Remember This

How does the old saying go? "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb." Well this year, March came in like a lamb and went out like a lamb...at least as far as the weather goes. I can't say I minded. For me, the older I get the more I like the mild winters. And a mild winter moving into a mild spring is just about perfect, in my mind.

However, that doesn't mean I got off easy in the way of labor. March was incredibly laborious for me. I was moving rocks.

We had to start over on our hay fields, last year. I think, I probably blogged about it. A pesky grass had gradually taken over our fields in the last couple of years. It wasn't a dangerous grass, but rather a nuisance grass and it eventually will take over the entire pasture and ruin the hay crop. So we killed it off, and plowed it under last fall. Because the soil where we live is extremely rocky, of course when it was plowed, an onslaught of rocks and boulders were brought to the surface. SO! Before we were able to disc plow this spring and then seed, we needed to remove the rocks. Enter - me.

I didn't keep track of how many hours I spent out in the fields lifting rocks. I probably should have. It is 7 acres; and I did it mostly alone. YES! I am complaining! Good grief! I am 60 years old and that is much too old for such nonsense.

To be honest, Matt had a couple friends come, on two different occasions for a couple hours and my neighbor came once with her tractor when ours had broken down. I greatly appreciated those efforts. It really did help. Something else that helped, were my friendly neighbors that always stopped by to visit when I was out in the field. There were at least 6 or 7 that stopped to chat, and that made me extremely grateful for the neighborhood where we live. It felt like this was the way things used to be. You know, the "good old days"? Yep, it felt like I was re-living those days with each of these pleasant calls. Sounds strange, I know, but those simple conversations made the lonely hours in the field all feel just a bit more worth it.

We finally finished the back-breaking labor of the rocks, (temporarily) this past week-end and my husband began to plow. Unfortunately, when he was only half done with the big pasture he came down with the flu. Ugh! Temporary set-back. But as I was finishing up picking up rocks in the middle field, I watched him as he worked and the plow moved through the dark soil. When I walked by the area he had completed, a warm feeling came over me. It looked beautiful; the soil turned in clean, neat "rows". There were a few more rocks that were brought to the surface, which will need to be removed, but it is mostly ready for planting. And that is such a good, good feeling to look out and see that. It made the grueling efforts all seem worth it.

 

Along with my efforts in the field, the other thing that took my time this March was my sick pony. Ok, well she isn't a pony, but I like to call her that. My Navajo Princess had an episode of "choke". And believe me! That is scary!  I won't go into all of that now, but it has been a bit of a process getting her back to normal. She is on the mend, though still not eating entirely normally. There were several days, I really didn't expect to see her standing when I woke up in the mornings and I went to the window to check. One thing I will write about this incident, is that this horse of all my horses, loves to be cared for. She is the best patient for which anyone could ask! She knows she is loved and she knows how to love back. She wasn't eating her food, but she was eating up the care. Somehow, I found myself thankful that I had to give her the little bit of extra care that was required. She loves me and that makes it all worth it.

Baby Girl

With a myriad of seemingly unending appointments in town; as well as chopping, stacking, and cleaning up of the wood pile, I have had a very busy month. I have yet to start on any normal "spring cleaning" or clean up in the yard that I like to begin on spring days when the soil is still soft. But, I will get there. I'm just going to be late.

What this arduous month of March has done for me this year, is force me to stop to consider what we all know. There is always a silver lining. There is always joy that comes in the morning and there are always special, thoughtful moments that softly say: "Remember this; it is all worth it."