Moving the Cows

Well, it's May 15th and we still haven't moved the cows from their winter quarters to their summer home.  It's been too cold and wet to do so but it hasn't stopped me from hoping we get this job crossed off on the Spring To-Do list soon.  And I'm not the only one wishing the cows were here already.

Our overgrown pup Bandit is wanting the move to be done too.

Why? Because then he gets to really R-U-N.

Bandit is a runner. He loves to run. Distances too. He regularly races the 4-wheeler when we go out to get cows. He'll come from wherever he is and leave whatever grand thing he's doing when he hears that machine turn on because he knows he's going to get a good workout. (If Bandit is flat out running, you need to be in 3rd gear in order to even think of catching up to the dog.) And he's showing some promise as a herding animal.  We'll see if he improved at all from last year.

I'm also hoping that if the cows are here and Bandit gets his daily runs in, it'll leave his jaws chicken-free. I don't appreciate his sudden urge to use my best laying hen as a chew toy...(No worries. The hen escaped relatively unscathed. She was minus a few feathers and went into hiding for a day to overcome her shock of being in a set of large, rather pointy teeth but she's since made a full recovery and is back to faithfully laying an egg every day or so.)

Honk and Peep and Yelp

Three sounds that signal Spring is here...

Honk-Geese sharing their happiness at finding something enjoyable out in the (slowly greening up) pasture.

Peep-Those wee little frogs that serenade us in the evening dusk.

Yelp-As in "Mom! I found a BUG!" when the little boy or girl finds yet another wood tick crawling on their clothing.

 Gotta love Spring.

Forgiveness

I often wax poetic about how Spring is a time of birth and/or regrowth for me, but I've come to realize it's also a time of forgiveness.  Yes, forgiveness.

Why? How?

I'll try to explain.

When Old Man Winter's white coat disappears, all those things it was hiding suddenly reappear. You see the deteriorating detritus of last Autumn's glorious colors, the long lost garden hoe that never made it into winter storage, the remnants of the kitchen scrap heap that the dogs and chickens have long since turned their noses (and beaks) up at, and the missing double stroller slinks out of it's hiding place. There's sticks and stones and dirt and leaves and (in my case) dead animal bones from some unfortunate creature the dogs found in the woods or the neighbor's fish gut/deer bone pile.  Yes, there's all this unapologetic MESS around us.

But Miss Spring is forgiving. She sends up little green blades of grass that before long are high enough to hide that muck and mess. She uses those old mouldering leaves as rich mulch that nourishes the acorns so new little trees can sprout. She warms the days so the garden hoe and double stroller no longer just lay about but are put to good and steady use.  She doesn't care that this messy world is there as Old Man Winter's snowbanks melt away. No, she just happily whistles with the songbirds as she rolls up her sleeves and gets to work with her own version of 'Spring Cleaning'.

And for me, Spring is a time for me to reflect on my own life and do some Spring Cleaning of my own.  I find it's easier to get in touch with friends I have lost contact with, rid myself of doubts and worries that plagued me all Winter long, and forgive myself for things maybe I could/should/would have done better.  I shake out my mental rug and try to shake the 'what ifs' with it.

Maybe it has something to do with the meaning behind Easter (which to me is the ultimate story of forgiveness) or maybe it's just this lightness and newness of the season as everything begins anew or maybe it's just a time for my own personal reflection.  I don't know.

Whatever the reason, it's there.

I know I feel lighter and newer myself when I let go of that hurt and anger.  Can you think of anyone to forgive in your own life? Even if they don't know that they've made you mad or hurt your feelings? Let it go and forgive. It's that easy.

Then sit back and enjoy the fresh, new Spring with a lighter spirit and a happier heart.

Tightwad Reminder!!

So it's April 1st but no April Fool's Jokes from this lady. Instead, I'm going to put out a little reminder that MAY 1, 2014 is the due date for any submissions for the Tightwad Round Robin.  So far, I have one person who submitted a tip and that makes for a rather tiny TRR issue, doesn't it?  So please, pretty please wrack your brains for tips, tricks, and tightwad hints to add so I can add some bulk to the good old TRR!

Come on, folks. We all like to save a few bucks here and there, right? We all have a favorite tip or recipe we'd like to share. Who hasn't had a brainstorm that you wished you could pass on?  Garage sale hints? Cheap supper ideas? Budgeting advice? Hand-made gifts and crafts?  Gardening tricks?  Creative storage suggestions?  Easy (and cheap) decorating tips?  Ways to turn secondhand trash into firsthand treasures? Send them on to me and I'll do all the compiling.

And as always, $2 per paper issue but free e-copies are available via email.  Just let me know which version you would prefer when you send your letter to me. Send your advice in the form of a letter, note, or even just a one line email to tightwadroundrobin[at]hotmail[dot]com.  If you want, I'll also accept your tips in handwritten form (letter, note, post-it, etc) via hand-to-hand transfer or the US Postal Service. If you really can't get it to me that way, then I'll take a verbal note via the telephone or face to face conversation (just make sure I have a pen and paper handy so I can jot down your contribution to the TRR). However, I don't accept smoke signals, or ideas sent via mental telepathy. 

Don't be shy! I look forward to seeing who sends on their hints for pinching pennies! Thanks much in advance!