The good earth

In the past few days, I have, perhaps, worked harder than I ever have in my entire life.

I have been readying my garden for planting.

It is quite a task.

Clipping, pulling, raking, loading, hauling. Clipping, pulling, raking, loading, hauling. And when it seems like you cannot possibly move another inch, there is more of the same where that came from.

And when you think you want to lay down right there on the spot and sleep forever and a day, you keep going. You just keep going.

Every muscle, every sinew, every fiber of my being aches and groans with pains I have never felt in my . . . well, 30-some odd years of living on this earth.

Earth.

It is under my nails, in my shoes, in my clothes, tracked in on my floor.

Earth.

It is in my dreams. It is settling in my heart.

I can see how the land gets into a person.

How they can love it so much.

When you are down there, on your knees, the warm smell of damp dirt filling your nostrils, sweat from your brow mingling in, earth clinging to your face, arms, legs; when you are running your hands through it, carefully weeding it, hoping it will return the favor of tender care and yield good things that will sustain you and those you love, you can see it.

As much hard work as it is, I find I enjoy it.

I am learning about myself a little more -- what I can do, which is more than I thought.

My boys have been helping me out there. They have been pulling and raking and lifting and hauling right with me. Hopefully, they are learning that hard work is good and good for them, and in the end, there is always a reward.

So, that has been what we have been doing with most of our time.

We have had lots of visits with friends, it seems, in the midst of all this work.

Monday afternoon, friends from out of town stopped by for a few hours, and chatted with us awhile.

Monday night we went out to Rachel’s for dinner. Before we ate, we visited with the animals.

The baby goats are delightful. Really, so cute and soft and clean at their young age. I can see why they call them kids. They sound like human children when they are bleating.

And we took some time to say hi to Snickerdoodle the cow; Blueberry, the donkey; Hedi, the goat; and numerous rabbits, dogs and cats, too many to mention in full here (plus, I can’t remember all the names!).

The horses, Tia and Scout, were being anti-social, and would not trot to the fence to say how-do-you-do. They looked on, uninterested, while they grazed beneath the setting sun.

It was good to catch up with Kevin and Rachel, and we had a killer potato soup left over from a hunt the day before. I must have the recipe.

Yesterday was St. Patty’s day.

I saw green all day. Green grass, green weeds, etc.

We did have time for a good ol’ meal of corned beef and cabbage, shared with mom and gramp and patty and Bekah and her kids.

It was our second annual Irish dinner together.

We decided Audry is Daniel's perfect match after she licked the glass door. They can be gross, together!

Today brought with it more yard work. Bekah came over with the kids and helped clear one of the veggie beds. When you work with friends, the labor doesn't seem as hard somehow.

Here are some pictures taken from Josiah’s perspective. He had the camera today. Isaac wondered if Josiah would grow up to be a photographer.

It could be. We just don’t know, yet . . .

Daniel has been a trooper, but today, he just couldn't take it anymore. He found a quiet spot in front of the couch and fell asleep.

Tomorrow, we are taking a break – breaking away.

If it is nice, we will visit a nearby nature park with MeMe and a friend of the boys.

If not, and weather is threatening, then . . . we'll see . . .