The Little Things

After what seemed to me to be the longest winter I’ve ever lived through, spring has finally come to the rescue and I’ve realized once again that it is the little things that make Greener Pastures such an astonishing place for me.
When I arrive in the morning, I am greeted by our barn cat, Trixie, who is always ready for her breakfast. Trixie is a sweet little anima and feeding her is always the first chore of the day. A small, grey tabby cat, she is always willing to climb into a warm lap and be petted. I don’t think Trixie is much of a hunter though, since I often see mice scurrying around the feed barn. Or perhaps, well fed by the volunteers, she has established a fragile détente with the rodent population and has adopted a “live and let live” policy toward them. Whatever her motivation toward the mice, she will often curl up on top of the stacked hay and sleep once she has consumed her breakfast.
The recent stretch of warm weather has accelerated the grass and daily more new shoots are emerging turning the pastures from their winter tan into an emerald carpet. Everywhere I look I see trees with the fuzzy red crowns that herald the appearance of leaves and the air is soft with fresh earth scent of spring. I’m told that the fresh earth smell actually comes from bacteria that thrive in the damp soil of spring and if that is so, then I am grateful for those little creatures.
On Thursday, I heard the raspy, prehistoric croaks of our colony of great blue herons again filling the skies as they squabble over nest and mates. Quiet during most of the year, the herons become vocal during breeding season. They have returned to their rookery by the river and are frequently seen overhead as they travel between nests and the Sassafras in search of food.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of movement and turned to see a fox running through the lane that separates our pastures. With his red tail trailing behind him like a flag, he ran as if being chased by some unseen marauder. I called “Tally Ho” after him and watched him disappear over the hill into the hay pasture.
The horses are all shedding their winter coats. It must be itchy for them because they lean into the curry comb when they are being brushed. I took a curry comb into one of the fields and even the hard to catch horses seemed happy for my attention. I brushed Cooper until April came and pushed him away. She closed her eyes and stretched her neck forward as I worked the loose hair from her coat. I think she would have purred if she could have managed it. After a few minutes, I felt a soft touch on my arm and turned to find In-The-Crease looking for attention. When Crease came to us last year, we could hardly catch her, and now here she was coming over to be brushed. I used the curry comb to loosen the mud and brushed her coat until it was beginning to shine.
The perennials in the healing garden are beginning to show signs of life. I like to bring Sonny out of his pasture and sit on the wall of the garden while he grazes on the new grass that is particularly lush right behind the gazebo. Like a kid in a candy store, he hardly knows what spot to choose first and I feel like I am giving him a big treat. Just one more of the little things that makes Greener Pastures so special!