Author Sam McLeod
I love living on the farm, but leave the farming to Neal. When we first moved to Walla Walla, the concept of “getting back to nature” appealed to me. I’d read about it in books. Seemed inviting, free-range, maybe even heart-healthy. But the concept took on new meaning when Neal asked me to turn the manure pile with a big shovel, help her move six tons of hay from one place to another, and climb up on the barn roof to get BC out of the rafters. That caused me to rethink the concept of “getting back to nature.”
So, now I mostly get back to nature by sitting here on the porch in my chair. I watch clouds bump up against the Blue Mountains. I’m mesmerized by the crazy crop duster who nose-dives trees to spray neighboring alfalfa fields. I think surely he’s going to catch a wheel and flip his plane. It’s a little like watching a beautiful blonde in a skimpy outfit walk the high-wire without a net. I’m sure she’s going to end up a puddle of blood in the sawdust. But she doesn’t. And he doesn’t.
Mule deer graze in the pasture below our house, eating the saplings Neal plants. Cock pheasants make fools of themselves just beyond the fence, preening and crowing, beating their wings, strutting. The females mostly ignore them. BC stalks the field mice that are trying to move in under my chair. When she gets one, she drops it at my feet, proof that she’s earning her keep.
Sometimes I muse on things. Occasionally I write something down. And I always scratch Yoda’s belly. He’s our low-slung Corgi with the giganto ears. Turns out his idea of getting back to nature is similar to my own. He dozes beside my chair, within arm’s reach, while I write. I absentmindedly scratch whatever part of him he’s offering up. He repositions himself every few minutes so I won’t miss a particularly itchy spot. He’s my kind of dog.
When I’m not musing, I’m fiddling around in the kitchen, working on a new recipe or two. Neal says she’s happy doing the farm work if I’ll fix her dinner.
You might enjoy reading my blog, learning about my books and storytelling, or perusing my recipes. Click here to read my blog. And click here to visit my author website.