that eternal bubbling

A heavy crop of snow.
Once again the blog is the last thing on my mind, but I do want you to know that as I wander and work, my camera is always with me.  I capture this and that with the good intention of turning it into a blog post.  For instance, this pic is from my walk on Saturday morning- after Mother Nature thought it would be cute to dump 14 inches of snow on us as an April Fool's joke.  This poor little guy wasn't laughing-

A mighty little force of nature.

He was on my trail, in a rut as deep as a railroad tie- how something so fragile, so tiny could survive a snow storm in Maine and remain intact is another great mystery I hope I never solve.  I picked him up quite gingerly, my heart sank as I figured he was as good as dead- but apparently the warmth of my hand was all he needed to revive.  I placed him inside my coat and turned around early from my walk- I needed to get this little fellow into my warm seed shack until Spring really came for him.  Just as I rounded the bend on the lane, up and out he fluttered- to an old dead Birch tree near my mailbox- maybe the loosened bark on that tree would serve a cocoon like purpose.  It still amazed me, the whole small experience of finding a butterfly in April in Maine in a foot of snow....

Raised beds in the hoop house- snow bank outside.

And those seeds started in the seed shack in March in Maine are now doing quite well.  We have 31 flats started and are fixing to start about 20 more if I can make more room.  The Asian greens are already to be put into a colder climate as well as some turnips I started- I know, I know but I can't help my self.  I'm a Midwesterner by birth and now is the time to plant this stuff!  Last year at a market I sell at, some folks thought I was a witch or something- bringing greens and radishes to fruit too early for mere mortals- nah, I just don't know any better.   What's a little snow or frost- that's what they make plastic blankets and straw for.                                                                                                                                                           

I haven't had the best of luck recently- on a beautiful perfect day I wrecked my truck.  Blueberry pie went flying, accelerator had a mind of it's own and frost heaves in the road set it all in motion.  I hurt my pride and my shoulder but all else worked out.  Although- take this to heart and heed it from someone who wished they had.- 

If you get a recall on your vehicle- do as it says.  I just received mine in the mail two days prior to the accident- it encouraged me to remove the floor mat- this encouragement I did not read until after the wreck.  If only...

Well, that's just about it in a nutshell- seeds are started, more work to do there.  Snow is covering this lovely land but surely will recede soon when the temps hit the 50 mark, as they are rumored to do come midweek.

Guineas do not like the white stuff.

I hope your Spring is bringing that eternal bubbling about in your veins, may you feel looser, may you be free to wander and wonder at the small things bursting through the earth just at your feet.  Something in that tiny stem excavates a person's soul from the deep, cold trenches of winter- the thaw begins as light reaches in and all is made anew once more.  

Take care-

Stellar!!!

Many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling with the mistaken belief that you cannot bear the pain. But you have already borne the pain. What you have not done is feel all you are beyond that pain.
Kahlil Gibran

There's a thinker with a cup of java thrown in. Huh...imagine a pimple, come on- hang with me here... a pimple that first erupts with much pain and redness, when finally it comes to a head- you realize that the most painful part is already over. Now you only have to live with an ugly blemish that will in time heal- both inwardly and outwardly. And once the thing heals, it's only remembrance is- frankly, you're glad that it's gone and perhaps now, you'll wash your face before retiring without fail, stay away from too much chocolate and be thankful your face is free of ugly zits!

Don't blame me for the crazy analogies, you came here- you're just asking for it! Anyway, once you've borne the pain- the task is at hand to complete the cycle and become a student of the lesson...or a victim of the pain.

So- here's where I'm at:

Purchased a new truck to replace the old one that my reckless son wrapped around an electrical pole.

(He's alright, I did not kill him...and I'm just as much at fault for handing him the keys to go to a football game.)

He's borne the pain...his lessons, long. I hope and pray he'll find out who he is beyond that day...

Auction folks came out yesterday and took the majority of "stuff" away.

(Antique collector through the years, don't need to haul what is no longer useful, though to a big old farmhouse- the furniture and such was quaint, shabby, sheik and comforting.) To a two bedroom cabin- a rocking chair, crocks, a massive amount of pictures, paintings and books- will be much more apt. Ahhh, the simple life of simple abundance...and yes snow, lots of snow!!!! Bring it on.

Went to the bank and said, "Lookee here....an insurance check, a new truck and thank you so much for being the best bank a gal could ever have hoped for."

Athens State Bank is tops in my book, Mr. John Leinberger has been a trusted banker and friend. And, they hand write out all your receipts and call you by name...

I am dealing with Mayflower to haul my stuff to Maine

...with the promise of uncertainty in finding new truck with towing capabilities, scrapped those plans and called on the good folks at Mayflower.

From the car dealership to Mayflower to Athens Bank to my insurance carrier (Country Companies), may I just say one word about all these folks I've been dealing with as of late.

On a professional scale:

Stellar!!!

So you see, I have much to be thankful for. Beyond all that pain, I am still a student of gratefulness. Kind of wish the universe would change my teacher to Lottery Goddess though, then my lessons might become what to do with millions of dollars! I'm ready universe, I'm ready!!!!

Although I do tend to cuss alot these days, millions of dollars would just add to my language dysfunction right now...but I'm willing to risk it.

By 7:00 AM, I have to take the Labs to the vet for a bit of nipping and tucking, so I'll leave you with this quote:

Fear accomplishes nothing.

And a laugh....

"I'd smother me grandmother for a meellion dollars!"

Take care!

the sky and cloud

Good morning. How you all hanging? Good, good...I hope. It is a snowy morning here in the great central Midwest, the dogs do not like walking in the snow unless I'm out there with them. Then it becomes a wonderland to romp and play and eat snow... and of course, turn it yellow. I bundle up like an arctic explorer, silly hat and all and make the best of it. And of course, ever at my side is my trusty camera. You just never know what one might come upon, what small detail might speak volumes to another soul here on the net. Most of my pics come from right here on this farm, it amazes me to no end that the landscape of very little acreage showcases extreme natural changes almost daily. Imagine what my focus might be on vast acreage and mega waterways. Although, I think my shots would still be of the most intimate things, I can't help it- I'm not a power junkie but a precious treasurer.

I notice on the walks I take that I'm often looking down as opposed to straight out and all around. All the experts and heck- even our parents tell us to look up and out, with head down implies cowardice and fear. I don't buy that anymore- maybe that's why I'm such an excellent mushroom hunter! (I am. Really, I am...) And with looking down, you'd think my steps would be sure and I'd never stumble. Quite the contrary- I'm not a very graceful sort, it's not a clumsy way to be- I'm just often so mesmerized by what I'm experiencing, that I stray off course and trip over and into ruts. But while I lay there, usually laughing at myself- I'll notice the sky and cloud formations. And I click, click some more...

And always the sounds around me transform the experiences as well. Every day, subtle harmonies form- different tunes mixing with the same old house sparrows songs, geese flying over head honking like tubas over the string sounds of the wind through the trees. I hear a symphony when I'm outdoors, all I hear is heavy metal inside. It's always a raptorous experience for me when I'm out in it. So attuned to nature am I, I just feel right out of sorts when dwelling inside for too long. But try to explain this to tax collectors, or even a pastor. Nobody buys it, I have been told in my life that it is a sin to connect so strongly with nature. But I ask you- every time I look at a twig, the grass, hear the sky bellowing with thunderous laughter, close my eyes and follow the scent of wetlands- those things aren't manmade...just who the heck brought it all to my devout attention?!

Just wondering...be well, take care-

Blanket White Everything

An e.e. cummings kind of title, I write like that you know-an in way an out way and all around the words way. A full spectrum if you will, of words. It was suppose to snow here last night, I was prepared, and giddy and a bit melancholy...in reference to the "Blanket White Everything"- first snow is purity, a covering, an insulation. Though it did not snow, I suspect it will as my sinuses often react dully to barometric changes, and the chickens were all gathered in a mobile bunch. My butterscotch girls give me eggs everyday, no artificial lighting for my birds, no! I just talk to them, they are my production team so I try to stay on top of their chicken coop politics. I have one old gal that stays on the nest just long enough to
to give me hell when I reach in to collect the brood of eggs under her. I admire her tenacity, though I do not like her pecking and clucky aggression. She scares me and she knows it. I mean-a butterscotch bird with a brain no bigger than the eggs she lays, but she stands up to my minor annoyance with the threatening attitude of a wolverine, yikes-I could never do a reality show on my little farm-I fear the main idea that people would hold onto is that chickens are really meat eaters (given a chance, this one takes chunks out of me!) and that I am not at all as plucky as I seem. And, well...I don't watch TV all that much and the only reality of those shows is the world will suffer fools, call it entertainment, stack their own experiences up against the show and belittle the story. The reality of most lives, I think-we do our best, our lives are like quilts with many peices stitched together, circumstances in life can rip us apart, but being the sole seamstresses, we find ways to mend our tattered blankets, sometimes offering a covering for others who are not quite experts at stitching yet. Or unable to pull it all together to even begin to mend, some have no thread at all, for them, the most calico among us-we offer assistance, well, we should anyway. Sorry for the analogy-drives my kids insane! This is why I write, to drive my teens crazy and to well, display my beautiful quilt, though worn and quite tattered...and wrap it around them in such a way that they might learn the stitches of life...the ins and outs and all around thread that connects us all. And if I may quote the great Paul Harvey, "Good day!"
Take care