I had a crappy week. There’s nothing particularly bad that happened, it was mostly just a combination of things. Friends, work, waiting… Friday was particularly bad with the dreary weather and smashing my finger with the chopping block in the morning and being behind on all the things I wanted to get done. I managed to get it all done and headed out to the farm. I almost waited until late in the evening to go, but instead I gathered myself and went. And I’m glad I did.
I got there and the weather was clearing. I got the oils parceled out for the class in the morning (no measuring in class to speed things up). Alysha and Theresa had already parceled out the oils for the kits we were selling. I put all the instruction sheets in the slip covers and we had dinner with the sun slipping over the horizon out the front window. I was exhausted tired and worn out. I walked out to the bunk house in the dark, not dark enough to not see anything, but dark enough so you can’t make out many shapes. I could see the silhouette of the horses in the pasture against the night sky though.
When I started sneezing uncontrollably in the guest house (dust/mite allergy – it happens everywhere), I grabbed my stuff and hoofed, in the dark, up to the house to sleep on the couch. Again, walking in the dark up there, there are a million more stars than usual. It always catches my breath, every time I see it. It’s like a thousand million stars bursting the sky open and it’s so quiet but for the spring peepers, the crickets, the snuffle and stamp of a horse, and the eerie, but not unpleasant sound of the power lines than run to the milk house.
I slept on their VERY long, but VERY comfortable couch. The windows were open to the back porch, and the fan was blowing. Sometime around midnight, I heard the wind shift and the windchimes pick up. Shortly after there was the ting-ting of rain slowly starting and making its music on the metal roof (I cannot WAIT for metal roof – I love that sound!). The rain started harder, and I was lulled back to sleep by it. I woke up several times, mostly due to unfamiliar noises. Dogs barking chasing off potential predators. Babies crying out to be fed. Roosters mistakenly crowing at 1am. And 3am. Then more appropriately waking me at 6am. Alysha was already up, but I awoke fully shortly after. We had a cup of tea and chatted for a while, it’s nice to have that early morning time before the girls are up and attentions get split. I grabbed my camera and headed out to the back pasture to take pictures of the cows and calves.
Boy howdy was I rewarded for my early morning. If my week was as unsatisfactory as it was, this early morning photography healed me and helped put the pieces back together.
I headed to the backyard to take pictures of the chickens, clucking and crowing in the sunrise. They were guzzling from the water trough, climbing all over the implements, and somewhere there was a couple of turkeys gobbling among the cacaphony.
I headed around the side of the house and became enamored of the texture of the cedar posts. I love Texas, and one thing I extra love about Texas is the cedar elm/juniper trees and their fun peeling bark.
The sun was rising in the back pasture where I finally found the wet cows (ones with calves that are being milked).
But I had to stop to get some pictures of the dew on the grass.
I got to the pasture with the cows and found myself an item of interest, especially by some of the younger cows and the calves. I got these shots while I was crouched down, and these cows hilariously snuck up to me very slowly, trying to figure out what I was on about.
I got a couple, like this shot, where I just lucked out the the sun was in the perfect position.
And then there was this curious cow. She crept closer and closer and closer, it was hilarious!
Then there was this calf who peeked out from behind the backside of this cow.
And this has got to be my favorite picture of the day.
I went to go visit the pigs in the lower pasture and the new draft horses were very curious what I was up to. As I stood and took pictures of the pigs, this one came up to me and snuffeled me seriously from tip of my head to my knees, lipping my hair, my camera strap, my jacket. As I took pictures, he stuck his nose in the way. He wasn’t pushy, just curious. He wasn’t a big fan of the pigs, but more what I was doing. I miss horses. I miss my Aspercel, as dumb as he was. I love the way they smell, I love the way they feel. I cannot wait to have my own.
The pigs were happy to lay about in the dirt. They were snuffling at me with their little prehensile nosels, but mostly just laying around with what I’d think of as a pig-grin.
I even got a shot of one yawning, though I’d like to think (in my head) he was going “LA-LA-LA!!” like Babe.
I came back in for a quick shower and some breakfast (thanks Alysha!) and went to teach my soap class (which I didn’t get any pictures of). I think went mostly well. We were cramped into a small space and I felt like we didn’t really have the room we could have used. There were about 8 people in class, and we made a batch of peppermint oatmeal soap (I cannot WAIT for those bars) and they all seemed to really enjoy it. After class, I sat outside and ate my PB&J that I brought with a couple of the ladies in class.
As I drove home later that afternoon, my arm getting sunburnt hanging out the window, I stopped at one of the local churches to take pictures of the indian paintbrush. The roads were carpeted in flowers, bluebonnets, purple whispy things, yellow, pink, red, it was like a rainbow. Seeing bluebonnets next to orange paintbrush or yellow bushy things, I was reminded that I was always told those colors never went together, but they looked pretty fantastic next to each other there.
I came home singing at the top of my lungs, filled with the beauty and wonder of how fantastic the world is and how wonderful it is to have such great friends.