Dream Along

Recently I've been pondering dreams. My dreams. Things I still want to do in this life. This may be why, while shopping at Wegmens (who has everything and more than a grocery store should), I picked up some magazines I normally would not have purchased.

This city girl loves the country, and I'm so glad I've lived in the country for 28 years. One of my favorite things is sitting in the back yard early on a summer morning and hearing a rooster crow. With our house being right on a major thoroughfare, most other seasons of the year I can't hear the rooster. But a refreshing summer morning, especially on Saturdays and Sundays, I hear one. And it makes me smile!


I've often mentioned to Jerry that it would be fun to have a few chickens and a rooster. I've always said this knowing it would never be. But recently I've been considering why not? Of course, I know nothing about having chickens or a rooster, so when I saw this magazine, "Chickens from Hobby Farms" in the store I picked it up.

Do I have any chicken and rooster friends out there? Are you familiar with raising them and keeping them on your property?

Just a dream . . .

One animal I know I will never raise is a cow. I know when something is out of my reach, and a cow definitely is. But it didn't stop me from picking up a magazine about them! (Countryside & Small Stock Journal)

I love taking pictures of cows and calves. A pastoral scene is so inviting and comforting. I'm definitely going to read the article titled "Management on a Small Acreage." I know, I only have one acre, but I can still dream.

I should plan a vacation at one of those farms where you can work the farm. Last year at the South Mountain Creamery (see Milk Time, October 24, 2012 post) I bottle-fed calves for the very first time! What a thrill it was--a day to remember!

Every day at 4 p.m. you can bottle-feed calves. The creamery is in Middletown, Maryland, just outside of Frederick. A worker drives up and places a bottle outside each stall. You just go from one to the next one and so on. After feeding four calves my arms were reminding me that I'm a city girl with no muscles.

They also have the cutest little ice cream cones at their shop!

I also picked up Blue Ridge Country magazine while shopping, and the article "What are Photos For?" caught my eye. The starting sentence in the article says: "One thing they're for, upon looking back, is showing you 'What's Beautiful to your Eyes and Heart.'" And so it is. As the author, Elizabeth Hunter said: "These photos are a road map to my life. They show you what's beautiful to your eyes and heart . . . Taking the photographs, I understood, was offering and acknowledgment, a bow to the wonder of it all."

I've been taking pictures all my life. I love the feeling and memories I have when I see old snaps and remember when I found the scene and snapped it. And, once I went from film to digital, another whole world opened up to me. The joy of snapping God's creation, and knowing it's His creation, brings a feeling of joy and thankfulness.



Last, but not least, I picked up the magazine: "Pennsylvania." With a covered bridge on the cover how could I pass it up? A few years ago, Jerry and I visited Bedford County, not far from Breezewood, where we go occasionally to eat and shop. The country store in Bob Evans is full of treasures!

We took the driving tour there of nine covered bridges, including a side trip to Gravity Hill (which is a very interesting place).
                                                                                                                                      

"Have you ever wanted to defy gravity? Located in the suburbs of New Paris, PA (South Central Pennsylvania)... Gravity Hill is a phenomenon. Cars roll uphill and water flows the wrong way. It's a place where gravity has gone haywire. There is no fee to venture onto Gravity Hill. It is, quite simply, a road in a remote corner of Bedford County." www.gravityhill.com



No matter how old we are, we can still dream. We should dream. God has opened the door of His universe for our enjoyment, and in it we see the greatest of His creation. So dream on my friend. You are still living. God is still providing.

Now, let me get back to those chickens and you start dreaming!