After waiting and hoping for rain, it finally arrived yesterday and it was wonderful.
It was just mist at first, then drizzle, then full on rain drenching everything in sight, dripping down through the trees and turning the hard-packed earth into squishy mud.
I couldn’t let such beauty go unappreciated, so I pulled over to the park while out on errands and walked through puddles and piles of leaves and stood under raindrop-gilded pine trees, loving every second of it.
It’s been a good week, time for Bear and me to reflect on our past four years together, time to take stock and look toward the future.
This week I was featured in the newspaper, which was scary, fun, and ultimately just what I needed to spur me on in this dream of ours. But the truth is, none of this life would even be possible without my Bear.
He’s the one who worked and saved to buy this land and pay it off completely so we could start this dream with a clean slate. He built the fences so our animals would be safe, installed a bore so we would always have water, and brought in sheds and outbuildings so we’d have places to store everything and work on projects.
He’s the collector of every piece of equipment and machinery, the fixer of everything that breaks, the inventor of tools and processes that make life work around here.
Bear has also taught me nearly everything I know about farm life.
He taught me to drive a tractor and dig fence posts, showed me how to use drills, saws, hammers, and belt sanders, explained how to deal with snakes and why I didn’t need to be afraid of chickens.
Perhaps the best thing he’s ever done is give me free reign to learn, experiment, fail, try again, and figure things out.
I’m deeply thankful to Bear for giving me a chance to do all this, and for supporting me in all my pie-in-the-sky dreams of self-sufficiency, publishing, and one day, an agri-tourism business of our own. He’s the best partner and cheerer-on-er I could ever have hoped for.
Now it’s time to turn off computers and phones and cozy in for a movie night.
Cheering you on in every dream you’re cherishing in your heart. xo
A lovely post, Krista. Glad you’ve gotten some good rain. It’s been pouring solidly for days here too, I was hoping my farmer friends got some too! And there is nothing nicer than ‘a good man’. xxx
We are so thankful for the rain too, @liz_posmyk:disqus Watering helps, but nothing beats rain. 🙂 I’m so very glad we both have good men. XO
You are very lucky to be blessed with your Bear Krista and you have written a beautiful tribute post to him. I wish you all the best for your dreams xx
I am lucky, @wanderingsheila:disqus, you’re right about that. 🙂 Thank you for such good wishes. XO
All I could think about while reading this was our conversation in Vancouver so long ago and hearing about Bear and your plans….this makes me so happy and sure that dreams do come true. XO
Good men are hard to find – and worth hanging on to when you do find them. I bet it put a massive smile on his face to read this x
Love this reflective post and you are a lucky woman to have such an amazing man at your side!
Amazing. Your Bear sounds so talented, dedicated and hard-working. And he’s passing all his knowledge onto you as well. I’m glad the rain arrived and that you’ve had a good week xx
Beautiful photos and what a great tribute to your Bear.
So love you have your Bear and that you’ve had some decent rain too. Today was the first sunny day we’ve had all week. Fingers crossed the universe gifts me with a good man one of these years too. Happy weekend friend. xox
Nothing better than being around two people who love and respect one another. Cream rises to the top, as my father always said.
Truely lovely post and Bear sounds like a wonderful man. Beautiful autumn images!