Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Taking Time....

I believe it's time to TAKE time.  It's time to take my own advice and heed the implied warning by Mohandas Gandhi in my sub-head on this blog:

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

Whew!  It's summer out here JOTOLR.  Summer at full throttle.  We're living at warp speed...well....you can only do things so fast on a farm!  Picking, canning, drying, cheesemaking, milking, weeding, fall planting--it's a huff 'n puff whirlwind out here.  No time for slackers!  Yesterday began like this:



The brief downpour was welcome.  And we milked Marigold under the new metal roof and stall, staying dry, enjoying the musical drumbeat of droplets overhead.

But then, I went to pick plums and had an argument with a wasp that protested my intrusion and quibbled about parting with some of the succulent orbs on the tree .  It stung me on the nose.  Painful as it was, I was more indignant about its attitude than I was disturbed by the ouch!  


On the way back to the house with a dishpan full of beautiful plums destined immediately for jars, I found this lovely butterfly, albeit no longer living.  I don't usually photograph dead insects, but in this case, it gave me an opportunity to explore its glistening splendor.

Finally, another shower visited us right before sundown, followed by the goodnight kiss of a rainbow!


3 comments:

  1. Elora -- magnificent photo of the rainbow! Are the photos of the butterfly underside and top? I love the name of your cow -- Marigold. When you write about your life on the farm it all sounds so bucolic yet I have a feeling that there are lots of "stings," to farming. but they pass fast and enjoyment reigns once again. -- barbara

    ReplyDelete
  2. Barbara,

    I get sooo much pleasure from your comments. You sure made me chuckle, today! It's been another "stinging" day out here JOTOLR! The fridge drain froze, collected a ton of water in the bottom of the fridge, which turned to a huge block of ice, which required complete thawing...oh, well....and you are sooo right! Time to make lemonade! (when life throws you some lemons)

    The butterfly's most colorful side is the "bottom" and the irridescent blue is the top.

    Love you, girl. I just poked my head into my office here and haven't managed to check out your blog for the day. I believe this evening will give some space.

    And BTW, thank you for guiding me to Vicki Lane. I just bought all her books, ordered the new one coming out 9/28 and have started on the first one. She is a super wonderful writer, and we actually share a few things in our personal lives that make sharing delightful. Thank you so much! She's a very nifty person. For anyone reading this, if you don't know of Vicki Lane's Mysteries, and you'd enjoy a good read, you'll want to visit the website of a real live author who makes no bones about being a real live human being, too...go to:

    www.vickilanemysteries.blogspot.com

    From there, you can also access her new promo blog for her next book coming out September 28th from Dell Mysteries called The Day of Small Things. Her mysteries are set in the Appalachians and she comes highly recommended by Sharyn McCrumb (love Sharyn McCrumb's books, too!)

    Thanks again, Barbara
    Elora

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dang, Elora -- you're making me blush. You got it right about the real live human being though -- every muscle in my body is reminding me of that just now after a strenuous session pruning back overgrown shrubbery.

    Thanks so much for the kind words!

    ReplyDelete