| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| BamaSuzy |
Posted - Jan 10 2007 : 7:01:12 PM
Tonight when I came in from putting my chickens, goats, ducks and Angora rabbits "to bed," (Making sure they were all safe from predators), I looked over what hopefully will soon be fenced as my larger back pasture, along the wood-line, and you could just see the outline of the woods filled with trees and barely see the outlines of my little farm buildings, most constructed by ME!
I just had to stand there and drink in the beauty in the darkness...I've had problems with having to quit my job lately which has hurt financially....and so much more going on...too much mud and not enough money for my animals....on and on...
But the beauty of the night sweeping softly across my land, the land where my grandpa planted and picked cotton, where the grandmother I never knew sold "farm fresh eggs from happy chickens" just as I do!; the land "just up the road" from where I've now learned my great-grandmother sat on the front porch of her CABIN and spun on her spinning wheel, just as I'm learning to do here in this home....it's a beauty that money can't buy...it's a beauty that grabs hold of my soul and pours itself into my very being...
These 15 acres....every Alabama pine cone....every bird....every fawn that peeks from behind its mother's back as she grazes by the old small building we call the "cotton pen,".....every breath of cold night air I breathed tonight was fresh...was beautiful...and I am so blessed...
I owe money on this beauty, this place, but nobody can ever take this place from me because it is soaked into every pore of my being, into every recess of my heart, into every wrinkle of my 54 year old brain...and that is the kind of peace that can never be lost, and can never, ever be taken away...
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt! |
| 21 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| westernhorse51 |
Posted - Jan 23 2007 : 07:35:14 AM
suzy, I loved your post & loved how you felt, it really came out & I am so happy for you.
she selects wool and flax and works with eager hands Prov.31:13 |
| Tracey |
Posted - Jan 22 2007 : 1:02:51 PM
Suzy!!! I just peeked into your blog...we're practically neighbors! My great grandfather was born in Edison. DD and I just got some eagle pics along the nooksack yesterday, although I've been dying to go up the Skagit (too much snow and ice of late, but perhaps later this week?)
Anyway, beautiful post!
Visit Quiet Storm, our adopted Mustang!
http://wildaboutquietstorm.com |
| BamaSuzy |
Posted - Jan 14 2007 : 7:44:26 PM
thank you all for such sweet replies! I'm glad you all enjoyed "visiting" here at Old Field Farm with me...
At this big transition point in my life, when I'm trying to decide what to do with the rest of my life after nearly 28 years in the newspaper business, I REALLY COUNT ON the support I feel here!
thank you all from the bottom of my heart!
each night now I stand in the dusk and watch the night creep upon my land here and think of you all and hope and wish that each of you have such beauty and peace, no matter where your "homestead" currently is....whether you have your land or whether your homestead remains in your heart...
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt! |
| beckels |
Posted - Jan 13 2007 : 5:42:21 PM
Suzy - Your place sounds beautiful and at least you can say my grandfather or my grandmother did this here. So many people have no clue what 1 or 2 generations did on the land or worked or even where the family homestead was!!
and yes digging in the dirt helps solve problems
beckels |
| lamamama |
Posted - Jan 13 2007 : 12:17:13 PM
Thanks, Suzy, for such a well written, lovely piece. It did my heart good to read it. I will hold it in mind.
I also must say that I felt a real kinship to you as I was reading it - thinking of how those deep, deep emotions are the reason I'm returning to Ky. to buy a small place. And then I read that we are almost exactly the same age - I'm turning 54 in a few weeks. And I recently posted my 100th note, too! Small connections, here in our larger network of community. I like to think of the Farmgirl Connection as our virtual frontporch. :)
Sending you all best wishes for peace & prosperity in this year.........
Melanie |
| Mag |
Posted - Jan 12 2007 : 2:22:47 PM
Suzy,
I know just how you feel and wish I could stand with you arm in arm and just share the beauty of this great land of ours..
mag |
| shelle |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 9:22:32 PM
Suzy,
What a very beautiful post! You have inspired me this evening in a wonderful way. Thank you!!
Shelle  |
| owwlady |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 6:48:29 PM
Suzy, that was so beautiful. It gave me a feeling of calm and peace as I read it. I will read it again and again. Thank you. |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 4:47:48 PM
Suzy - thank you for writing what you did. You have a gift that cannot be made better. Land, family history, nature's beauty, and all these farmgirls who love you!
I really like the name of your farm. The city's name I live in is Indian (Seminole) for Old Fields. Tallahassee.
Ephesians 1:17 |
| blueroses |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 2:52:31 PM
Suzy,
Your writing is so eloquent and I feel myself standing beside you in wonderment at all you sense. Very beautifully expressed. We all feel as you do.
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
| Libbie |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 2:34:36 PM
Oh Suzy - ditto what all the gals have said - I just re-read your post for about the 10th time, imagining I was there, seeing and feeling with you. How amazing. Thank you for sharing the appreciation, and reminding me beauty and joy and depth of life are all around us...all the time.
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| windypines |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 1:31:31 PM
To Suzy and all..... Amen
Michele |
| therusticcottage |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 10:52:49 AM
Suzy -- your words gave me good bumps! What a beautiful way to put our Farmgirl feelings into words.
The Rustic Cottage Etsy Shop http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
Picture A Day Blog http://rcpicaday.blogspot.com
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/therusticcottage/ |
| gregs_lil_farmgirl |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 10:01:04 AM
Suzy, the beauty you described gave me goosebumps...awesome. I think we all need gentle reminders from time to time. You gave that to all of us..Thank you.
-Simple pleasures make my heart smile- |
| bramble |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 06:18:05 AM
Suzy- That's beautiful! The power of place is a strong one and yours sounds so much richer for also having roots as well. I hope you get to always stand on that piece of Earth and know your sense of place and purpose. Thanks for sharing that with us, something we all could
aspire to.
with a happy heart |
| Mumof3 |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 06:10:24 AM
Suzy- What a wonderful way to look at things. It seems to me that you have what many people are looking for- contentment; with what you have and where your life is. That is the breath we would all like to take when we really look at our lives- a breath of joy. How fortunate you are!!
Karin |
| Beemoosie |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 06:01:05 AM
Suzy,
You are truly a blessed woman to know what you stand for and be willing to stick it out; to BE there so that when the moment comes that you mentioned, you NOTICE it; to admire what your ancestors have done before you and want to treasure and protect it, instead of running far away from it in shame.
There are not many women out there that feel this way, I think that is why we seem to all "connect" on some level.
Thank you for sharing with us!
My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. Luke 1:46,47
www.beequilting.blogspot.com
http://beemoosie-picture-diary.blogspot.com/ |
| Miss Bee Haven |
Posted - Jan 11 2007 : 05:34:37 AM
Wow, Suzy. You just put that "feeling of place" that I think all farmgirls have into the perfect words. It sent chills down my spine and made me want to flee my office and drive to my farm. It gives me the image of Scarlett O'Hara standing in the middle of that field at Tara with her hand defiantly in the air claiming what was hers.
"If you think you've got it nailed down, then what's all that around it?" - 'Brother Dave' Gardner |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Jan 10 2007 : 7:09:10 PM
Oh Suzy...you are so perfectly right!! I just love knowing you!! I have learned so much from you over the years. You have such a way with words and such a gentle spririt!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| Marybeth |
Posted - Jan 10 2007 : 7:02:50 PM
Beautiful!!
www.strawberryhillsfarm.blogspot.com
www.day4plus.blogspot.com
"Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!" |
| BamaSuzy |
Posted - Jan 10 2007 : 7:02:29 PM
I just realized that last post was my 100th post on this forum....how very fitting!
thank you all, and thank MaryJane for the kinship here...
You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt! |
