A Brief Escape

A Red-bellied Woodpecker expressed it's displeasure on Tuesday morning that the bird feeder just outside the window of the room we were sleeping in was empty.  Since neither of us is used to the harsher "chirps" these birds make (we've never seen one of these on the farm), we both woke up right away - even if we were kind of planning to sleep in a bit.

Neither of us was particularly upset at being up, actually.  You see, we had made an escape - even if it was going to be brief - from the farm and both of our jobs.  Instead of thinking about the chores we had to do and the tasks we needed to complete on this particular day, we jumped up to see the sunrise and listen to some birds sing - many we don't hear all that often at the Genuine Faux Farm.

It's not easy leaving the farm.  Even though we are doing less farming than we used to, we still have turkeys and chickens.  And the cats do like it when we make sure they have food and water.  And there are still high tunnels to open and close.  And...  

Well, you get the picture.

The good news for us is that we have been working harder each year to make certain we don't miss out on some of the beautiful places that are not all that far away from us.  There were many years where the farm drove even the thought of visiting the Mississippi River from our minds.  It was always, "sometime we'll have to do that," and "maybe next year we'll do this."  

Well, the time for a brief escape ended up being "now," this once.  And that's a good thing.

We aren't getting to hike around as much as we often like to.  While Tammy's recovery is going well (despite how she might feel about it), we're still limited to even and flat surfaces.  But, we found ways to enjoy our time together.  

Sometimes it helps to get away from the things that demand your attention on a daily (or even continuous) basis.  Sometimes it is necessary to break away from the routine and refresh your spirit with something that is not in your normal daily experience.  It helps us to refresh our interest in the world around us and renew our energy for learning new things and remembering things learned in times that have past.

The only down side - if you can call it that - is that we have found our appetite, once again, for these excursions.  But that's actually ok.  Because each little escape helps us to remember that our farm is not a prison either.  It is familiar, yes, and we have our responsibilities there (also true).  But there are friendly cats, patient trees, glorious flowers and captivating sunrises and sunsets there for us when we return.

It just might be a bit easier to appreciate them after this brief escape.