A Running Collection

 We spent a bit of our summer processing pigs. I didn't know that was a thing, but it is and we did it. We didn't even have a garden. We raised 10 pigs to full size. George worked tediously on 6 before deciding to send the other four away for the process. Friends came and helped. Friends came and observed and sketched and asked questions and sat in the shade. We had the miracle of cool air every time he did it. At least cool for us, which usually means damp, but that didn't stop him. He is cautious and carrying. It really is something else to observe! And...the meat is delicious.

Every Friday George picks Diante, Trejohn, and Malek up from school and brings them to work on the farm. They've worked to prepare the soil for months and today was planting day. They worked tediously marking off sections, dropping seeds, counting spaces, making rows, and singing the whole time. They ask about the seeds and their shapes and what they will be. In just a few weeks, they'll be thinning and weeding and watching the plants grow. It's one of my favorite two hours of the week. Listening and watching George and Diante and Trejohn and Malek work and laugh and listen to music and talk about life. 

 Why are we copying and pasting and linking and looking for stories that pass on news of disease, divorce, destruction, death, conspiracy, jealousy, greed, inconsistencies, bad policies, hate, disease, and disgust. We fill our hearts with anxiety and fear and live on the edge of our seats, waiting for the next atrocity to occur ready to point fingers and accuse.  This simply creates a deeper divide between people and place and culture even within our own city blocks and it's boiling down to guns and fire and more hate and more of it all again the next day. We are looking for the next bold large print with the next epic, unprecedented, tragedy.  Good news. Is there good news? Look for it! Say it! Believe it! Find it! Shout it! Put it in big bold letters and highlight it in bright colors. JOY! LIFE! MUSIC! CREATE! So, I'm daring myself -- more like a challenge. Lay down my arms. Lay down my desire to scroll and flip and wait for the next installment o...

 Amelia has been fiddling for four years. She would play here and there, but it wasn't flowing out of her yet. In May, George took the kiddos to a Blue Grass festival. When she came back it started flowing and hasn't stopped. Now it's in her and flowing out of her. She's even played with George for a square dance. She might be the best foot tapper that ever tapped!

Hannah is always eager to help, or at least she wants to be in the middle of life. Earlier this summer, I was making dinner and she made it clear that she wanted to help get the table, so I just let her go for it. She added a few things to the table before she sat back content with her job. At least she knows what every meal needs.   

Finally, I’m pushing play after a huge pause on collecting stories and photos. My computer slowly fell apart as did my desire to write. Yesterday, I received a gift — a new computer. I don’t want to waste a second so, here we go! Picking Up Poop Who has an accordion? We do! Of course we do. We are the dog pound for instruments. Someone finds an old banjo in their attic — take it to the Boggs! Someone sees a guitar at a garage sale that needs fixing up — the Boggs! Someone couldn’t keep a piano at their coffee shop any longer — the Boggs!  So that’s how we have an accordion. It’s never been played, except maybe by an inquisitive child that realized within seconds that it was really to bulky to do much with. It sits on the floor by the window with our instrument pile. It has made the perfect stool for Hannah to stand on so she can see out the window.  Hannah recently started potty training. She loves it. She went straight for the toilet. None of those litt...