Blooms and Blades of Grass

So, the response from Sunset has been interesting. Emails from all over... other Coloradoans who have relocated to Oregon, folks wanting to visit or grow lavender (from Texas & South Dakota to Puerto Rico), all kinds of things. Thanks for the notes - your enthusiasm is wonderful and appreciated.

The farm is perking up... peaches have bloomed and the cherries too. Right now the apples and pears are in blossom and the weeping cherries along the drive are still flowering. Of course the weeds have started and the grass is growing faster than I can mow. When I'm outside working I get carried away with all kinds of thoughts on projects I want to start (or finish)... finish the front patio once and for all, kill off the grass on a steep slope in the back yard and put in some natural landscaping with a path leading to the pond, raised flower beds in another garden, the list goes on. But right now I need to mow, mow, mow prune and get the weeds under control. The other projects will fit in somehow and there will always be ones that will carry over to next year (like the front patio has for the past two years). This is the time of year when all things are possible and it's exciting to dream about what will take shape this season.

Every blade of grass has its angel that bends over it and whispers 'Grow,grow'
- The Talmud

I just wish those angels weren't whispering quite so much right now.

Sunset

OK, run out and pick up the May issue of Sunset... Havenhill is featured in a six page photo spread! We'll have it posted on the website in a few day. The best part... Bogart made two shots. He was so proud of himself when the photographer was shooting his mug last summer (good boy).

And, looks like the goats will be pushed into more service this summer. I'm working with Marion County Soil & Water to get a grant to clear the brambles in a five acre oak stand, and they've determined the goats will do the best job. We'll know by July if I get the grant to pay for the fencing... start munching.

"Hope" is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all. - Emily Dickinson

Balance

Finding balance in my life is always a challenge. Living here provides it in so many ways - being in tune with Mother Nature, eating with the seasons, the tight knit community of a small town - but there are always so many things that need attention. Sometimes it's difficult to put everything in perspective or feel like I'm in control. My friend Nancy says its an on going process... we keep getting better at, but we have to keep reminding ourselves to see the simple beauty in our days and give up trying to control what is not ours to control.

Kate and I were talking the other day about the ongoing list of what needs to be done this time of year - weeds we need to get under control, mowing, planting, projects that need to be started and finished, more planting and we still need to run our businesses and our lives. I wondered if we'd always be like this. She said yes, and we better get used to it. And she's right. Farming runs at an incredible pace for many months in a row. It's not going to slow down and there's no use thinking it will or that you'll somehow magically have it under control.

On the good days I work thru the list, find time to enjoy a walk with the dogs, watch a beautiful sunset or admire the color of the tulips, do something for myself and leave what's undone for the next day. On the not-so-good days, my brain spins with what needs to be done and I feel as though it never will be. Thankfully, there are more of the good days and I feel lucky to have the opportunity to live this life. I'm not sure I'll ever achieve the perfect balance, but I'll always be able to find a simple joy in every day and I'm determined to make the most of the life I'm living here.

We are not sent into this world to do anything into which we cannot put our hearts. - John Ruskin

Spring has Sprung

I love these days when everything's opening up outside. The daffodils have been blooming for a week and now the tulips are starting.

This morning I brought an arm load of cherry branches into the house and put them in a tall vase on the kitchen table. They buds will be blooming in a few days. And I can see the lilacs out my office window will be starting soon...

Shall I sing of happy hours numbered by the opening and closing of flowers? - Hartley Coleridge

Gored by a Goat

... well not really, just an angry goat letting me know how he felt. The goats get hay and grain every other day and are supposed to be eating brambles and grass the rest of the time. Apparently they're getting a bit spoiled, as I missed one day of feeding and Sally tried to pin me to the wall of the goat shed with his horns. Yes, Sally's a male - he came with the name and I couldn't change it, so I think of him as Sal, the mob boss which he is (and very bossy at that).

When I went into the pasture this evening, he came barreling down - goats can really get some speed up. Seeing Blanche run is the most amusing... she's my full figured gal and doesn't look like she'd be very fast, but she can really move with the right motivation.

As I started to open the door to the feed room, Sally tried to head butt me into the wall. Having a 180 pound goat try to nail you with his horns will get your attention! This isn't the first time he's been angry and tried to ram me, and had he wanted to he would have... just his way of reminding me there's a regular feed schedule and I should stick to it. Sorry Sal, I'll try to remember if you'll remember your job is to eat those brambles!

On a kitchen note - counters are in, ceiling ripped apart and tons of dry wall work ahead.

Between the wish and the thing life is waiting. - unknown. Enjoy the ride.