Friday, March 31, 2023
Little Pasture on the Prairie

Little Pasture on the Prairie

jersey cow

A recent trip to the barn to milk her old milk cow, Rita, reminded Eliza Blue why she is thankful for her life on a ranch and all its gifts. 
snow on fence

Eliza Blue prepares for winter on her South Dakota ranch.
calf

Spring milking is a dream within a dream for Eliza Blue, and an orphaned calf named Little Jones, too.
snow

Maybe, this will be the year Eliza Blue sets some better boundaries around her time so she can say "yes" more often to the things that feed her soul.
head of cabbage

Eliza Blue finds herself with too much cabbage for one family to ever possibly consume and not enough strawberries or peas.
barn kittens

Barn cat politics are complicated. They are full of alliances, double-crossing and violent overthrows. 
cottonwood trees

Eliza Blue marvels at the small grove of cottonwood trees on her South Dakota ranch, recalling indigenous Americans' teachings about the trees.
chili pepper seedling

Eliza Blue explains why she is going to think of the cold months following Christmas as a celebration of the wonders of seed catalog season from now on.
splitting wood

Perhaps enlightenment isn't an antidote to the drudgery of mundane chores. Rather, enlightenment is discovering the joy inherent within these tasks.
hen

Rising egg prices remind Eliza Blue to be grateful for the small bounty her aging flock of hens provide her and her family each day.