When farm life is overwhelming, the practice of taking photos helps me to notice beauty and fight back against the urge to throw my hands up in defeat. Here are a few of the good ones.
My daughter is running, skirt and hair flying, arms pumping, bursting in the door to proclaim the good news: Mom! A zucchini! I follow her outside, unable to resist her joy. She picks up a stick and gently, reverently, moves the giant leaves aside to point at her discovery. There it is: a smooth, green, baby zucchini, beautiful and full of potential, quietly astonishing. We admire together, and share the delight of noticing this good fruit.
Proof that there is beauty here, too. In the last week or so, I have felt it... the prickle of the beginning of a yearning for spring. It varies, year-to-year, when this hits. Sometimes, I can make it all the way through to February, especially if the sun shines on sparkly snow and I regularly go out snowshoeing and I have lots of good books to read. But, this year, so far, it has often been gray and cold and windy, and we were sick through Christmas, and I slipped on the ice this morning. So when that first seed catalog hit my mailbox, my optimistic "enjoy every season" discipline slipped, and for a moment, I allowed myself to imagine the summertime garden and warm sun on my shoulders. Big Mistake. Each year, regardless of when it starts, the longing slowly increases. My mind wanders to green things growing, barn swallows returning, and goats munching on weeds. I start to think of the shovel in my hands, the smell of spring dirt, the taste of snap peas. The wish for spring ...
Earlier this summer, I received a bread machine as a gift. I was intrigued by the concept of tossing in the ingredients and then walking away. On the first run-through, my curiosity kept me peeking at the dough to see what was happening. Sure enough, when the timer beeped for the last time, I opened the lid to find a completely baked loaf of bread that I had not touched once, just as advertised. It smelled amazing as I popped it out of the pan. It tasted delicious after we cut into it. But, we all agreed, there was something off. The loaf was a perfect rectangular prism, browned evenly on each side, utilitarian and efficient. It was ugly. What this loaf of bread was missing was, quite simply, beauty . And, it turns out, beauty is an important part of life. I love to plant flower gardens and watch them grow into a riot of color. I delight in braiding my daughter's hair and fastening it with a ribbon. The...