The view from the end of the far field…my other happy place.
It was quite a job, but Mr. FixIt and I got the blades turned around right without having to take off the mower deck. Believe me, it was not easy. We were both rolling around on the driveway, reaching as far as we could and jamming a piece of 4×4 in there to keep the blade from turning as Mr. FixIt tightened the bolt. As soon as we were done, we gassed it up and added oil and I was ready to go. Wouldn’t you know, just thirty minutes in, the belt popped off again! But once we had it back on, it stayed on and I had the mowing done in about three hours.
Our Flowering Quince…one of my favorites here at Marshmallow Ranch!
We decided to clean up and head to town to eat at our favorite homestyle diner for the huge salads they serve, then we went to City Park and walked a lap. We had to stop at Lowe’s…again! I think I’m going to have to forward our mail there as often as we go! But, once that was finished…we were done for the day.
The pear tree I thought was dying has bloomed after all!
I went for a walkabout last night when the light was so pretty and reflecting spring in that greeny-gold way it does at this time of year. Between the flowers at the park and here at home, my heart was as full as my tummy! It was a beautiful day. I told Mr. FixIt on our way into town that being out and working like we’ve been this week has felt like such a reprieve from the long, dark, cold of winter’s grip.
A closeup of the Flowering Quince.
I’m sure we’ll be sore today, but it’s the good kind of sore that come from an honest day’s work. I look at what my cousin Tammy and her girls accomplish raising cattle and lambs, gardening, and putting all that food by on top of the mowing, and I have it easy, really. As I was rounding the last lap of mowing, my heart swelled with the love I have for this life with Mr. FixIt. The love I have for this land…for West Virginia in general. I know I said I was going to leave the far field unmoved to create a pollinator garden this spring, but it’s just so beautiful when it’s finished. It takes me less than four hours to mow it all. And the seed to create the field the way it needs to be done is expensive. We’ve just decided we like it this way so this is the way it will stay for as long as we’re here. I mean….we live in West Virginia. It’s not that we’re lacking the availability of pollinator friendly meadows all around us.
I always love the view down in the far field when the sun has gone down behind the ridge. Soon, those trees will be leafed out!
I’ve been seeing tons of butterflies this spring. And there are bees galore. Mr. FixIt came out the back door the other night and there was a bat hanging from the light fixture over the stairs to the basement. I haven’t seen any snakes yet this year. The field is filled with mole and vole tunnels….little ridges that stick up high enough for the mower to scalp them.
Flowers at City Park during our walk.
We may go out to the farm today to see if we can get the old John Deere started and get that yard mowed for the first time this year. I need to get downstairs and finish up that quilt by Monday so I can get it to the quilter. I hope you all are getting outside shaking some of the winter blahs off!
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“I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul! He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara. For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms, So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations.”
Isaiah 61:10-11 MSG
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