hot diggity dang

It's 11 a.m. on Monday morning, and I've gotten some stuff done, and not enough all at the same time. I've got about 60-65 pages of papers to write in the next five weeks. I've really enjoyed my classes this semester, but there just doesn't seem to be enough time for everything! My grandfather is back in the hospital, and with my parents 20 hours away by car, there is some implicit responsibility and worry that I have in trying to keep some things together for them in looking out for their folks. Church is in the crazy spin that goes into the summer (which I have thankfully gotten to slow down!). And I've got classes tonight and tomorrow, and the next week are finals and a lot of papers being due! And let's not forget that the wonderful, teacher wife's exhaust pipe fell off of her car...

With all that on the plate right now, I have to say, last night, working to get the garden going with my great wife couldn't have been any more amazing. I was rototilling more of the soil (pictures to come soon) and Shey raked out a lot of the grass from my previous adventures of rototilling and then started shoveling compost in for the final batch of tilling before planting this week. The weather was absolutely perfect and the sun was setting with a guy on his tractor in the other field, the stream was rushing nearby, and a beautiful barn and silo in the next field over set the backdrop...it honestly couldn't have calmed my heart more. The great family we are living with has had some tractor trouble, they were going to help speed the garden making process up for me by plowing a small section for the garden...so I waited a bit for that to happen, which then couldn't b/c the plow got stuck on the tractor, so getting the garden started took a bit more work...but I love being out there. It is so amazing to enjoy the outside again...and the time with Shey was perfect.

I hope all is well folks. I'm going to get back to Rollins' soon. But I've got Pseudo-Dionysius, Christian Ethics, Eschatology & Spiritual Formation, and Who is God to be finishing up in the next couple of weeks. I will try to get to Rollins again post-finals. Otherwise its papers, gardening, and hanging out with the Mrs. and church stuff right now....peace.

in light of recent technical difficulties...

Well, part of the reason I've been soooo slow in posting is that the new Beta Blogger in co-operation with Picasa, has not been making my life (or many others) life very easy in posting pictures. I've been struggling for a while to get it taken care of, and that day has finally come. So here's another post, one which I've been anxious to share for a while now.

My lovely teacher wife and I moved in the fall (Novemberish) to a new place, a bit outside of town, but absolutely beautiful. We hoped that moving to Jefferstonton would provide a more quiet and open space for us to create, whether in photography, simply enjoying creation, or writing papers, painting, or our new favorite joy--birding. Here are a few pictures from some walks or from the drive home that either the lovely teacher wife or I have taken. The barn and silo is near our place, and a wonderful sight in the winter sun. The bluebird was a fun sighting on another walk one afternoon. And the last two shots are from the drive to and from town.

If you haven't read any of Wendell Berry's novels yet...I hope these pic's inspire you to do so!