Cove Life

Today was breathtakingly beautiful. The sky reminded me of New Mexico, with wide sweeping vistas, white white clouds and the only sounds were song birds, horses, cattle, sheep, dogs and, rarely, a vehicle going from there to somewhere else. We're so blessed to live here, to be surrounded by the beauty of God's creation and the sounds of His universe. And nothing else. How many people live with so much noise in their lives? How do they stand it? Have they become so immune to noise they don't realize it threatens to drown out His voice? I shudder.


The Eastern bluebirds have been nesting for several weeks and I delight in watching them. Unfortunately, they don't realize I mean no harm and, even though I'm some distance from them, they still dive bomb me.
Here, they bring food to either their young or, most probably, the mother on the nest; I'm not sure because I won't look in the box. Time will tell. Evenings find us on the front porch to relax, enjoy the evening, catch up with each other and drink a glass of wine or port. This has been a tradition for many years and the dogs have always enjoyed the day's end as well. Abbie watches over her kingdom, making sure all is well in her world.
The hummingbirds have been back for a couple of days so today I put out feed for them. We enjoy watching their antics, listening to their chatter and keeping out of their way as they race around the porch. Generally, we'll have half a dozen, perhaps more, by early summer. Today, we have two but anticipate more.The two feeders hang on the front porch and I'm entertaining notions of hanging more. Aunt Esther has half dozen feeders, some are liter soda bottles, and she has three dozen hummingbirds visit her every year. Hmmm...more feeders, more hummng birds...that sounds about right.

On the way into the Cove today, we came upon some horses being moved from pasture to pasture. The older boy, riding bareback, was at the back of the herd while a younger boy was walking at the front of the herd. For a while, all was calm as Dave and I slowed to a crawl to stop traffic from racing up on the lads. As they neared the curve of the road, where you see the curved dirt road in the distance, they came upon another pasture of horses. Mayhem ensured as the horses in the road began racing to and fro, calling out to their kin. The pastured horses raced along the fence line and I was concerned the boy leading the herd would be trampled. He had one horse with bridle and halter but the rest of the horses were loose and excited. The older boy motioned us past so we didn't see "the rest of the story." I do know how timid I am in a herd of horses; after all, they are animals and even when handled daily, can become excited and knock each other about. A small human doesn't stand much chance.
Life in the Cove means seeing something different, yet much the same, daily. No matter how much time we give ourselves to get to town, something can always happen to slow us down and remind us what little control, really, we have over this thing called life. Sheep, horses, cattle moved from pasture to pasture mean we creep and crawl until it's safe to pass or the animals have reached their new pasture. Deer or other wildlife crossing the road mean we slow to allow safe passage, tractors driven on their appointed rounds also cause us to drive more slowly.

Farm time is, I believe, more closely aligned to God's time than any other time. People living in cities or urban areas race by the clock while we move to the seasons. Country people have a rhythm that's dictated by the calendar and, pretty much, we have certain things that need to be done on calendar time, not clock time. I don't get very excited about clock time as there's very little I do that's dictated by the clock. As long as I get to the feed store, post office, library...iow, town, between 8 and 5, Monday through Friday, I'm good to go. Church is always Sunday and every now and again there's something special like a community meeting or supper. Generally, I awaken when it's light and go to bed a couple of hours after dark. Unless, of course, like last night when I drank half a gallon of iced tea during the day and the caffeine kept me awake all hours. -smile-

Because Dave and I choose to keep farm time, we have time for ourselves, for contemplation, reflection and enjoyment of our blessings. My days are spent doing those things that give Dave and I an excellent quality of life - gardening, working in the studio, quilting, knitting, spinning, working the horses and sheep, keeping house, baking, cooking - all things that bring not only good food but also enjoyment and pleasure into our lives. Time is made to write notes and letters, telephone and e-mail family and friends and, yes, enjoy a glass of wine on the front porch.

Blessings ~ farm time ~ Cove life ~ horses ~ birds ~ wine ~ calendar time ~