The Buck Moon

Tonight's Buck moon rose to a chorus of coyote's out in the back pasture.  It couldn't have been a more perfect scenario.  As a matter of fact, I have never heard the coyotes so close, and so active before.  It was just as if they needed to make sure that the man in the moon felt welcome as he looked down over our hills.  In the background, the fireflies dashed to and fro lighting their little paths all over the sky and through some of the tall vegetation (including my garden).  It was picture perfect, really.  


The full moon goes by various names as it rises each month, and varies according to different peoples and traditions.  From what I have read, the Buck Moon dates back to the Native American peoples of the northern and eastern regions of North America.  It's reference it to the the new growth of velvety antlers poking out from the foreheads of the bucks this time of year.  We visited an animal sanctuary this past weekend which houses and cares for a small herd of reindeer.  I got to feel first hand what that wonderful velvet feels like and now have a better appreciation for the name of this month's full moon.  All I can say is that velvet is a wonderful texture to feel.  


It's nights like these that make me thankful that I live in the country and not the city.  I realize to each his own, but oh the wonderful sounds of nature.  It's peaceful.  And that's how it should be.  

Cool Morning in the Country

{play this while reading}

It's been raining A LOT lately. And I mean we've been lucky to get one sunny day out of seven. Not only has it been rainy, but also hot and muggy; the kind where you crawl into bed and feel like you just made it with sheets straight out of the washing machine. Wet. Sticky. Yuck. However, this last slew of storms brought in not only a bit of sunshine, but also cooler weather. The last two nights I slept like a baby!

This morning it was cool enough to need a sweater to go take care of the morning farm chores. I like days like this. The sun was shining bright, and that cool breeze....oh the cool breeze. Nothing could be better. As I drove off to work I plugged in my iPhone and turned on my Nickel Creek station in Pandora. On came a song called "Big Country" done by Bela Fleck and Edgar Meyer (posted above). There couldn't have been a more perfect song to describe how I was feeling. It was like the soundtrack to my life at that moment in time. I drove slowly and deliberately down off the hill this morning. Looking over the fields, watching the farmers already at work, breathing in the sweet summer air. This was one of those small glimpses into heaven, I think. For one short moment all the rest of the world melts away and you are just at peace. Everything is as it should be. Like God opens up the sky and what shines down is a reflection of what is to come. A window into another dimension. A place where time no longer exists. No deadlines. No timelines or places we have to be. We just exist. We are all connected somehow to the earth and the light. We work the land together and share in the profits. There's not more sadness or regret, only peace and joy. Sounds like a place where I'd like to stay forever.