To Live Is To Change

The Black Dog Farm is quite a different place now than it was several years ago. Back then our vegetable and flower garden was twelve raised beds rather than three. We grew lots of corn, and one year had a bumper crop of bottle gourds to use for crafts. I dried, froze, and canned produce all through the summer. We had only two dogs...and no parrots. Rickie the cat was still alive. Sweet Pea, the miniature donkey, shared the pen with two pygmy goats, and even let them ride on her back! Our chickens clucked peacefully and produced more eggs than we could eat.

Now our outside animals have been reduced to one rabbit and two ducks. We gave the goats to a family down the road a couple of weeks ago. Inside animals are the three dogs, two parrots, tropical fish and ourselves.

What happened? For one thing I am working more. Back then I worked four hours a day. Now I'm full time Monday through Thursday and Friday is spent taking Angus to the vet, etc. That means that our weekends are crammed full of errands, weed-whacking, mowing and housecleaning.

I don't mean to make it sound like it's a dreary life, because it's not. But my original plan to be fully in control of my life has been altered and compromised. I just wish I could do it all, because I love my job AND I love my garden. Sometimes I go out to the garden and even though the beds we have planted are growing well - when I see the remaining beds all covered with plastic it makes me sad.

But all of this reminds me that I still need to work on living in the present. Enjoy every minute of what I have and not think about how things once were or may be in the future.