When I first moved to my homestead, it was dry, brown, and dusty.  The few trees we had were struggling against the sun and low levels of water.  The grass was largely a brown mess interspersed with patches of parched cracked earther.  It all looked scraggly and miserable.  However, I had a plan, a lot of gumption and a wicked sense of humor to boot.  I knew what I wanted, I knew what I wanted it to look like, and I am one of those people for whom the word impossible simply implies a challenge, so we got to work.

It’s been eight years since I started deliberately planting trees.  If I was to take a guess, I would say we are at about one thousand trees and counting.  Perhaps it’s time for a tree census.  The thing that I notice more though, is what has changed.  A friend came by to visit yesterday, and he commented on the number and variety of birds that have settled on the homestead. If you just sit and listen you hear them chirping and singing and fighting.  I need to get myself a pair of binoculars so I can truly admire the birds.

For the first time, I saw slugs in my garden a couple of weeks back.  It is so much cooler outside – so much so that you feel the difference in temperature once you enter the homestead.  The grass seems to be staying green a lot longer, and I do not water my grass.  We have spaces to sit in and just watch the birds and the bees do their thing.

Speaking of bees – my six hives seem to have been colonized.  I say “seem” because the bees have become very intolerant of our activities near the hives so I have no way of verifying which hives are colonized.  The other day, one of my grounds keepers was trying to clear the brush around the hives and the bees were having none of it.  They chased him away with a warning sting, and basically told him to stay away if he knows what’s what.  I need to research this.  Do they get more aggressive at particular stages in their life? Are they more aggressive towards particular people and not others?  They seem to tolerate Phillip the bee whisperer quite well.  Bees make me very curious.

Did I tell you about the 2 puppies I adopted?  My neighbor’s dog gave birth and they needed to quickly re-home the puppies so I took in two of them.  They were sad looking scrawny male puppies with a giant will to live.  We did our best with them, but at some point, I called in Mooshoo’s doctor to come and tell us what we needed to do differently.  All she did was give them a couple of jabs and some calcium supplement. She is a dog whisperer par excellence.  One week after her visit, the puppies had become playful, rumbunctious curious dogs that barked at sticks, stones, birds and shadows.  They are big boys now, ready to become true homestead guard dogs.  I am taking them to my Mum’s place and I will get others for myself!  For now, they are Mooshoo’s playmates.  I need to end that relationship soon as Mooshoo is always up to sketchy stuff and I don’t want that knowledge passed on to them.

The other day, someone asked me what I wish I had done differently.  I thought long and hard and said I should have moved to the homestead sooner, but then again, I have come to realize things happen at the right time when the universe has aligned itself for the thing to happen. There are no accidents or coincidences.