“When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound…
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.”~ Wendell Berry
We are home.
My technology is finally upgraded, downloaded and working. Touch-wood that all computers and phones shall now be hassle-free. But it took so much time and energy to make that happen. Days and days worth of time. I was relieved to climb into the car and finally be on our way back to the farm.
There is a place the highway comes to as we return from the city. The land moves suddenly to a flat expanse, with the mountains at our back. Ahead of us stretch lush cane fields. Farms of tender grass and fat cattle. Thick green belts of trees and birdsong.
Every time we get to this place we breathe out. The stress of the city falls away. We take a deep breath in again. The tension melts away. Almost home.
We travelled home with our headlights holding the road and stars above us in the deep black sky.
Tired, we tumbled out of the car at journey’s end and went straight to bed, comforted by the call of owls, the croak of frogs and the chirp of crickets.
What a joy it was to wake in our own beds. But more was to come.
The grass in the front paddock is thigh-high and luscious from the heat and summer rain. To have paddocks full of grass is a beautiful thing when you are a farmer. The cattle are fat and content, and Daisy Mae has borne us the first calf of 2016 – a stocky little male who is playful and curious, just like his mum was at that age.
There is so much more to explore, and today I will do my best to get some decent pictures of Daisy Mae and her calf. Let me know if you come up with a good name for him!
I’m off to the Farmers Markets now to catch up with friends and to fill my basket with fresh produce.
Did I mention how good it is to be back home?
Jasper
“Abe,” “Little Abe,” “Honest Abe”. . .Daisy Mae’s son. 🙂
Lovely farm life, even when the unexpected happens.
Sounds like a really great day. 🙂
I know that feeling of exhaling when I reach the ‘rainbow bridge’, or even when I cross the border from nanny state to lovely state 🙂 Congratulations to you and Daisy Mae!! XO
Is “YoM” (Year of Me) a good name for a cow?
Calvin
You live in a beautiful place.
You painted such a happy and vibrant picture of home coming. No wonder you love it so much. Enjoy being home.