First time climbing a tree

It was a little scary.

A perfect little present

Dill from a friend's garden, when I had forgotten to plant some myself.

This rainy, quiet Friday morning...

My wonderful new job

I have a new job! Come this Fall, I will be the Livestock Manager at Stony Kill Farm. It's a working farm that exists to further environmental and agricultural education, and has a long and storied history. The barn itself dates to 1860, and the farmstead is simply gorgeous. Take a look at their site. I can't to it justice here.

I will be caring for six Hereford cows, four Jersey cows, a dozen or so Tunis sheep, two pigs, and a flock of turkeys and chickens.

These are some of the animals:

I am so grateful to have the chance to work with these animals and learn more about their care. Waking up to go to "work" in the morning is going to be a breeze.

The Summer Day

Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean-
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?