uncomplicated

I like sunsets, I do. And sometimes, though not often, I even photograph them. You have your camera, the colors are pretty, why not.

But what I cannot resist, what pushes me out of deep sleep and makes me run outside is a great sunrise. And really, any sunrise is a great sunrise.

Ed tells me this morning – the sky is pink out there! For a second I hesitate. I just did the leap and dash outside thing yesterday morning. Perhaps I should pass it by... No, I cannot.

Outside, I pause for a long, satisfying moment just to admire the world around me.





It’s always such a happy time, to see that sun, especially now, in early spring, coming up from behind the fields tended by the truck farmers. I watch the ascent for a while and I think – my, this is going to be one fine day!

I’m not alone out there. This is the time that most birds go to market. I mean, the chirping that takes place at sunrise!

One last look, toward that sun, making the golden willow look dazzling in the blazing light...





Outside. I get distracted by the raspberry canes again. I have indoor work to do today, but in these pre-breakfast moments, I am again clipping canes and pulling out roots of young box elders (aka ash maple – so invasive here that truly, I have pulled out well over a hundred of these guys). It is grueling work, and oddly satisfying. As if you’re really getting a grip on your environment. Life dragging you down? Pull out some box elders! Take control!

Eventually the rain does come and I retreat to my indoor work. But I take short breaks, just to step out and admire how quickly the fresh greens have come to dominate the yard around the farmhouse.





The rhubarb is exploding, the lilies are healthy and happy (and the new ones, less standard than the tigers, are also coming up well), and the new perennials have so far held up against the wildlife here.

Yes, May is a good month to be on the farmette. One could say the very best month.

We take a break from work and head for the closest local coffee shop. I think about the month ahead – I’ll have well over a hundred exams and papers to grade. Yet, it all feels so calm and timeless now. The sun rises, we work, we eat, read, listen, and go to sleep again. Weeds grow, we pull them out. Straightforward. Uncomplicated.