Sunday, August 31, 2014

You Know Me- Poop And Sleep And Stars And Dirt


This, my friends, is why I generally wear shoes in the garden. Have you ever seen feet that dirty? I had to wash them outside in the hose with the dish soap. They were that bad.
I hadn't really thought to work in the garden. I was having the absolute most lazy day and hadn't accomplished one damn thing after making those pancakes.
Which is fine.
My husband and I shared a little quality time and I took a nap that was like sinking to the depths of the Mariana Trench and when I woke up, I would not have been surprised to discover that Owen was now in college and had a beard and that Chelsea Clinton was the president of the United States of North and South America.

I sat on the couch for a little while and moaned that possibly I was NOW getting sore and I didn't know what was wrong with me and played a little Words With Friends with Mr. Moon who was sitting two feet away from me, happily ensconced in his new chair watching golf on the TV which to my mind is like watching napkin folding only not quite as interesting.

And then I decided that I really needed to go and clean out the hen house and so I went outside and gave the chickens fresh water and realized that one of my waterers' valves is broken and I have to buy a new one and I forgot to clean out the hen house and started weeding and there is something just so incredibly enjoyable about weeding to me while listening to an audio book. Especially this time of year when the weeds are large and easily pulled and the result of my work is so much more quickly apparent. The feel of the plant as the roots lose their grip, the tossing of it into the old canning kettle I use to collect them in. I fed some of the weeds I'd pulled to the goats next door and they were happy. I figure that by October when it will be time to plant the lettuces and the greens, I will have the entire garden weeded and that thought fills me with great joy.
My wrist and my CD gave out at about the same time and as I was walking back to the house I suddenly remembered the poop in the hen house and so I did that little chore and spread out the old poopy straw on part of the garden and then came in,  shed myself of my overalls, scrubbed my hands and arms down feeling like a surgeon, took that picture, washed my feet.

Mr. Moon and our neighbor are out in the twilight time, shooting arrows at a target and I am going to make what has become one of my most favorite meals which is the bastardized Eggs Benedict from eggs gathered this very day.

So. It has been a very, very fine day and not just for a Sunday, either.
A day of rest. A day of love. A day of laughing and of appreciation and tomorrow will probably be a good day too. The boys are coming in the afternoon and I can't wait to show them the box they can play in which the new chair came in. Owen was just saying how great a big box was to play with.


Nicey likes it too. She pecked at the blue Z there to see if it was something good to eat. It was not, sadly.

Let's face it- I am a simple woman and it is the simplest things which make me happy. Dirt and chickens, love and sleep. Eggs with spinach and cheese and mushrooms. My house, my trees, my flowers, my grands. I'm almost through listening to the Jonathan Franzen novel and as it ends, the characters think about their many regrets and I feel so very lucky that my regrets are as few as they are. I have them, of course, as every human being must, but overall, I can consider them in the light of the vastness of the universe and I can live with them. I will have more, no doubt, as time goes on but if I can remember to look up at the sky, the oaks, to look out upon the oceans and down to the very dirt and out to the very stars we come from and return to, it'll be all right.

Amen, y'all.

Love...Ms. Moon

12 comments:

  1. Getting dirty is fun. I often work in my garden without shoes. The feel of dirt under my feet feels grounding.

    Boxes! Kids and cats and apparently chickens love them. When my kids were small I used to go and get huge boxes from Sears and make houses for my kids. No need for expensive plastic houses. Just give them a box.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I very recently read an article (NOT from Facebook!) or maybe it was a documentery I watched about how important it is for people to go barefoot. It aligns us with the earth's magnetics or something like that. I imagine getting those feet dirty gives you extra benefits of some sort ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I only wear shoes when I leave the house and then it's just sandals or if it is really cold. I prefer barefoot and my feet often look like that. It is essential to connect with the earth. Happiness is in the dirt. Literally.

    Today was a good day for me too. I got a lot accomplished.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, a beautiful post. Funny too, and sweet. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You work so incredibly hard. I just don't think I have that capability any more. I'd have to sleep outside because I'd be too tired to wash.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am constantly barefoot and don't think I even own a pair of socks, but I confess that I do NOT like weeding.

    ReplyDelete
  7. You and I were on the same wavelength yesterday, out in the garden. Weeding in England is not as fun, though -- the ground is very clayey and hard and there's not the satisfying tearing sound you get with Florida sand. IMHO

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love to disconnect sometimes and go far, but there is one thing that i cant left behind and its my smartphone, i just need to talk with my frind in whats up

    ReplyDelete
  9. shoes are the devil.

    we mulched the front garden which cut the weeding in half. back garden, no mulch (because it flooded out like three times and i wasn't sure if it was going to produce anything) has needed more weeding, but mostly just tree sprouts and creeping charlie, easy stuff to pull out. we have pokeberry too which is my nemesis, i can never seem to get rid of it.

    anyways, take care and don't labor too hard today.

    xxalainaxx

    ReplyDelete
  10. Did you want to come and weed my garden?

    ReplyDelete
  11. I desperately need to get to the garden to weed. But I am wearing shoes because of the fire ants. I get dirty and sweaty in this heat and humidity. No way not to. And with the horse, I come home with mare's sweat on me too. LOL.

    ReplyDelete

Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.