3:48 in the Morning

warning: this post contains only words, no photos. You see, I didn’t take my phone; I took my eyes and head. I’m such a radical. E-radical. Eradical. And it was dark, so… 

“Happiness is a form of courage”

Holbrook Jackson

My dog, Blue, woke me up at 3:48 this morning.

He wanted to go out.

So I went with him outside into the dark night.

FARM night is much different from CITY night.

FARM night is much different from SUBURBAN night.

Continue reading

  1. Ramona Puckett says:

    I live out in the country, too, and I love the quiet even though it’s a different kind of quiet. With the frogs in the pond, making their own kind of music, the horses munching in the pasture, the coyotes yelping in the forest. The train’s whistle from 8 miles away. Love your posts!

  2. Mary Frances Rauch says:

    OK, now you are showing off! What I mean is, you just outdid yourself by writing from your heart and head at the same time!
    I don’t know how to do that. I think I always hold back for fear of being exposed by revealing my “inside person” to the world? I bet it really feels good to write a piece like you just did here and then go back and read it aloud to yourself?
    Please keep writing to us. It’s a real joy to visit you “on the inside”.

  3. Diane Van Horn says:

    Rebekah, Your writing is so descriptive I can see, feel and smell your 3:48 am jaunt. I have taken my dog out in the middle of the night and have been in just as much awe as you are. Sometimes I just sit on my porch and stare at the moon. There is something so peaceful and haunting in the dark night. Thank you for sharing your sleep deprived night with us.

  4. When we first moved to our farm, the corn in the fields surrounding us was drying…tall, waving in the breeze, making that noise the drying corn does when it brushes against corn in other rows. When night came, I was sure a “children of the corn” scenario was about to unfold. Well, that was years ago…now one of my favorite times is the alternate years between plantings of soybeans, winter wheat, and corn…when the corn surrounds us on all sides. Now I wouldn’t hesitate to sit outside and listen to the sounds of owls, tree frogs, and even the coyotes in the distance (okay, make that far distance!) Always enjoy reading your posts…thanks for taking the time to share them with us.

  5. winnie Jackson says:

    I found being outside in the middle of the night very calming, quiet and peaceful. I live in the country. I just loved the quiet. Looking up at the sky. Seeing the beautiful stars.
    When I looked up I spoke to both of my passing family members. Saying hello and a quick prayer as I talked to them. I think everyone should experience this time of night. One experience that you won’t forget. Just a delight to do. Why not with kids as well. If someone goes camping they could do this experiment with the folks you are with. Perhaps not quite as quiet if there are party people around. You want a place that is less traveled.
    Try this you will not be sorry. Winnie Jackson

  6. Marilyn says:

    Thank You for this interesting post. You sure have a lovely place to live.
    Marilyn

  7. Pamela says:

    Just thank you.

  8. Paulajean says:

    Yours is one of the few blogs I read asap when it pops into my box! Mary Frances said it well-you are able to write from your head and heart in such a lovely way.

  9. 4:15am.
    Magical and welcoming. No traffic. Just the lonesome sound of a locomotive making it’s way up the Cajon Pass. Myself and the dogs were the only ones awake, still to early for birdsong. Loved it!

  10. Donna Kozak says:

    There really is something calming about being out in the middle of the night – my cat, Puddy, and I walk around the garden and have meaningful conversations …and stop when we hear the coyotes howl and a Barred Owl hoot. We look at each other knowing we are safe in our yard . Your blog was the most beautiful … thank you

  11. I love purple lilacs, too! They were my mother’s favorite. We had two bushes growing in our backyard in Queens (we actually had a yard which I understand was eventually paved over for more parking a few years ago, alas). Here in upstate New York they burst out in multitudes after the seemingly never-ending winter finally did end and spring exploded into summer-like weather. There is nothing I like more than to be outside at night with the moon and listen to the night creatures going about their business.

  12. Debbie says:

    Thank you for taking me out and about on your farm in the deep, dark of night. I could feel the quiet, I could hear and smell it, too. My memory was jogged of late nights in the desert southwest where I grew courage and happiness my first 40 years of life. Out “there” the sky is sprinkled with tiny twinkling lights that on a clear night you can almost see an outline of each one. Depending on where one is star gazing, you might get a whiff of sage or pine while you count the stars. You might even howl at the moon. I always did.
    xo
    Deb

  13. Deanna says:

    Love, love this post. I could feel myself visibly relaxing as I pictured your night time adventure. What a blessing it is to live in a quiet place and feel the peace that nature can bring in this hurry-up, noisy world. I have been a country girl all my life and I am so thankful for that gift. Keep on writing from your heart!

  14. Sherri says:

    AMEN !!!

  15. Joan says:

    Thank you for sharing your super talent! I am sure I was right there beside you. It so reminded me of ‘the farm life’ I once lived. My how you have grown. God bless.

  16. Judy from Maine says:

    Thank you, Rebecca, that was beautiful, no pictures needed to see the night you spent. Sometimes the minds eye is best.

  17. Sandi King says:

    Rebekah, this post reminds me of my younger days when I also lived on a farm (sort of). I love fireflies aka lightning bugs here of which they are few and far between and stars, so many stars in the night sky it is awesome but not so much if there are lights all around. I love the night sounds, and at my friend’s house we sit on the porch at night and hear the frogs, pond and tree, and the full moon peeking through dark drifting clouds and it is so lovely I stare at it for so long my friend asks me how I can do that. I say, “because I love it” and I sigh because I would love to live where I had a porch and frogs, and lightning bugs, at least more than the few I see now, and as for being awake at 3:48 in the morning, well, it happens often at my age, and I take the time to say a few prayers, because I think God is listening more at that time of the morning. But the peace that floods your soul if you have the luxury of a porch, a pond and trees with frogs and a breeze that whispers through the leaves, there is just nothing to compare it to. And I miss one more thing of the night and that is the sound of the whippoorwill I used to hear when I lived on the farm in New York State. Thanks so much for this post and keep on posting as so many of us love to read them.

  18. Pamela deMarrais says:

    Love this post! I felt just like I was outside. You are a great writer. Thanks for making my morning. (Yes, I got up early this morning, but I went back to bed. Ahhh)

  19. Martha says:

    Beautiful post. I am contemplating buying a little piece of land in the country. I am not going to lie, I am scare of all of the things you mentioned.

    I am working on finding my courage.

    Thank you for your post.

  20. Denise says:

    Aww reading this post makes me long for country life. I’m currently in suburbia, but my dream is to own a little land where I can see the stars at night, hear the country life sounds and grow both my garden and myself. This is one memory you’ll keep treasured in your heart for years to come. Precious. I’ll hold onto this with hope and courage until my own dream comes true, happy farm days (and nights).

  21. Rhoda Tuckey says:

    This is a very nice journal entry. Thank you so much for sharing. Life is so wonderful! Everyone should slow down and contemplate and be thankful. Thank you so much. I hope you were able to take a nap the next afternoon.

  22. Rhoda Tuckey says:

    This is a great journal entry. We should all slow down to contemplate. Life is so wonderful! Thank you for sharing. I hope you were able to take a nap the next afternoon. I am looking forward to moving to a more remote area myself…soon I hope.

  23. Mary B. says:

    I love going out at night. It’s a different world, peaceful and alive at the same time. There are hundreds of lightning bugs in the back yard. Some nights they alight on my very large tulip tree and it looks like they decorated it for early Christmas. Its one of the many things I love about summer. Sometimes there is an owl out there letting me know he or she is there hunting.

  24. Nancy Hollwedel says:

    Love all the uplifting stories.
    Puts me in a different mind set.
    Happy and calm.
    Thank you

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April’s Showers Bring….May’s YOU Challenge!

How do I know it is May?

In my meadow, the yellow dots of yesterday have transformed into fluffy cotton balls sitting on top of straws. Tomorrow they will be in various stages of disarray, like my hair.

IMG_6564

IMG_6569

In my pond, the chaotic anthem of peeping fills the spring night with noise. The silent nights of winter are over. Holy nights are year-round.

On the street corner in town, the strawberry man has set up rows and rows of farm baskets, strawberries toppling over the sides. He tells me he drove to the South Carolina flat lands last night, to a farm, just to share these large, sweet, fresh lovelies with us mountain folk. (okay, so yes, he was also selling those No-Bake Chocolate Cookies I love so much. Got a bag. And okay, yes, fresh cheddar cheese curds too. How could I resist?)

IMG_6453

On a neighboring farm, the baby cows born in late fall have left their mothers, forced to a new life of independence on a different farm. I hear the mothers’ wailing for days, until they accept the stark reality of life as a mother cow. Or maybe they forget why they were lamenting. I wonder what the memory power of a cow is.

Just a few weeks ago we got hit with more snow. My garlic, having just popped up from its winter slumber to see the light, was unimpressed. My chickens agreed with the garlic: they had a meeting and boycotted the out-of-doors this snowy day.)

FullSizeRender (4)

 

And then. The sunniness of this past weekend gave us all confidence that winter had moved out. I dragged my potted fig plant outside, the one I’ve been babying all winter in my garage. I made a fatal decision to leave it out last night. We were hit with a freeze and heavy, thick frost. RIP fig dreams.

IMG_6570

And I write this blog post OUTSIDE, for the very first time in months and months. HELLO, MAY!

IMG_6561

May makes me…

happy. hopeful. revitalized. alive.

It has always been so, but I find it to be even MORE so where I live now. I think it is because of the real winters here. Winter is harsh and snowy and cold and blustery. Back in Atlanta, the seasons are all blend-y. Winter there is not much different from spring and fall. (well, except for summer, which is not blend-y at all. Georgia summers are “hotter than Satan’s house cat.”)

But May. Oh May. You usher in loveliness.

AND YOU ALSO usher in the special time of the YOU Challenge. It is our 5th year! whaaaaaaat? Yep!

So let’s grab our shoes and put a song in you heart.  Let’s go strolling together every day in merry, merry month of May. You, My Friend, are the You in YOU Challenge. Not your family, not your co-workers, not your church family, not anybody else. Just you. This month is dedicated to you, at least for a few minutes each day.

I know at first just the thought of taking time for yourself gives you a twitch in your eye. I mean, how can everyone get by if you take 30 minutes a day for you; hey, they’ll live. They’ll do fine. And that twitch will be gone by the end of the month. Your head will be clearer. You’ll breathe in more oxygen with each breath you take. You’ll feel better, physically and emotionally. And it’s so easy. Just go outside and put one foot in front of the other. The combination of fresh air, movement, and togetherness is magical. Doing something for yourself, declaring that you are worth it, is a transformational thing.

The original challenge was this: each and every day in May, lace up your walking shoes and head outside, no matter what. No. Matter. What.

Then, it evolved for some folks into doing something other than walking for themselves,  swimming, biking, journaling, drawing, etc.

One year we added drinking lemon water in the morning before our coffee. That was refreshing and hydrating, so that’s a permanent part of it now.

And share. If you share your journey, you’ll bless us all.

And we all want to see where you walk! Take photos! And we want to hear how your walk was! And how you are feeling! Or if you are choosing to do something besides walking for you, we want to hear about that too.

So. You in????

May Day, May 1st,  is the day we begin, but you can join in any time. When you read this post, make an agreement with yourself to do something for YOU. We have a Facebook group (Here’s the link. It’s private, you have to request to join.) where we post pics and chat up a storm. We encourage each other and enjoy our time together. So much fun. And so inspiring and encouraging. JOIN US!

I’ve particularly excited this year. I have been looking forward to it! In joyful anticipation, I got home this evening and mowed the overgrown path on my farm that I like to walk. It takes me through the rows of Christmas trees and out into the horse pasture. Whew, my winter months were full of heavy lifting; it has taken a toll on my soul. Of course, I say that every year: oh I’ve never needed this more; oh, this came just in time; oh, this and that.

But it is true every single year. I need this month of May challenge with my sisters. Shall we, Dear Ones? Let’s!

Want more info on the YOU Challenge? Check out these posts.

Here’s the original post from 2014.

Here’s the post from 2015. (boy, I miss those trail shoes. Got my money out of those babies.)

Here’s the post from 2016.

Here’s the post from 2017.

So, come along!

Until next time, Friends, savor the flavor of life!
Lots of love, Rebekah, City Farmgirl in the Country

P.S.

“Life’s a trippy thing.”

I heard this song for the very first time today. It’s weird and perky and fantastic. Frank and Nancy Sinatra. Here’s a link. It’s sure to make you smile.

IMG_6553

  1. Marlene Capelle says:

    Far out song. I’m in for the May YOU challenge. Thanks for the invite. Drinking lemon juice and tea as we speak with lemon from our own indoor tree. Learning to draw and speak Spanish just because I want to.

  2. Denise says:

    Yay love our May YOU challenge.
    Love seeing your farm in spring.

  3. Marilyn says:

    Those strawberries look delicious. The weather here in new York has been hot 90 degrees.
    Marilyn

  4. Diane Van Horn says:

    I can’t believe its been 5 years! I have been along for all of them. Thank you for encouraging us to take the time for ourselves every day especially when it includes walking in nature.

  5. Susan Lazarou says:

    Well im still waiting for sunshine..just when you think your going to get it..it rains. Just get over snow and we have to deal with the winds…and rain…im tired of weather fluctuations and dreary sky’s . Can someone please send me some sunshine?

  6. im very excited to start this new adventure. I live in Nevada in the City.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

April's Showers Bring….May's YOU Challenge!

How do I know it is May?

In my meadow, the yellow dots of yesterday have transformed into fluffy cotton balls sitting on top of straws. Tomorrow they will be in various stages of disarray, like my hair.

IMG_6564

IMG_6569

In my pond, the chaotic anthem of peeping fills the spring night with noise. The silent nights of winter are over. Holy nights are year-round.

On the street corner in town, the strawberry man has set up rows and rows of farm baskets, strawberries toppling over the sides. He tells me he drove to the South Carolina flat lands last night, to a farm, just to share these large, sweet, fresh lovelies with us mountain folk. (okay, so yes, he was also selling those No-Bake Chocolate Cookies I love so much. Got a bag. And okay, yes, fresh cheddar cheese curds too. How could I resist?)

IMG_6453

On a neighboring farm, the baby cows born in late fall have left their mothers, forced to a new life of independence on a different farm. I hear the mothers’ wailing for days, until they accept the stark reality of life as a mother cow. Or maybe they forget why they were lamenting. I wonder what the memory power of a cow is.

Just a few weeks ago we got hit with more snow. My garlic, having just popped up from its winter slumber to see the light, was unimpressed. My chickens agreed with the garlic: they had a meeting and boycotted the out-of-doors this snowy day.)

FullSizeRender (4)

 

And then. The sunniness of this past weekend gave us all confidence that winter had moved out. I dragged my potted fig plant outside, the one I’ve been babying all winter in my garage. I made a fatal decision to leave it out last night. We were hit with a freeze and heavy, thick frost. RIP fig dreams.

IMG_6570

And I write this blog post OUTSIDE, for the very first time in months and months. HELLO, MAY!

IMG_6561

May makes me…

happy. hopeful. revitalized. alive.

It has always been so, but I find it to be even MORE so where I live now. I think it is because of the real winters here. Winter is harsh and snowy and cold and blustery. Back in Atlanta, the seasons are all blend-y. Winter there is not much different from spring and fall. (well, except for summer, which is not blend-y at all. Georgia summers are “hotter than Satan’s house cat.”)

But May. Oh May. You usher in loveliness.

AND YOU ALSO usher in the special time of the YOU Challenge. It is our 5th year! whaaaaaaat? Yep!

So let’s grab our shoes and put a song in you heart.  Let’s go strolling together every day in merry, merry month of May. You, My Friend, are the You in YOU Challenge. Not your family, not your co-workers, not your church family, not anybody else. Just you. This month is dedicated to you, at least for a few minutes each day.

I know at first just the thought of taking time for yourself gives you a twitch in your eye. I mean, how can everyone get by if you take 30 minutes a day for you; hey, they’ll live. They’ll do fine. And that twitch will be gone by the end of the month. Your head will be clearer. You’ll breathe in more oxygen with each breath you take. You’ll feel better, physically and emotionally. And it’s so easy. Just go outside and put one foot in front of the other. The combination of fresh air, movement, and togetherness is magical. Doing something for yourself, declaring that you are worth it, is a transformational thing.

The original challenge was this: each and every day in May, lace up your walking shoes and head outside, no matter what. No. Matter. What.

Then, it evolved for some folks into doing something other than walking for themselves,  swimming, biking, journaling, drawing, etc.

One year we added drinking lemon water in the morning before our coffee. That was refreshing and hydrating, so that’s a permanent part of it now.

And share. If you share your journey, you’ll bless us all.

And we all want to see where you walk! Take photos! And we want to hear how your walk was! And how you are feeling! Or if you are choosing to do something besides walking for you, we want to hear about that too.

So. You in????

May Day, May 1st,  is the day we begin, but you can join in any time. When you read this post, make an agreement with yourself to do something for YOU. We have a Facebook group (Here’s the link. It’s private, you have to request to join.) where we post pics and chat up a storm. We encourage each other and enjoy our time together. So much fun. And so inspiring and encouraging. JOIN US!

I’ve particularly excited this year. I have been looking forward to it! In joyful anticipation, I got home this evening and mowed the overgrown path on my farm that I like to walk. It takes me through the rows of Christmas trees and out into the horse pasture. Whew, my winter months were full of heavy lifting; it has taken a toll on my soul. Of course, I say that every year: oh I’ve never needed this more; oh, this came just in time; oh, this and that.

But it is true every single year. I need this month of May challenge with my sisters. Shall we, Dear Ones? Let’s!

Want more info on the YOU Challenge? Check out these posts.

Here’s the original post from 2014.

Here’s the post from 2015. (boy, I miss those trail shoes. Got my money out of those babies.)

Here’s the post from 2016.

Here’s the post from 2017.

So, come along!

Until next time, Friends, savor the flavor of life!
Lots of love, Rebekah, City Farmgirl in the Country

P.S.

“Life’s a trippy thing.”

I heard this song for the very first time today. It’s weird and perky and fantastic. Frank and Nancy Sinatra. Here’s a link. It’s sure to make you smile.

IMG_6553

  1. Marlene Capelle says:

    Far out song. I’m in for the May YOU challenge. Thanks for the invite. Drinking lemon juice and tea as we speak with lemon from our own indoor tree. Learning to draw and speak Spanish just because I want to.

  2. Denise says:

    Yay love our May YOU challenge.
    Love seeing your farm in spring.

  3. Marilyn says:

    Those strawberries look delicious. The weather here in new York has been hot 90 degrees.
    Marilyn

  4. Diane Van Horn says:

    I can’t believe its been 5 years! I have been along for all of them. Thank you for encouraging us to take the time for ourselves every day especially when it includes walking in nature.

  5. Susan Lazarou says:

    Well im still waiting for sunshine..just when you think your going to get it..it rains. Just get over snow and we have to deal with the winds…and rain…im tired of weather fluctuations and dreary sky’s . Can someone please send me some sunshine?

  6. im very excited to start this new adventure. I live in Nevada in the City.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *