Friday, July 24, 2015

Tractor Rides, Aunts and Biscuit

Our girls are here. This is the summer when they are six and three and who they are right now will not be repeated. This is Emma's fourth summer and Paige's second summer .Em comes with missing teeth and a lot longer legs than last year. She still has her strong will and sometimes peculiar fashion sense and she is actually a bit more helpful this year. Paige comes quite independent often declaring 'I can do it myself' with attitude. She is fearless on the monkey bars and can pump herself high into the sky on the swing. She roams outside like a country girl and follows Grampie everywhere. They did some calculating this morning, figuring out how old they will be next year and the year after and how old they were last year and so on. It is activities like that that fill our days. It is the little moments that blend together to make the big and lasting memories of being together. Last night Emma was getting up to wash her hands after supper and slipped in behind her Grampie's chair to go to the laundry room. As we stood at the sink she said " I love Toad . He said 'Can you get by little Toad?" No major thing , just the building blocks of a major relationship that will carry them both throughout the years. This morning the girls were thrilled as our timid and standoffish Biscuit who rarely comes into the main part of the house and who has never gone all way to the top floor, followed them right upstairs . They were so excited to have him join them. Monkey could have managed her bath without both girls and Biscuit beside the tub but privacy is for another time. Paige ran to meet Grampie as he came out of the woods and she hitched a ride to where he unloaded the twitch of wood. She chastised him for not wearing his seatbelt. He assured her it was all right not to wear it in the tractor. Then the girls headed to town with their aunts. They adore Aunt Brianne and Aunt Ashlie. Their excitement each time they get to spend time with their aunts and uncles makes the visit extra special. These girls are growing so fast. We will throw in trips to the beach, family outings and a huge family vacation to PEI but this visit is about the kind of things I have mentioned. It is in these moments that it becomes so clear just how very important building the lasting relationships with the ones we love really is. So again, we enjoy the time we have with our girls doing the simple things that come about just by being together.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Never Enough Thyme

Thyme I seem to be able to do without but time I could use more of. I do have the wonderful stretch of a new day each morning and for that I am truly grateful. But where does the time go? Mid July used to make me nervous because summer was passing so quickly. My friend Kathy, who is still teaching, does not like to be reminded of that. My week is going quickly as I try squeeze as much into the hours I have left before I go to get my granddaughters. I am very excited for them to be here. Summer would not be summer these years without their visits and I will love every minute. But my time and my routine will be very different while they are here and my productivity will diminish. Today I tackle a few more garden tasks that will leave the garden in good form for the neglect it is likely to get when the girls are here. I do expect them to be a little bit more self sufficient this year but I know Monkey and Toad will be kept busy. The memories we make in these weeks can not be measured and a few weeds in the garden is a small price to pay for the pleasure of seeing them , hearing them and having them with us on the farm. This is the time that matters!

Monday, July 6, 2015

Making Hay While the Sun Shines

It is summer. I finally felt it for sure yesterday as it was my first two swim day. Maybe today will be a three swim day if I get away from my computer and out to the garden . Yesterday we also ate Sunday supper outside and until the bugs got too bad, had a fun game of bocce ball. Another sign of summer was the load of hay that the boys brought up the driveway Saturday afternoon. That was a real big deal for us. Caleb and Ashlie got three cows last fall. It has been fun watching them (Caleb and Ashlie not the cows although the cows are fun to watch too). Caleb had them in a new pasture when I got home from my tour in May. He then bought a baler and he and his brother got Burton's old rake working and cut their first load of hay on Friday. This week Cale will head to another field , a field that holds lots of memories and attachment for us and cut hay there. Again a big deal for all of us. Zac used to get together a rag tag crew of friends, cousins and his two little brothers and while his father was away in Gagetown for the summer would cut and bale hay for the animals we had at the time. I used to help my Dad , grandfather and brother load hay . It was definitely a summer thing . I love seeing my boys caught up in the challenge of haying ;weather, equipment breakdown, lack of manpower to name just a few. For me the very practical endeavor of cutting grass to feed livestock during the winter is mixed up with so many emotions, lots of memory and pride. I am so thankful that Zac taught his little brothers so much in the short time he was given. I am so proud his brothers took to heart his teachings and his passion and will carry it on . Our farm is a family farm;a place of memory, of caring, of hard steady effort that means so much more than anyone can know . But Burton and I know and as we become the elders allowing the younger generation to take over (although I do not see them rushing to weed the gardens) we filled with pride when that topsy turvy load of hay was driven up our driveway.