Springtime
A New Year At The Farm (April, 2013) by Mary
I'm quite certain time passes faster as we get older, and I want it to slow down. There is always so much to do and experience. Larry retired the end of January at age 70 and we are excited to have more freedom. I am only teaching piano to 20 students, so now we can have longer weekends, plus all of July and August to spend at the farm if we wish. Another change we have noticed this year, is that we have slowed down, and are no longer able to put in those long days without a nap. We are adjusting in our minds about this slowing down, but we don't want to come to a halt. Farm work is too much fun!
Each of the four summers we've owned the farm seemed to have a theme. The first summer, we called the cleanup year, although the cleanup never ends. The second summer was for planting trees, berries, and other perennial edible plants. I think of our third summer as when the farm came alive. Todd, Nancy, and Erin had moved there the previous fall, and suddenly we had some repaired buildings, fence, a horse, three sheep, chickens, and a dog. Also, there was Todd's large field garden and Nancy's kitchen garden. And bees. Of course, all these things overlapped, and the fourth summer was a continuation of experimenting in growing and preserving. Unfortunately, we'll also remember that summer because of the drought and how thankful we were to have plenty of available water.
Todd, Nancy, and Erin plan to move after Erin graduates this spring. So far, Louie the dog has died of old age, and Erin sold her sheep. Soon the horse and chickens will find a new home, and Todd, Nancy, and Erin will move. It seems to me, the life of the farm will be gone, but yet, we will be glad to get our farm house and retreat to ourselves.
Larry and I are excited about this fifth summer. Referring to the buildings, we're going to call it the finishing up year. We still have a small building to take down, but at the end of this fall, we hope to have that done and the remaining buildings that wrap around our house yard, finished on the outside and painted. Yes, red buildings with white roofs and no junk inside or out! Can't wait!
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Larry and I so enjoyed working together while giving the back of the barn two coats of paint. | The men began work on this end of the barn. The red paint is as far as someone got years ago! |
We'll never forget how the horse and sheep became pals. Since the sheep are gone, this horse came to visit Dakota (right) so she won't be lonely until the move.
