The sun was shining and it was above freezing so I thought I’d venture out for a walk on a beautiful afternoon. I started out with a scarf, gloves, boots and a fleece coat.
Walking down the road was easy enough. The road is hard packed and dry for the most part. When I got to the end of the road I decided to cut across the cornfield that I walk through during the warmer months. There was a little snow and I could see a bit of Mother Earth peeking through.
As I started across the field the snow was about an inch or so deep. It wasn’t long until the snow was above my ankles and it was getting harder to walk through. My legs got quite the workout. I’d be praying to the Charlie Horse Gods if there were such things.
Mother Earth is a soggy mess. When I wasn’t crunching through the snow I was sliding in the mud. I made it to the lane and that was river city. I had to change course and continue through the corn field until I made it to my son’s soggy yard. Another side trip through another corn field and then finally a dry barn driveway around the barns.
From there it was smooth sailing or sliding depending on the mud in the driveway. The gloves were off, the scarf gone and everything unbuttoned.
Oh, the glorious smells! Cows, manure and even silage smell. Indescribable pleasure as good as any cookie baking in the oven. The blue sky, the warm sun on my face, Son #2’s chickens and roosters squawking and even a sea gull flying overhead added to the delight of Spring coming.
It’s been a tough go around the farm for over a year now with milk prices so low. Springtime is the essential, critical push of hope Farmers depend on to propel them into another year. A new season begins when a farmer can wrap themselves with the warm sun, smell the sleeping earth, and hear the wind whispering “this year will be better”.
Faith, Hope, Trust and Love are some reasons why there is a close relationship between farming and the good Lord. We have faith that He will provide where we can’t produce. We hope for a better year, a better crop, and better prices and better days ahead. We trust His ability to lead and guide us. We love the land and animals He has loaned us. There is something about taking care of God’s ground and critters that fills your soul with wonder.
A little sunshine, warm air, blue skies, and the smell of dirt, just what you need to get those endorphins dancing.
