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As winter begins to loosen its grip on the land, the thaw has begun. The ground, previously as hard as concrete, unyielding and uncooperative, has softened. This marks a transitional period, during which Nature’s beauty must be quickly captured before it disappears.
Continue reading “Haiku: Preserved Pools”This probably needs very little explanation, so I’ll keep it brief: it’s very cold here right now (snowing as I write this) and the puddle near the goose coop is frozen. As the video shows, the geese can’t help but venture into (onto) the puddle, which has become a skating rink. While the gander in this scene may have sacrificed his dignity, note that his attitude remains intact. 😂
Ah, the cursed ice! Despite how carefully I’ve tried to tread, my luck finally ran out and I did some kind of unwanted (and undeniably ungraceful) move trying to prevent myself from landing hard on the icy ground.
While I may ultimately have failed to stop the tumble, at least it really only involved a slow-motion (at least in my head) flailing of arms and awkward footwork, resulting in a semi-rough landing on a knee and rear. That ice felt less forgiving than concrete! I think the fact that I was pulling the loaded cart actually helped prevent a more painful fall, and I seem to have escaped physical injury.🍀 Seriously though, the ice is bad news…you don’t know where it’s slick – assume everywhere – or when you’re going to lose footing. And, thanks to heavy sleet and periodic melt that refreezes at night, the ground is one, thick, solid sheet of ice. A veritable skating rink. There’s no escape.
To my fellow farmers (and anyone else) dealing with the ice, I wish you the best of luck in keeping your footing. An injury on the farm is a big deal, so I hope we all weather the storm as well as can be expected and come out of it as hearty and hale as we were before this weather blew in…and with our dignity intact.
Nature never fails to amaze, despite how much we take her for granted. In the midst of a spell of frigid weather that’s left surfaces coated in thick ice (making walking treacherous, at best), and among the myriad prints that have been left in the snow by our boots and various animal visitors, I happened upon this, this very morning. Does she know it’s Valentine’s Day? I choose to believe it’s not a coincidence, that she left something remarkable as a reminder that Nature needs – and deserves – our care and protection, too.
You might think that with all the unexpectedness that occurs on the farm, little would surprise me – but you’d be wrong. While exploring a shot of an ice-ringed pool, I discovered something in its shallow depths that was simply…startling.
Continue reading “Haiku: The Eye And The Fish”
