewhere on the farm too, traveling along on tractor rides to the orchard and sitting on the log with me at the fire pit.
Next weekend's project is the garden and my assignment while home is researching deer repellants..............stay tuned or better yet, come visit!
farmgirl
No comments:
Post a Comment