The Occasion of Kindness
In preparation for Mara's arrival today, Emma and I have been spending our time walking the paddocks, checking fence lines and tickle tape (the one electric fence we have for training purposes), and generally seeing to the health of all our hoofed charges. As you've seen, each has their own needs and supports and it does occupy the daylight hours a bit. From cleaning out the donkeys' shed to morning and evening bucket feeding, you get a rhythm going for what's necessary and what's just bonus time well spent.
As I was walking along the backside of one of the paddocks, looking for the errant golf balls that end up being shanked into the grass from the golf course directly behind us, I happened upon this delightful little Cat's Eye or Germander Speedwell. You'd probably not stop to give it much consideration given its mean estate, but against a sea of green grass and other low-lying weeds, its colour does stand out a bit.
It's fascinating to try to capture all the variations of plant life on the farm. I've taken to using an app on my phone to quickly capture and curate which, nine times out of ten, is useful. Occasionally, you'll run into an adjacency problem where a species of plant is too similar to another so, you'll get contrasting answers depending on how the sun is angled. All said and done, it's been a wonderful experience seeing the wide variety of flora present here.
We're coming into early blackberry season, our sloes are starting to grow a bit faster, the elderberry bushes are still pushing their leafy greens out into the air, and our black currants are in full fruit. The hawthorns with their hawberries will be ready in a month or so and the horses are busy chewing down anything not firmly rooted to the ground. Womble has a particular penchant for ash leaves so, we try to keep her mollified every now and again with a branch or two.
Thankfully, Emma was out earlier this spring with the sprayer targeting the ragwort, sorel, dock, and buttercup that inevitably raise their toxic stems to the sky. Our thistles are finding their way up too but Womble and the others love the new growth so, they get topped rather quickly. Anything else will get a heave-ho when we get the flail mower attached for a late-season cutting. We don't have plans for mowing and baling until such a time as we can get the general rotation and fields back to health so maintaining clear fields with judicious harrowing and trimming is the general order.
Ah well, it's another Monday and with Mara's arrival will come new excitement, a new mouth to feed, a new heart to love on, and a new experience to embark on. We're grateful for the resource to be able to live and love with this tiny herd and for the joy it brings, not just to us, but to those who inhabit our orbits.
I've come to the understanding that being a blessing to others is half accidental, half intentional, and wholly contingent on making an effort. Maybe that's the best part of the human experience; doing things without the expectation of greatness and finding the unrivaled beauty of kindness along the way.
As you crawl into your Monday with sleep-ladened eyes, spend a little time walking your paddocks, your little spaces you've carved. Stop and appreciate the tiniest of flowers, the weeds-turned-wonderful, and the little splashes of joy that come from being kind. It'll set the tone for your week, I promise.
May it ever be so.
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