Wednesday, August 08, 2018

Wednesday

I think I need a break. Not from children, no, not at all, but from everything else. Chicken care, for example. Honestly -- I fret about them far too much. It's the little things that get to you, no?

But how do I do it? Can I get away?

The sticking point here is tending to the hens, morning and night. Can I find a chicken sitter?

It's a foggy morning, promising sunshine and warm temperatures. I wake up and start making inquiries.

Oh, but wait, I need to take care of those silly hens first. And the potted annuals. And the cat. And the tomatoes, and of course, the flowers.


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(It is in fact Tomato who has joined the big girls in laying eggs...)


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(Little frogs everywhere!)


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By late morning (approaching the noon hour), I've eaten breakfast...


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... and I've done the farmette chores. And I've booked a chicken sitter!

(Pepper and Cupcake, enjoying the summer sunshine...)


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I rush then to be with Sparrow, who doesn't understand my rush at all...


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And from there, I head straight to Snowdrop's school. Talk about busy day! The little girl runs over, excited and happy. Grandma, we went fishing and I caught two fish and a frog!


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Indeed! The teacher confirms that they took sticks, attached a nylon chord, and added makeshift hooks and real worms. The kids walked over to the creek and had amazing successes. The bass were biting!


I ask her what she would like to do now and she right away picks the playground.

(Summer blonde)


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But we're not done yet. We follow all this with a pause at the coffee shop, where she draws a book for me...


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And just when I think she has exhausted all adventuring possibilities, she asks if maybe now we can go to the community pool.

What a splendid idea! It's nearly 4 and all the school groups have departed. The light is warm but less brazen. The water is perfect.


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It's a beautiful day to be playing with the grandkids!

I take Snowdrop home and pause there for just a while. Her mom and baby brother are waiting for her...       


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For all the craziness in my days, I feel once more to be in control. Calm almost! Chicken sitters, in a week!

I return to the farmhouse, admire the flower fields that are holding on to that last bit of summer abundance...


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I tend to the farmette chores, reheat some leftovers and settle down to write.

Ed has sailed the boat all night long. He must be napping now. I know how that is -- travel disrupts sacred patterns of sleep and rest. But it energizes the soul. He tells me the star filled sky was beautiful, the wind just right. Yeah, I can almost feel it. The great and wonderful journey unfolding, under a night sky.