Over the past few weeks, I’ve experienced again how it feels to sit, just sit and talk and snap beans and shell peas, and share stories and hopes. On Wednesdays, I’ve had a standing invitation to visit my friends at St. Francis Farm. The visits have become one of the highlights of my week and have helped to make the necessity of social distancing tolerable. I feel welcome there. I always have, and I regret that I so often let my life take over and forgot to take the time to rub the rosemary then smell the fragrance on my hand, as Lorraine reminded me. I meet with Lorraine on Wednesdays, and while she and I visit and try to resolve the issues that come up in life, we will often snap beans or shell peas while sitting at the pond’s edge, under a canopy of various tree limbs, while Joanna and Zachary are busy about their labors with Joanna in her garden, an ethereal garden angel, and Zachary, always in motion and deep in thought.
I’ve seen hummingbirds come to feed from the flowers growing near the water. They look like perfect little gentlemen with red tuxes as they balance in mid-air, bobbing in and out of the bee balm. Wrens have taken over a bluebird house, and I’ve seen their hatchlings grow into birds. And for such a tiny animal a bullfrog makes a good deal of noise. Also, I’ve seen a couple of snakes, one a giant black snake that I nearly stepped on while attempting to pick clover.
My Wednesdays have included lunch, with rosemary bread, homemade hummus, fresh goat cream cheese with basil, and a salad fresh from the garden with peppers, cucumbers, different types of tomatoes and lettuces. I get take-alongs too. I haven’t bought lettuce or tomatoes yet this summer. It feels good eating from the garden, and I was even inspired to plant a couple of things myself.
My time at St. Francis Farm has helped me feel centered and reminded me that the beauty in nature and in things as simple as snapping beans is as close as my own backyard. I look forward to what the other seasons here have to offer and continued visits.