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.






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






(Little frogs everywhere!)











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





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

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






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






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!





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)






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






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.






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...       






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...





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.