Grateful

We had a marvelous time on the cruise and we both fell in love with Quebec City and Bar Harbor, ME - each for different reasons.  But as Nora and I walked around our property this morning, I had one of those moments when I felt as though I'm exactly where I want to be at this stage of my life.  

Autumn has returned to the North Country after a brief bout with warm temperatures.  It smelled like fall as we walked around to the accompaniment of a ballet of twirling leaves, grazing sheep, and foraging hens and ducks.  Although there are days when we bemoan the seemingly never-ending chores to maintain the gardens, orchard and animals, as I looked around this morning I was reminded, once again, that every sore muscle, every moment spent with hands in the soil, every poo pile shoveled is well worth the effort for the joy our animals and our land bring us.

Here are a few photos from this morning's walk.

The sheep barn viewed from the front yard

Our photogenic ducklings enjoying a watery respite at the bird bath

A row of blueberries in their fall glory

Blueberry leaves -- I love the intensity of these colors

Family time in the orchard; the sheep are grazing in there right now since the grass is much greener than that in their pasture.  They seem fascinated by the ducks, who could obviously care less

Scarlet runner bean and nasturtium intertwined

The simple beauty of wild grasses

Fall garden