Practicing Peace

Warmer days are starting.  That means more to do in the morning and noon time.  Hanging out the clothes on sunny days to take advantage of the drying sun.  Checking the animals more often to make sure they are cool enough and have plenty of fresh water.  Water the garden, daily weeding and hoeing to ensure the best harvest possible in the fall.  Fixing things that have deteriorated over the cold of the winter. I spend mornings rushing about working on my to-do list. Inside chores and iheartradio go hand-in-hand to keep them moving along without too much thinking on my part. The washer is making noise, the ice maker runs and dumps the ice, startling me almost each time. Outside morning chores fill the air with sounds rustling bags of feed, birds and bees singing and buzzing, bleating goats, thumping rabbits, quacking ducks, meowing cat and clucking chickens, all vying for my attention to get theirs first.  

Yet, when the sun is straight up and shade can be a challenge, there is an eerie silence on the homestead.  As I was taking the dry towels off the clothesline, I noticed the stillness and silence, less the one cardinal sitting on the garden fence singing.  The rabbits were in their rabbit tractor, splayed out trying to stay cool.  One gets up and goes for a drink.  The cardinal then has competition with the clink-clink-clink of the water bottle nipple, but not for long as he lays back down with the others.  I see the chickens under the Leyland cypress trees resting in the deepest shade they can find.  I can see the goats settled along the shady fence line joined by a few younger pullets on and around them, seemingly enjoying the silence that causes me to feel a bit uneasy.  They all seem so at peace.  I think I will follow suit and go inside into the shade and practice enjoying the peace and quiet before the afternoon comes and brings with it a new set of tasks-noisy, rushed tasks.