Easter on the farm



Ducks feeding on cracked corn by the pond. The photos are not my best because I took them with my phone.

   
    My husband and I had Easter dinner at his cousin and her husband’s farm today.

They live about 30 minutes from our house on a big piece of land with lots of trees, flowers, a garden, blueberry vines and a large pond fed by a creek.

They both love animals, and they have quite a collection: three cats, three dogs, one cockatiel, two parrots and a large tank of goldfish.

At the pond, they have six ducks. Two geese make regular visits.



Ducks in the water.

Added to the menagerie are three baby rabbits. A friend of theirs in a nearby town found the babies in his yard and sent them to the farm, where the cousins have bottle-fed and otherwise tended them. They plant to gradually introduce the rabbits to the outdoors until they are ready to be released.

Right now, they lay close together in a cage, with a light blanket around them to keep them warm.

Before dinner, as some of us sat on the screened-in back porch talking, enjoying the sunshine and breeze, the geese flew in, announcing their arrival with loud voices. We watched them angle down to the pond and skim the water before settling in.

After dinner, my husband and I walked down to the pond and watched the ducks and fed them cracked corn. We laughed at their antics in the water, and I told my husband I could sit there all day and watch and listen to them.



Can you see the goose?



Tulips filled a flowerbed, and dozens of iris plants are set to bloom. A few already have.

What wonderful sights and sounds for a day that celebrates renewed life.

I needed this day. It’s been a hard weekend. I’m having some issues with my physical health, specifically with my digestive process, so I saw my doctor Friday.

It seems like everything I eat makes me feel awful, so my doctor is having me make some big changes: less caffeine, little or no dairy, more fiber, less simple carbohydrates. I am also eating less sugar.

My doctor is running some tests. I hope there’s nothing physically wrong, but I’m not too concerned. I’ve had similar problems before. If it’s something more, I’ll deal with what I have to when I have to.

But I know that anxiety can affect the digestive system, and I know I haven’t been treating my body very well. I don’t eat right and my sleep patterns are all over the place.

I am all for the changes, because I’m tired of feeling like I’ve been feeling. But any changes can have at least temporary disadvantages. I don’t know whether it’s the decrease in caffeine and sugar or just being physically worn out, but I’ve been feeling down too.

The trip to the farm helped. Being amidst so much life, being so close to the natural world, being with family—they are all valuable and important components of a well-lived life, don’t you think?

On another note, I’ll be tackling some exposures this week and writing about them. Wish me luck!