There are so many benefits to living rurally. So many, that I will never leave the country. I am a country gal through and through. First and foremost, for me, is the joy of living hand in hand with nature - experiencing the sights and sounds and smells that make up the natural world. I cannot imagine falling asleep at night without the lullaby of thousands of crickets and katydids. To me, it's as soothing as the sound of waves on the shore.
Each new day brings experiences of wonder and amazement. Many of these I am able to capture and share with you in photos. Sometimes, however, I have to paint a picture with words. For example, two evenings ago as we drove down our road towards the ice cream shop, we reached a bend in the road about a quarter of a mile from our farm. On one side of the road are woods, on the other, a field planted in soybeans. As we rounded the bend and looked into that lush, green field, we saw a large group of white-tail deer. Now, that, in itself, is nothing out of the ordinary. What was unusual about this group of deer was the fact that it was a bachelor group. There were 7 bucks, all standing together with huge antlers - and not just a few points. These bucks all had enormous racks on their heads. I'd never ever seen anything like this before and probably never will again. It was nothing short of magical. In a few short weeks, mating season will begin and these bucks will be competing for females. This particular evening, however, all were peacefully mingling... amazing! Sadly, I did not have a good enough vantage point to photograph this... you'll just have to take my word for it.
Yesterday, we spent a few hours on the river, kayaking.
It was our first kayak trip of the summer, and Maggie's first kayaking trip ever.
I only wish we had had more time and had done this more often. Perhaps we can get another trip in yet this year. And, there's always next summer.
Again, it was a day filled with amazing sightings. But, as is sometimes the case, things happen too quickly to photograph. We saw a bald eagle flying over the river, several kingfishers, and several cormorants. There were turtles sunning themselves on logs, fish jumping, and hundreds of damsel flies and dragon flies flying along beside us. I was able to photograph the damsel flies...
with their enormous eyes and funny smiles!
A few blue herons crossed our paths.
On the shoreline, purple loosestrife, and marsh hibiscus were covered with pollinators.
It was a wonderful trip down the river on a beautiful day. I am so grateful to be able to enjoy this wild, natural world! And... happy to be able to share it with you!
Meanwhile back on the farm... there were no escapees yesterday. Daphne continues to refuse her fly mask (bless her heart).
The pond duck count is now up to 18. (it grows a little every day!)
And the crazy guinea youngsters are now fully grown and oddly enough, returning to the duck house to roost each and every night. I never would have guessed that guineas were even remotely trainable. Wonders never cease!
PS... a question arose about the salt that I am using for my herbed salts. I buy extra large crystals of Mediterranean sea salt (not rock salt) and it gets ground down by the food processor after I add it to the herbs and garlic. I ran it through the processor an additional time yesterday to make it just a bit finer. Next time, I will most likely process the salt first so that the rosemary pieces don't get pulverized. The taste is still the same... divine. But the aesthetics changed a bit.
Comments
4:00!
What fun on the water you had. Must be so relaxing. How do you tell a damsel from a dragonfly?
Enjoy your day!