Come take a walk with me as I mull over family issues and do morning chores here at the farm… I’ll show you how my garden grows, or doesn’t… too.
First stop is the hen house and rabbit hutch.
Harley (black bunny) had an episode of colic recently and because he looked like he was about to die in ten minutes, off to the vet we went. Did you know that too much of a commercial rabbit pellet diet is not good for them? I sure didn’t. Collard greens, celery, carrots sparingly, parsley, berries, and lots of Timothy Hay are what they should be eating. The pellets you see in pet stores are not meant to be their main diet. I’ve always given my bunnies lots of greens and such, but they always had a big bowl of the pellets as well. Hence, the colic. Harley is better now, and loves his collard greens.
The girls want OUT into the lush grass, but it’s only allowed when I’m out there paying attention to hawk whereabouts. Not happening on a rainy day like today. Their egg laying has been prolific latelely, have I mentioned how much I adore chickens?
Next stop is the barn, where horses have already been banging buckets because they’ve heard me down at the coop.
They don’t like being in, would prefer to be standing out in the rain, truth be told.. but when it’s still this chilly I keep them in until the rain clears. Admittedly, it’s more for me than them. Kinda like their blankets in winter.
The ancient pear tree that is half-hollow is full of blossoms again this year. I loath the day it keels over, but for now it still appears very happy up there on the hill. Thank you powers that be.
After barn chores now that spring has arrived, I head over to the garden to do whatever needs tending. The Arugula is coming up, but not much else. I’m concerned all the rain and cold air temps have thwarted the seed efforts. Time will tell.
Same thing happening in our little greenhouse… slow growing.
I planted six purple sweet potato plants… we’ll see how that goes, first attempt at potatoes. Any advice?
The ancient stand of lilacs are thriving.. Mike limed them last year and it helped.
Will anyone move in to this $7. bird house?
So far, nuthin.
My grandfather was a gardener.. and oh, what a spring tulip
garden he had across his front lawn.
I remember each spring he would take his scissors
outside with me and careful cut a bouquet for me
to bring to my teacher the next day.
When I look at my garden beds this time of year,
I am reminded of him and his love for his gardens..
and the birds, even the squirrels, who he fed peanuts
out of his hand while sitting on the back porch.
So, the rain in this post is obvious, but not the reference to relationships.
Rain IN relationships is inevitable, we’ve all figured that out by now, haven’t we. I have always been a worrier and as a mother that is tenfold in my being. I don’t like it, as the old saying goes… worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere. But it’s not something you can just set down like a heavy purse.. if you’re a worrier. No, it’s more like an extra skin that you can’t shed.
Being a mom, and particularly that mom... when my kids are hurting, I hurt. I always believed the teen years would be the most difficult, and they did have their challenges. I niavely assumed as they got older the worry would subside, the protective instincts. But ooh, nooo… the circumstances just change, not the concern. As they grow into adults they have their own relationships and they need to learn as they grow, just like we did, how to make them work, what doesn’t work… who is worth the effort, who isn’t. It’s painful to watch them struggle when things aren’t going well, but as my wise mother said, no one gets through life without struggle and pain and loss. It’s part of living. The hard part is leaving them be, letting them sort it all out without interferring, because you want to FIX IT for them. Raising children to be good, strong adults means letting them do for themselves, not just being there to FIX. As it should be… but Lord, it ain’t easy.
