Stop and smell the 4 o'clocks

There are so many topics I would like to cover and so little time.

I have an article rolling around in my head about August and gardens and personality tests.

Another one about the friends who lent us their horse trailer to make a 4:30am trip to the butcher with our nice big steer. Had to be there before 6 so the inspector could insure that he walked himself off the trailer and that he had adequate food and water for the journey.

Or the decision to drive our friend Holly to the Homeplace for a non-home cooked meal of fried chicken and mashed potatoes and biscuits because, by golly, I was just too tired to cook.

Or those entertaining turkey poults in the breakfast room who play a mean game of basketball with cherry tomatoes.

Or my prayer Friday morning for some divine intervention to help me have a little time with my husband, alone. And how a friend called that afternoon and said she had been wanting to help out and could she come over and work at our house on Saturday afternoon and evening and so Philip and I had a great date Saturday night, ate yummy greek food and saw a movie and stayed out way too late, and talked over supper for a very long time. Alone.

Or the new source of employment for our piggies, tilling up weeds in part of the garden.

Or the continuing cheesemaking saga, this week, 4 lbs of mozzarella.

Or the one little bantam hen who keeps slipping out of her yard and into our garden to poke holes in every single one of my nearly ripe tomatoes.

Or selling 2 of our little baby goats to a young couple who are furthering their dream of a self-sustaining life.

Or our wonderful barter relationships, or farmer's market customers, or bread making, or homeschooling.

But I think I will mention that as I sit at my piled up desk and be still, the fragrance of the 4 o'clocks and nicotania outside my back door floats in and reminds me that beauty is everywhere. God loves me and gives me good gifts. This evening in August is cool and fresh, and the end of summer frogs and insects sound like home. I made a point of sitting outside on the front porch with the girls for a few minutes to feel the fresh air and to watch the sky change as end of summer sun faded out under cover of promising clouds.

Sweet.