Personally Speaking

It's been 11 years since we left life in the suburbs,

and I truthfully have never looked back or wished we were 

anywhere other than where we are right now.

This is not the life for everyone... and thank goodness for that,

or the countryside would not be what it is today, right?

But, for me, personally, it is the only life I can imagine.

I live in a beautiful world...

a magical world.

At least, that is how I choose to see it.

(Certainly you, too, see the beauty in mushrooms growing on manure!

It's a place filled with blue skies and storybook clouds,

(unless of course it's raining... which it does a fair amount...

but that's ok, because there is magic in a rainy day as well).

It's a place where cornflower-blue chicory, daisies, day lilies,

asters, pink clover, happy Black-eyed Susans, and a myriad of other

wildflowers populate the roadsides.

It's a place where deer run free, and bears stop by for breakfast...

where all manner of wildlife has room to roam and feed,

 and clear-running streams from which to drink.

As we bike through our countryside, we enjoy a 

smorgasbord of smells :  fields of new-mown hay,

moist, loamy, earthy woods,

the sweet, heady perfume of wildflowers and honeysuckle.

Personally, though I love my people... my family and friends,

I tend to be an introvert.

Yes, really.

My soul is fed by the solitude of a quiet walk through the woods.

I find joy in immersing myself in the natural world -

and can lose myself there...

and in actuality, find myself there.

We had a perfect weekend... filled with that which I love.

Time, well spent with loved ones, little...

and big.

Time spent with our animal friends is always wonderful.

Now that it is summer, we seem to spend so much more time

out and about

enjoying all of the critters.

 We also spent time immersed in the beauty of nature...

with bike rides and jaunts into the woods,

 in search of moss-

hoping to cultivate some moss between the bricks and stepping stones of

the walkway into my shed.

I swapped out my childhood desk for this "find of the century"

secretary that I happened upon in a favorite antique store...

the dealer making me an offer I couldn't refuse.

My childhood desk was returned to our guest room.

And I took the suggestion that I needed a rocking chair 

on the front porch - and also came home with this beauty.

I would tell you that now I am finished,

but we both know that would be a fib....

always tweaking!
(and yes, that big crock has a smaller pot inside...otherwise it would
be too heavy to lift)

Here are a few nighttime shots.

There is nothing like the peace and tranquility that evening brings.

Let's bask in the glow of the oil lamps...

maybe sip a little brandy before retiring for the night...

and then sleep soundly after a good day spent in this 

beautiful world!

PS:

After much consideration, I made the personal decision, this weekend, 

to leave Facebook.

In its basic form it has the potential to be a wonderful platform for bringing

people together... for those distanced by miles to be closer.

Sadly, though, over the past several years, it has been used for rather

nefarious purposes.  We have all felt the sting of the divided

world in which we live, and Facebook has contributed to this

divisiveness in countless ways.

Because their primary motivator is profits, they refuse to be held accountable

for the proliferation of the mis-information, outright lies, and hatred

that can be found on their platform.

It's not that I have been a victim, personally...

we have all been victims.

I came to the realization that the only way I can help to combat this,

is my refusal to be part of the machine.

And so I have left.

I will miss seeing my friends, but will strive to stay in touch through other ways.

I will keep my Instagram account active (@beehavenacres).
Even though they were acquired by Facebook,
 they still remain in their original format.

If you have been reading my blog through your Facebook feed,

I apologize for the inconvenience.

I can offer you a subscription that will arrive daily in your email

if you are having difficulty in arriving directly here each day.

Please email me if you would like me to add you to the subscription list.

(There is a link at the top of the blog home page... beneath the 

Tales From The Farm title, but I have heard that it can be hard to navigate.)

I can help you with that.

It is my hope that we can continue to visit with each other,

as I have enjoyed your friendships.

Please, never hesitate to leave me a question or comment,

as I try to eventually answer all questions within the content of this blog.

I am trying to contribute to a kinder, gentler world...

as we are more alike than we are different,

and as humans we are capable of so much good and so much love.

Hugs to you!

Bev