Saturday, May 28, 2011

To Every Thing There is a Season...

It's been a long cold siege around these parts lately. A few days of sun and 70s followed by a few weeks of rainy with highs in the 50s at best.

But things aren't all that bad. The cows are out on the mountains, the creeks are running high, and I've got plenty of water to irrigate with. It was while I was out setting water one evening this week that I had to take pause.

I still flood irrigate, and what that means is that I've got ditches full of water in which I put plastic dams and the water floods out of the ditch and onto the field covering everything with water, or at least a small section of the field with water.

When the water flows over mole hills it tends to drown the little bastiches out, much to the delight of my little red headed girlfriend who chomps them with much glee. Our high this year has been 6 in one day. A pretty respectable figure if I do say so myself.

It was on one of these nights, one of the warmer warmer ones actually, that I leaned on my shovel and took in the things around me. It was around 60 with a light rain falling on me and Ange... no wind and dead calm, just the sound of the water percolating into the ground. I didn't have any other place to be and I could just exist in the moment, one of those rare times in my life.

Ahead of me over the hills the heavy clouds were dropping their burdens in sheets that blocked all visibility, but only in a western kind of way. The way where everything under the clouds gets rained on, but only in that one streak and from my vantage point I could stand there and see it pass by about a mile away. Then I could look over to my left and see others building for just the same eventuality while I was caught in the light mist in between.

Behind me, the mountaintops breaking the heavens at 10,000 feet were gleaming white in the now setting sun at the peaks with a grey layer a few thousand feet below until the merest hint of green began and expanded its way down to where I was standing in a verdant green hay field. At that moment I could have been the only living thing in all creation and never known the difference. The sweet rain scrubbed air, brilliant colors, and smells all filled my senses to the brim, and I had to smile. For about a half an hour I just leaned there and absorbed it all... smiling. I was at peace. Happy. Content.

And then this morning, a neighbor/good friend of the family's was riding a colt moving some cattle with his grandchildren when the colt got spooked and bucked him off. He landed on his head. The ambulance was called and he was flown to Salt Lake trauma center. My mom just called a little while ago with an update. Broken neck. Paralyzed from the neck down.

...and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

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Today's mystery lyric: (Remember the rules folks, no online searching of the lyrics, if you don't know it, you don't have the answer!) I wasn't going to do a mystery lyric, but decided what the hell, the first part of the post was a good feeling. Only one line this time folks. If you don't get it from this one, there's no hope for ya.

Nibblin' on sponge cake, watchin' the sun bake.

Answer to last lyric: I Love Rock and Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. Way to go Knight!