Hope Springs Eternal

May 12, 2023

The poem begins “Hope springs eternal in the human breast”- but really, it’s springtime where hope truly dwells.

• A pregnant ewe heading to the barn, looking for a quiet place to lamb.
• A handful of seeds scattered in the wind - searching for fertile ground.
• A honeybee coming out of our empty hive, perhaps scouting before a swarm.
• A broody hen sitting on her nest, threatening me whenever I dare walk by.
• The serenading of lovesick frogs, desperately looking for a mate.
• A clutch of eggs in the robin’s nest by our door.
• Our boisterous bottle-fed lamb - on the verge of being weaned.
• A pair of bluebirds, and their hatchlings getting ready to fledge.
• The return of the swifts nesting in our chimney yet again.
• Our sow looking more and more pregnant every day.

Everything is in a holding pattern, waiting perhaps for a gentle rain, the warmth of the sun or just the right time, to bring it all to fruition. Springtime, indeed, holds eternal hope within a farmer’s soul! And where there is hope, there’s comfort and joy.