Monday Morning Ramble

The air was thick with fog this morning. The sun trying hard to penetrate this veil of mist. As soon as I stepped onto the back porch I heard lots of squirrel chatter to the north and there in the trees by my clothesline were three very chatty squirrels playing together. Of course my camera was in my hand so I stopped to take some pictures of them at play. Fat little furry creatures this year and good that they are with as cold as it has been. After taking a few shots I headed off to the goat barn, and it seems these bushy tailed friends wanted to keep my company. They hopped from tree to tree with each step I took, one little brave fella even ran right in front of me, no more than 3 feet from where I stood. It took me a bit by surprise as it seemed he was running right for me for a second or two, but he had plans of climbing up the ash tree and over to the huge cottonwood by the garden. He just needed to go past me. His expression almost looked as if the others had dared him to do so. Such wonderful morning entertainment and how blessed I was to witness it. I often think about if I didn't have chores to be done twice a day, how many of the marvels of nature I would miss out on.

Some think this kind of homestead life is too hard and too demanding especially when your children are all grown and you are heading towards 60, but you know, its so full of blessings you just can't imagine life any other way. There is such a deep sense of satisfaction in working hard and accomplishing much. We love how this life keeps us fit and healthy. Makes me sorta laugh when someone younger than me talks about getting older and slowing down ! I have no intention of slowing down and neither does Emery and he is 8 years older than I am. We sat on the porch last night watching the Geminid meteor shower and looked out over the garden with such a deep feeling of pride for the work we have done there, and felt the same way looking at the wood we had stacked on the porch for the coming week. We made wishes with each falling star we saw, things like that we live another 50 years together in good health and that our hearts always be this full of love. We spend time working side by side in the evenings and on the weekends with the very same goals and dreams in our hearts. Stress doesn't motivate us, neither does money. We aren't spending every waking moment thinking about what we need to buy or what we need to cook. We eat from the garden, keep fit from our work. Going to the gym does one thing, make you fit, working hard makes you fit and gives you food, warmth, and personal satisfaction beyond words.

When we first started attending the Mennonite church I have to admit that my work habits were not so great. I wasn't raised to work hard. I think the first dish I had ever washed was after I was married. I did polish the silver as a child, but for fun, not because anyone asked me to. But being around the Mennonite women showed me the joy of working hard, and yes, it is joy. I learned to push past that first moment when I felt tired with a job and found that you do get a second wind and you feel good when you finish as task. Emery has always known this, he was a farm boy, raised for many years without electricity or running water. He knew the importance of getting a job done no matter how much you dislike it or wish you were doing something else.

Middle age and above is not the time to start feeling old and doing less, its the time to refocus purpose and keep on doing the things that give you joy.

Life is good !

Photos of the morning:

Seed pods

squirrel friends

the new door on the goat barn, needs to be stained

lots of mint still growing

morning mist hanging in droplets from the cedar

roses still on the bush, faded from the cold temperatures