I came at this summer in the same direction I left spring. Hurrying. The immense relief I felt at the end of the school year was due to an intense schedule of homeschooling and daily running the girls around to activities. It seemed that all my spare time was spent cleaning and feeding everyone (and not just the people in the house; also the dogs, cats, birds, chickens, and sourdough starter). I was so looking forward to having time to pursue my own activities and spend leisurely time with my family.
To commemorate the start of summer I excitedly made a list. It was a beautiful moment that I savored. I got out a pad of white lined paper and a fresh Ticonderoga pencil. It resembled the first day of school, only in this instance the learning was on my own terms, with my own soon-to-be free time. I scribbled a good long list of nearly 20 things to accomplish by the end of June. I quickly realized that this wasn't going to happen, and immediately decided to postpone the start of our next school year to the first of August, instead of July, in order to be able to finish off my list. I needed time.
In a matter of what seems like 2 minutes, 2 weeks have flown by. So far I've only halfheartedly tackled a few of the things on my list. Instead, I seem to be drifting in a floaty place where my main goal seems to be simply to capture the essence of the day, and, of course, keeping everyone fed. We mustn't ever slack on that. Instead of taking a free course through MIT, which was one of the things on my list (yes, I actually want homework these days, it has a whole new meaning to me), I've been learning from the wisest of all creatures, my chickens. And a few other little friends in the neighborhood.
This is Susannah. She's a great teacher, always patient. She only yells at you if you let the cat out. Chickens know that cats belong in the house.
Susannah and the other chickens spend a lot of time helping me grow an organic garden. They spend time each day fertilizing it and making sure it stays free of bugs. This way I can take credit for having an organic garden.
These baby veges are so cute!
There are birds everywhere. So many kinds. It's fun to listen for the woodpeckers and then try to find which tree they are in. I enjoy my morning coffee each morning to the sound of bird music. I'm learning to identify which ones say what. Midge enjoys bird-watching too.
We have also been paying attention to the grass that grows around here. Why is it that taking pictures of grass has become more important than the things that were actually on my list?
The chickens told me that if you look closely there are often bugs crawling on it.
The pony down the street loves the grass too. Isn't he adorable? I could watch him for hours.
The chickens have noticed that there are always butterflies on the flowers. We both love the butterflies, but for different reasons. I prefer to photograph the butterflies, but they enjoy eating them.
Ruby spends a great deal of time watching the trees. She reminds me daily that I don't always have to be doing something, but if I want to I can always rub her ears.
Even thought it wasn't on my list of priorities, I am grateful that this summer my animal friends have reminded me the valuable lesson of listening to and learning from nature, and remembering to just sit and capture the essence of the day, before summer again passes by. There probably wasn't an MIT course on that anyway.
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