Finding Unexpected Goodness on the Farm
Life gets away from us all sometimes. You get caught in the hustle and bustle and you miss the things that are right in front of you. You’re so focused on the future, the next thing on the list, the next event coming up…you start to miss the moments right under your nose. Our kiddos have been off adventuring with family a lot this summer and all the chores, housework, and farm work has rolled back on the momma.
That could be an ugly thing. But I find that my phone is full of snapshots that say it wasn’t ugly. It was full of unexpected good moments, between the sweat and scrubbing and hauling.
Moments like sitting on an overturned 5-gallon bucket and listening to the chicks peep, peep, peep with their momma. Watching them learn to scratch and shuffle through the grass and listening to her deep cluck and coo as she pulled them all in underneath her for the night.
Moments like sitting on a log and watching the dogs swim and splash through a mucky pond. Hearing the frogs go silent, then the plop, plop, plop as they all dive for cover as the dogs come near.
The moment when a bull calf turns and watches you, curiously, through the green pasture with a backdrop of droning bugs–not sure if he should run from the dogs or trust in the electric fence.
The moment when a warm breeze blows your sweaty hair off your neck while you’re picking tomatoes…when you see a clump of wildflowers along the fenceline…when you actually recognize the mockingbird’s song in the walnut tree because it’s the same every morning at 6:54 am…
Seeing dragonflies lined up along the fence wire…the earthy smell of damp sheep in the heavy morning dew…the sparkle of clean water in a freshly scrubbed trough…
The extra work’s been worth it to soak up some quiet moments that have been slipping me by lately. I’m excited for the kiddos coming home tomorrow, but the quiet has been nice too.
What little moment of goodness have you noticed lately?
Oh, I love this post. I don’t have kids or a large farm like it sounds like you have. We have five acres, a couple of chickens, and raised bed and container gardens. But I can appreciate the quiet moments of noticing. Just yesterday morning, as I was hanging some things on the line, I noticed swarms of dragonflies around the yard. I had to stop and take it in for a bit (and grab a video to share it too.) I find I have moments and pictures just like that. My phone is slammed full of photos. Thank you for sharing your quiet moments. I quite enjoyed it.
Sometimes we have the dragonfly dance here too! Those quiet moments make all the daily work worth the sweat and aches. Thanks for reading!