Animal husbandry and Woman husbandry

It's been 3 years. That's right, 3 years since we said our vows and walked barefoot down the aisle. During our ceremony, on that beautiful day, we took 2 separate trees and planted them together in the same pot to symbolize our new closeness. Today, we planted arugala.

It was a fairly normal day - normal being a great thing in my mind. We caulked and painted a room, cleaned emu poop, collected eggs, fed the animals, ate lunch outside, looked at wedding pics and reminisced. Here's one:

The good thing about all these normal things is that we get to do them together, and that’s something we’ve come to value.

In talking about animal husbandry, Wendell Berry writes, “The word husbandry is the name of a connection...To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve.”

Lynea and I are priveleged to stay with a wonderful family on an incredible plot of land in Vermont and learn some basic animal husbandry skills. Each day I feel more of a connection with the land and the animals as I watch the creative process of life unfold. This is good, and I am very interested in animal husbandry, but it's not the most important husbandry for me. The last 3 years I've developed a deep connection with Lynea as I've learned to care for her, respect her and try my best to bring out the best in her. In short, I'm more interested in being good at woman husbandry.

As we reflect on our vows and look at pictures of our wedding day, we renew our commitment to each other and celebrate these 3 spectacular years together. I've found a best friend for life, and I'm truly thankful.

And before I close this entry, thanks to all our friends and family for the love and support throughout our relationship. “It takes a village...”

The end.

(A recent picture from our local restaurant, the Dam Diner. It's next to a dam. Good food.)