Here Ulysses awaits his daily greeting. And beyond stand ewes and lambs, whose bottoms are clean and bellies full, due to constant and controlled movement. The flock only returns to the same spot in 90 days or more, thus outlasting fledgling parasites. The careful discipline of daily feeding and long rotation of pastures is critical to generating supportive cycles that produce clean food.

This past weekend, Susan and I attended the annual meeting of the Red Devon Association, held in Winchester, Kentucky over two days. We looked at cows and learned how to evaluate body confirmation, including: udder size and shape, hair swirls in the coat, movement and shape of legs and feet, and proportions of body parts to each other. It was fascinating. The goal is to select cows that produce plentiful amounts of butterfat. Calves that receive such carry more intramuscular fat when they mature, producing tender, flavorful meat and fertile bulls and cows.

Endemic to Appalachia. It is highly nutritious, tasting like a sweet banana, and was such a preferred staple for pioneers and settlers, that towns and festivals all over the Appalachian region bear its name. The fruit ripens in early fall, and this picture was taken on our farm several days ago. The trees are slight and graceful in stature and typically stand in the under-story of large hardwoods. They are inspiring to behold, reminding observers of the natural bounty of land well-tended.

If only we knew how to make haste slowly, like this noble being. On the farm, we typically deal with 1200 lb cows and 100 lb ewes, who are in such contrast to this tiny wonder. He is just as significant in the grand scheme. He is a reminder that we are all connected, we each travel at our own pace, and we had better not forget those who are invisible.

Calving has begun on the farm, and the magnificent power of motherly love is being demonstrated yet again. The birthing and rearing of young by maternal force has been underway since the advent of time. It symbolizes belief in the future, as does the rearing of our own children and grandchildren. It will not be denied, which is one reason life is good.

We spend a lot of time managing fields of dreams and of grass, but this one, in our wetlands, we don't have to manage at all. It takes care of itself, and in so doing, takes care of us, for which phenomenon we are increasingly grateful.

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the summer for us is that it brought us laying hens and meat chickens. The last time the farm saw poultry of any sort was probably 50 years ago, so this venture represents a new learning curve.

We moved cows down the road, up the laneway, and through the head-gate Tuesday morning, so we could wean yearling calves, and prepare for birthing to arrive in September. It was so foggy we could hardly see. The car in the background had previously run through our tape to direct livestock off the road. Once discovered, we had to sprint around the herd to resurrect the tape, so they wouldn't end up on the highway... All part of life with livestock and inattentive drivers on foggy mornings.

This picture is a vestige from last week, showing tracks of the lime truck in Field 7.

From a squint, this field of Queen Anne's Lace looks covered in snow, yet it is August. And why not? Suspended reality is relief, for a while. What conspires to create such a fantastic scene, as this blanket of white in August? We can't really know, except the great symphony of Nature is always at work, bringing the fantastic to the fore. It is fun to think of this picture as snow, or Queen Anne's Lace, or whatever one can imagine. In the end, all we can really do is appreciate it, for soon enough it will be gone.

Rest is integral to the workings of nature. Without it, there would be no seasons, dormancy of plants, or hibernation of animals, and natural systems would become exhausted and collapse. At our farm, even during the growing season, we employ rest of 60 - 90 days to replenish roots of grazing plants, so they re-establish vigor for lean times, like the next grazing, droughts, or winter.

Here are our 50 new Australarp laying hens, learning about: grass, bugs in the ground, plankways, laying of eggs, and their new home - this handsome eggmobile. The hens are "pullets", so their eggs start out small, but grow in size daily. We close the hens into their shelter at dusk, to protect from nocturnal predators. But the first evening, they all congregated under the eggmobile instead of inside it. A valiant effort from Kathy, our neighbor, trained them to seek nightly refuge inside, and they have been faultless since. They are fed a non-gmo grain ration to supplement pasture. Over the past two weeks, we have been enjoying the growing bounty of our new flock on the farm, and hope you will too.