We have stolen away from our regular lives to spend four days at our "bit of earth". This afternoon we are expecting the UPS truck to come up the dirt road to deliver a box of 100 seedlings, this year's investment in our balsam orchard. We'll pull on our gloves and plant them in batches over the next few days. This is what "crafting a rural spirit" is all about, and my spirits are lifted as we make progress toward manifesting our dream.

We never tire of waking up to this view from our bedroom window. It reminds me of something Wendell Berry wrote, “Be joyful because it is humanly possible.”