Walking the Property

This weekend the weather was gorgeous, and we spent the majority of it catching up on outside chores.  By the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, we were ready to relax.  But, since warm winter days are a rarity in the Ozarks, I couldn't let a beautiful January afternoon go by with us just sitting on the couch.  So I decided we should go for a stroll, and being the multitasker that I am, I also decided to kill two birds with one stone.  Oh stop, you silly goose!  Not literally.  What I meant is that we'd take our stroll around the perimeter of our acreage--we'd enjoy the lovely weather, and also do a long-overdue maintenance check on the areas of our land that we don't see everyday.  It was time to "walk the property", as the old-timers used to say.

I managed to get everyone on board, booted up, and out the door in record time, but it helped that the sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the warm breeze was gently luring us into the yard.  We hit the door running, and then off we went into the wild blue yonder.

We didn't get very far before I got distracted, which didn't surprise anyone.  And in my defense, it was my husband who spotted the wild rose hips, not me.  I thought I had foraged every last hip on the property, but low and behold, there along the fence line was another thicket.  And me without a basket.  We quickly sent Will and Poppy back to the house to grab one, and then we set about gathering the hips.  I was so excited at the thought of making another batch of Vitamin C rich Rose Hip Honey that I didn't even mind getting scratched by the prickly thorns!

But after we left the thicket, we wandered across this, and getting scratched took on a whole new meaning.  This is a Honey Locust tree, and yes, it's as viscous as it looks.  The thorns are hard and sharp, and can be slightly toxic to humans.  Farmers long ago used these thorn as nails, and wood itself made good fence posts and rails.  I'm all about using old-fashioned techniques, but I draw the line at risking my health to obtain building materials when I can run to the hardware store and buy a box of nails and some lumber.  That said, we still have a few of these trees along the fence row, and if the hardware store ever runs out of supplies, we always have this as a backup.  As long as I keep my distance, I kind of like them.

 

Having said that, here's one I didn't like.  It came out of nowhere and almost poked me in the eye as I was trekking through the field, trailing behind my family.  You think they would have warned me it was coming...okay, they did warn me, but I was lost in thought (as usual) and didn't hear them holler.  It's alright--thanks to my incredible reflexes and quick reaction, I made it through without a scratch...barely. 

Here's what had me so distracted.  I kept seeing these incredible seedheads bursting from random clumps of grass as I passed through the field.  They were breathtaking!  And I'll let you in on a little secret--I don't know what they are.  Yep, I don't know everything.  Stunner, right?  Don't answer that.  But surely you can see how perplexing this situation could be, and how my puzzlement could distract me so much that I would literally walk right into a massive thorn tree, can't you?  Oh well, maybe I've asked too much.

Yet maybe I will ask one more thing...don't you just love old barns?  This is our old barn, and I love it so much that I married the love of my life beside it almost ten years ago.  It's weathered a few storms, but it's still standing.  Hmm...kind of reminds me of us.

Speak of the devil, and there he is!  Complete with a cute little devil of a sidekick and a wicked looking spear.  Or maybe it's just a old cedar branch that just happens to look like it's covered in thorns (which appears to be our word of the day).  And maybe he's not the devil, but just the opposite...nah.  That wouldn't be any fun.  And by the way, what is it about frozen ponds that make you want to poke at them with a stick?  The world may never know.

But, thanks to our stroll, I do know now that the property is in decent shape--it could use some TLC, of course, but we knew that already.  All the fences are okay, the fields are reasonable healthy, and the animals are content.  Things could always be better, but then again, they could always be worse.  As I've said before, there's always something to do around here, and as always, we'll keep doing it.  We'll also do our best to do it all with a grateful heart.  After all, a wise man once said, "There is nothing better than to enjoy the work of you hands.", and I'm so thankful that my hands have work to do!

It keeps me out of trouble...most of the time.