If you asked any farmer around these parts, they would probably say that this spring has been a little miserable…colder than normal temperatures, temperature swings, and RAIN!
So, I try to find a positive thing for which to be thankful. As I was walking to the barn a little while ago, in the rain (again), I took notice of the earthworms hanging out in the tiny puddles and rivers that the morning deluge had created in my gravel driveway. I had been seeing them all spring, but for some reason this morning it just hit me that I must have a LOT of worms in my soil if I keep seeing new ones every time it rains. And I know that earthworms are good for the soil and that when you have lots of them, it means you have healthy soil! As I looked north up to my pasture, I took notice of the lush green color. I have so much grass on my little farm! And it was newly seeded just last year. I had been hearing how devastating the 2018-19 winter was to the hay fields on many neighboring farms (winter-kill is the word used to describe the acres of pasture and alfalfa that died due to extreme cold and upheaval of the root systems).
I'm thankful for all the worms I’ve seen, not only because it means I have healthy soil, but also because they bring back fun childhood memories for me!
Weird, maybe...
As a little girl, I can remember spending time as a family on late night worm hunting expeditions in our backyard. Armed with a pail and flashlight, many a nightcrawler succumbed to my stealthy abilities and ended up in dad’s ‘worm-box’ in the garage...only to meet his final end on the barb of a hook and in the mouth of a fish :)
There is nothing like the smell of worms after a good rain to bring back those happy childhood days with my family. I’ll have you know, however, that for as many worms as we used for fishing bait, I probably rescued twice that number in my early childhood years! As a little girl, I remember two specific things that were constant throughout the summer...how the days seemed to last forever, and how my mom was always tending to our garden in some fashion...weeding, harvesting, canning, freezing. As a toddler, many of my summer days were spent ambling around the yard with my little plastic shovel and pail somewhere in the proximity of my mom. On her knees and determined to remove every single weed in the row that morning, she would use her hand-held tool to turn over the soil between her plants, which usually revealed many a helpless earthworm. Always having had a keen sense for animal behavior, I took it upon myself to save the poor exposed creatures from the keen eyes of the watchful robins. Collecting them in my pail, I would transport them to an undisturbed area of the garden and dig them a hole, feeling as heroic as a 4-year old could as I rescued them from certain death! :)
I’m sure it was my mom who first taught me that worms were good for the soil. It was also she who taught me to be thankful for the things I had in my life, no matter how small. So, not only am I thankful for the worms I have seen on my property this spring, I am thankful for this farm...a 10 year long dream that is now a reality. And I am thankful that you have taken a moment to join me! Are you feeling a little thankful for something right now? Please share! If you are not able to write, simply giving thanks for something today might just help brighten a dreary day!