Busy Sunday...

A favorite friend since I was 8 years old is in Maine visiting, and kindly treated us to lunch today. It was fun to be together, even for a little bit. Some of my happiest childhood memories involve this friend. It is so special to spend time with people I have loved most of my life. Thank you, Melanie!



Since I knew we had a lunch date, I packed a lot of activity into my morning. After regular morning chores, I then cleaned up a few wheel barrows full of horse manure from the pasture. Next I cleaned out the goat room and the pony shed. Chris joined me and we did a little fencing, and took down the fence that had previously contained the broiler and new layer chicks. I also had a variety of livestock feed and water pans scattered hither and yon... I collected all those and piled them up on the picnic table. This week I will give them all a good cleaning and store them away. Next, we delivered some goat milk to the farm where the calf I wrote about yesterday lives, and dropped some goat poo off at the veterinarians office to check for worms. We picked up some livestock feed and shavings at our favorite store, then took the weeks trash to the transfer station. After that we ran home, took care of the dogs, grabbed beach gear and headed out for lunch.

Full of food and happy from our visit, we drove the lovely route to Pemaquid State Park, and the sweet little beach there. We like this beach for several reasons, one of which is that the sand is filled with little flecks of gold colored minerals that sparkle magically with every wave. I waded into the ocean up to my hips, but that is as deep as I could manage, the water was very, VERY cold. We read a bit, daydreamed a bit, and walked the shoreline. We watched young families with kids playing in the water, old couples walking along the waters edge, happy groups sharing picnics, teens giggling and teasing each other. Gulls swooped low overhead, looking for sandwiches or potato chips. The air was filled with happy voices, laughter, and the unforgettable sound of surf meeting the shore.



There was a little girl playing at the waters edge. She spent a lot of time squatting, her long, wavy blond hair a cape around her shoulders, looking at shells and capturing wee hermit crabs. She was around 8 years old, and reminded me... of me. She was entranced by the sea and the life around her. I watched her a long time, remembering the way I saw life in the years before I was ever even double digits. Life was good then. Life is good now. I am still agog at the wonders of the world around me.



I find it hard to tear myself away from our little farm on a day off, there is much that should be done. But a day at the beach? It feeds our souls.