Finding Peace

When I was a little girl, I couldn’t WAIT for spring so I could get outside and play. I absolutely adored being outside, playing in the backyard fort making “sand cookies” or riding my bike in the cul-de-sac. I would spend hours riding around, reveling in the feeling of the wind blowing through my hair, my legs burning at the effort to go faster and faster. I would find any excuse to get outside. It was just so peaceful for me and if I was feeling down or having a bad day, I would walk in between our aspen trees in the backyard, pretending I was in a forest and sit on a rock to journal. I always felt my best outside; most at peace and the most myself. So, I guess it’s not surprising at all that I gravitated towards a degree that would get me outside and then afterwards, a lifestyle that would ensure it.

Jack, Kade and I were outside a couple of nights ago moving the sheep to their new paddock, as has become our nightly routine before the baby’s bedtime. Jack was setting up a new fence for the sheep and I was watching the baby play in the grass and taking in my surroundings. The sun was getting lower on the horizon, the temperature was perfect, and the scenery was breathtaking. I immediately realized as I sat there how my body began to relax into the grass and my stress from the day began to fade away. It was that same feeling I got as a little girl playing outside, like a reset button being pushed in my brain, reminding me how to be and how to breathe again.

Moving the sheep onto new grass, our newest nightly routine.

The reminder to slow down, take a breath, and take in my surroundings is crucial for me to recharge my battery. Spring is such a busy time of year for us that it is easy to get caught up in the to do list and it is even easier to forget to take a moment to appreciate the beauty that surrounds our farm and our lives. When I sit each night, watching as Kade explores this big new world and the sheep munch peacefully on the growing green grass, I remember that these are the important moments. Not the to do list or the things I didn’t get done that I wanted to. What matters are the moments big and small that are creating a life well-lived.

And I am grateful. So grateful. The hoop house is booming with vegetables: kale, collards, chard, and cabbages (just to name a few), the chickens are laying numerous eggs, we have hatched several batches of our own chicks and the pigs and sheep are growing up fast. Most of our big projects for the summer have been completed and we are beginning to fall back into our normal routines of our daily chores and caring for the garden. Don’t get me wrong, we still have PLENTY of things on our to do lists, but they are projects that can happen as we have time to get around to them and aren’t as time-sensitive as getting crops in the ground.

As spring is beginning to turn into summer on the farm, I am beginning to make plans for our fall garden and anticipating an abundance of food we have grown ourselves. It feels good that even with all of the painful and horrible things happening in the world around us, we have an opportunity to do some good, not only for ourselves and the environment, but for our community as well. If you get a chance this week, get outside, sit in some grass (or on some sand), watch the sunset, or maybe even go for a bike ride. Make a list of all the things you are grateful for and allow yourself to recharge and reconnect with the world around you. It makes a world of difference for me, and I hope it brings you some peace, too.

Stay safe and be well,

Farmer Kinzie