day 2

start the day harvesting the mint. they carry the most oils right before blooming. pause in the middle to sweep up a broken mirror, and again to carry a baby bat from the house into the woods, found in the chimney. fill four heaping baskets. carry two inside. coax the chickens back into the coop. let the dogs out. play fetch with the frisbee. stir fry veggies for fellow kitchen putterers m & s. find an inchworm, two caterpillars, and a tiny frog in the mint. stripping and cleaning the mint takes all afternoon. throw most of it away.

play some piano for the fussing baby. let the dogs out again. the chickens laid eggs. freshly laid eggs don’t have to be refrigerated if you don’t wash them, protected by a natural bloom. visit billy the goat, some horses, and the pigs. piggy rubbed all over my legs when we met. go to the cedar lake farmer’s market. a trump 2024 sign “save america again!” on the way. buy a leather bracelet. sit by the lake. wink at some children. back to the house for dinner. mistake leeks for green onions. chinese catfish with mushrooms steamed in eggs. scratch some cow heads. out to the ‘hobbit hill’ built for sledding between the house and the soybean fields. past the plot meant for asparagus, before the pond meant for fishing. draw a wide circle with bug spray. sit there til sundown, singing.