By the end of the month our time as Jolly Green Ranchers will be over. We came here as green as ranchers can be, but with enthusiasm and gratitude. We sought open space, room to play and breath, room for children and grandparents. We are leaving with the same enthusiasm and gratitude, because of what we enjoyed, achieved, and for all we look forward to.
I wish you could smell the Tara's pink and the rosemary that covers the slope. The trees are broader than last Fall, the grass thicker, the flowers are spreading. The part of the garden, by the horse tie and barn doors, where I wanted to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, is overflowing and abundant. The salvia is visited all day by many hummingbirds; their ruby throats flicker as they dart among the purple spires of sage and butterfly bush. Yesterday I visited a garden party beneath the loquat tree; butterflies, hummingbirds, bees and dragonflies were all in attendance. They drank nectar, danced, and swirled in the constant breeze.
The chicas are well, and you may be concerned, but there's no need to worry. A new family is moving in. They are friendly, and like we did, they have expressed a great deal of gratitude and enthusiasm about living here. Donna, their youngest, very politely inquired about the hens and asked if it would be possible for them to stay here at the Rancho. "She like the chickens very much," her mom and dad have assured me. I can see that she does like them. And the hens like her, and living here where the bugs and seeds are plentiful, where everything is comfortable and familiar. Because I love them they will live with Donna and her family; happy chickens in their home sweet home.
As for us, we are returning west, back toward the coast. We came from there a little more than two years ago. And as I told my friends at Winsome Ridge, it seems a lifetime ago that we were there. Imagine the blessing and adventure of living many lifetimes in one life. On Sunday we will find our key under the mat, and I am looking forward to showing the house to Geoff. There is an apple tree, full of fruit, along the driveway, and four raised beds waiting for tilling and seeds. And we want to go in to the house and find the interesting corners, curious features, and decide where to put the piano, beds and chairs. Later, we'll move in, and bring the cats. I will smear their paws with cream cheese, so that they will sit to clean themselves and not be too upset by their new home.
Cream cheese does not comfort me, but my friends and family do. I think of the support and encouragement we enjoy. My heart is full.
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