Warmest day of the year so far—77 degrees! Hubby and I went for a walk in one of my happy places this afternoon, a local farm park with lots of trails and, of course, a barnyard menagerie of non-human creatures. Because of Covid we can’t get inside the main barn where the piglets and lambs are. I love watching the piglets chase one another. Here I can also get my poultry fix. In Scotland I raised chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese, so being able to see them  at the farm (minus the geese) immediately soothes my senses, especially since I don’t have to muck out their living quarters—a back-breaking chore I both loved and loathed.

Also present were bunnies, goats, cows, horses, and peacocks. The chickens were in bed for the night, so this photo of their luxury coop will have to do. I remember when the park first built this around 2002; the wood is starting to rot now. The buff colored turkeys were the same kind we had in Scotland. In the surrounding woods, they’ve cut down a lot of decadent trees and are starting to fence off certain sections. I believe this is the beginning of a project to rid the woodlands of invasive species. In years past they puts goats in fenced sections of the woods to eat down the vegetation and encourage natives to spring back. The park has a horse therapy place, and I thought this boy in a motorized wheelchair walking a pony was just about the most adorable thing I’ve seen in a while.

We also strolled around the old meeting house, with its tiny cemetery out back. The ring of the tree stump Hubby is standing in is all that’s left of this ginormous oak that was standing when we first moved here; easily 8 feet across. Hasn’t taken long for the earth to reclaim it.

I Skyped with some writing pals tonight to practice our pitches. Three of us are proposing to turn our memoirs into a film or television series. The big pitch weekend is next week, online, with reps from Hollywood producers. I’ve been taking a hatchet to my logline and synopsis for a few weeks. Now it’s time for the final polish. Who should play me?

It’s National Funeral Director and Mortician Recognition Day, and boy do these people need it. So thank you for looking after passed loved ones whose families don’t get the chance to comfort them in their final hours. Caring for the bodies that souls leave behind is important work.