"Wathcing the Grass Grow"

      Disclaimer: If you're anywhere affected by "Nemo," you might not believe the following story.

      When I stepped out of the truck in my pair of non work, shoe-sandal hybrids the ground squished under my feet and the peeper chorus hit my ears. I could've skipped (with a bluebird on my shoulder--who in reality was sitting on the fence post watching things that bluebirds actually care about) through the old paddock into the new one where the cows currently chewed the cud, grazed, lazed and did cow things.
    
     Yesterday I'd strung the fence up hurriedly (admittedly as quickly as you can walking the perimeter of a 10 acre field three or four times wearing hip waders in the mud with a hand full of step in posts or weed-eating sleeping brambles or dead joe-pye and broomstraw) because I was rushing to meet Emily at the VABF (Virginia Association for Biological Farming) Conference. 

     We were excited to see Karl Hammer speak. He founded the Vermont Compost Company that produces compost for organic growers and raises a large flock of egg laying hens without any grain using food, tree and agricultural wastes from their community. Karl, the self appointed compost czar in the nation in the universe that he occasionally and fictionally inhabits, was as funny as he was inspiring. Fifteen or so years ago, he had around 60? hens and was making compost when he realized that the little bit of grain he still fed his chickens was a crutch for himself and not his hens, so he stopped feeding his hens grain.

    Inspiring. The potential... So if you've got hens, go find some five gallon buckets and food scraps, old hay, wood chips, leaves, manure and kick the grain. Exciting!  Like watching grass grow. One of my favorite compulsive past times.

    Every time I drive into Tuckahoe to move the cow herd, I stare at the old hay meadows (now pastures!) and ignore the road, which is fine on the lane at Tuckahoe where if you drive over 10 miles an hour your truck box or suspension will protest by giving out after repeated trips, but not on any type of highway or country road which I am very guilty of as Emily often shouts at me when we're driving somewhere, "Daniel! Are you okay?" She knows that I'm either ogling cows, ogling grass or falling asleep.

       In the past two or three weeks, I've really noticed that the fescue, clover and orchard grass seem to be growing. Even the first spot on the bottom ground (granted the James helps to heat that micro-climate) which the cattle were grazing less than two weeks ago is starting to regrow.

      There's hope in them blades! Soon the grasses, clovers, forbs, shrubs, veggies and saplings will be growing loudly. So next time you're bored, go watch the grass grow.