Through the Garden Gate

I am SO sore this morning.

I can barely lift my arms, and don't EVEN ask me to bend over to pick something up off the floor!

Why, you ask?

Well, yesterday, I tackled my long-neglected veggie garden. 1850 square feet of raised beds brimming with overgrown tomato plants, long-wasted corn stalks, and an unimaginable amount of just-plain-weeds. Heck, we even had four small willow trees starting to grow in the aisles! However, with a lot of grit and determination, I started at the west end gate and began to hack, yank, and rip until I could see bare soil. It was shaping up to be a long and arduous process when, thankfully, my son decided to help his ol' mom out by lending his muscles to the project.

The two of us worked, side by side, most of the day. We were joined by Anabel, the calf, who flitted from one garden bed to another, munching on the tender grasses that had begun to take over. As she was happily exploring one of the beds, it happened--FIRE ANTS! At the time, we didn't have a clue why this docile little cow jumped and then took off as if a rocket had been ignited in her bum. She raced around inside the garden. She ran through the gate and out into the yard. She barrelled, full steam, around and around the garden fence and under the deck, kicking and twisting and mooing. We were at a loss as to what, exactly, we could do to help her, since we couldn't begin to catch her, but, after a bit, she calmed down and rejoined us amongst the raised beds, contentedly munching far away from the site of the "attack".

All the while, Snowman (one of the Great Pyrs) watched from the shade of the silo. Bob, the JRT, busied himself waiting on the golf cart for a ride to the burn pile. Seymour watched from the nursery gate--hoping we'd bring him a few rose petals. Rocky would happen by, occasionally, peeking in to see what we were up to. However, he and the minis in the yard were more entertained by being able to walk through the equipment barn--which usually remains off limits to most critters. The thrum of the tractor, as my husband mowed in the main pasture, provided appropriate background noise.

At the end of the day, we weren't finished. We still have much to haul to the burn pile. We still have the herb garden to tackle. I have to spray the garden beds for weeds and squash bugs, and I'll attempt to start some spinach, beets, and lettuce. But, it was a good start. And today promises to be much cooler for the work. Maybe I can even work out some of this soreness in the process...one can dream.