Twenty years I have walked this place. I know every rock, every tree. There are so many memories here. So many new lives beginning their journey, so many old friends going on to the next step of theirs. I have watched the creek banks change year by year, sometimes bending right, sometimes left, as the spring rains cause the sand to deposit here and there. One time there was a little island in the middle, I would wade out and sit there and think. One year the water froze solid for so long we had to go out with sledge hammers and break holes so the cows could drink. One year there was a drought and I had to pull buckets of water out of the pool for them. Then we got the well working. There was the cow that the vet wouldn't even come help because " she will never survive". We worked on her ourselves for hours. She survived. Remember when I stepped off the edge of the concrete barrier and fell backwards into several feet of liquid manure? In the winter. In 20 degree weather. Stuff seeped right through my jeans and I had to strip and put on one of Chip's extra work shirts for the drive home. Over the last 20 years we have done so much to improve upon the place, make it more comfortable. We started an artificial insemination breeding program and greatly improved the genetics of our herd. Last summer, one of our heifers won all of her classes at the fair, and Grand Champion. This was our very first time showing, and one of Chip's very proudest moments.
So many wonderful things have happened here, and there are so many more in store . I just returned from another walk. It is cold, wet and muddy. But it is that beautiful dark blue of dusk , with the trees casting shadows in the last of the days sunlight. And Spring is just around the corner. Soon the grass will be green and the leaves will be on the trees and the little animals will come out to play again. And I shall walk with my beloved by my side. Always, always, by my side.
Love and Light
No comments:
Post a Comment