Hello, Green World

One of my favorite spots on the farm

The world has turned green again. The farm was cloaked in a gray, beige winter hue, like a dirty-looking but beloved old blanket. But now in spring, the world has burst into 5000 shades of green, dazzling to the eye.

This time of year always surprises me. The greenness happens both overnight and slowly over the course of time. A single rain changes the landscape dramatically, and yet I can see the tiny plants begin to peek their heads above the surface, then grow in fits and starts as the days warm, reaching their arms skyward.

But spring also brings a frenzy. The birds are busy at work, finding mates and building nests. And we too suddenly have more work to do than we can handle. All those seedlings quietly growing in the make-shift living room greenhouse now need to go into the ground outdoors where they can confidently unfurl their leaves. The grass needs to be mowed and the small weeds pulled. Luckily, the garlic we planted last fall in the garden shot up out of the straw on its own, tall and proud, as did the young wheat seeds that grew up around them when we used the wrong "straw" for mulch. (Whoops!)

The garlic is already huge!

I have been in the garden day after day after day, trying to get everything planted and cleared. And as I plant too much of this and not enough of that, I have to remind myself again that gardening is a bit of a crapshoot. No one quite knows how any of it will work out, if too much rain will come or none at all. I may end up with 5000 tomatoes again, or perhaps many will split as they did last year, rendering them unsellable.

But I do love planting things. For me, it’s not about getting my hands in the dirt like the mythology reports about gardening. (The soil dries out my bougie-smooth hands). It’s the quiet I most appreciate. It’s just me and the birds and the neighbor's dogs barking far in the distance. Just me and the green and the sunlight. It’s meditative and calming even when I know the rest of the world feels chaotic.

Goat kids having fun

The baby goats too are astounded by spring, experiencing the joy of nimble legs and lots of energy. They race to and fro in groups, and butt heads in their fun goat play. And the cows? They are thrilled. The green has finally arrived, and the bland hay of their existence has been put to rest, at least for the time being.

John freshly mowed the path

I walk our path in the mornings, and sometimes in the evenings, watching the goldfinches, cardinals and eastern meadowlarks as they bounce from tree to tree, darting in front of me. I can see our young trees are aging now into things more recognizable as trees--I hope our grandkids get to enjoy them in their full range of glory.

A birch we planted 5 years ago now looks like a tree

Soon the weather will turn hot, hotter than I like, and likely stickier than I enjoy. But it’s the trade-off for this intense green of central Iowa. It’s Mother Nature's way of reminding us that you can’t have everything all at once.

To everything there is a season.

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We'd love for you to visit the farm someday. Check out the barn for overnight stays and classes too.