Yesterday after running errands, we were reluctant to head directly home and do serious Work on a sunny Saturday afternoon, so first we took a couple of brief driving detours into the surrounding ranch-lands and enjoyed a uniquely lush and verdant north Texas spring outing, luxuriating in the marvels of denser woodlands, fuller runoff creeks and richer grasslands than we’ve yet seen since moving down here. Needless to say, we are reveling in the wealth of meadow and pastureland in the surrounding counties, as are all of the horse and cattle herds that didn’t get sold off or butchered outright to evade starvation and thirst in last year’s drought. It’s a beautiful prospect, this well-watered magic we have right now, and inspires the poetic in one’s spirit no matter how it defies other work.
Spring Pastures
Far back among the rolling hills, Where prairie grasses sweep and bow
And the sweet wildflower spills Pour down the slope, the Angus cow
Set farthest back along the line Draws up her calf to join the herd,
Slow-swaying, toward a stand of pine; The rancher there, without a word,
Appears to bring an evening feed, And all the cattle on the clock
That balances content with need, Some time before, began this walk . . .
The faintest glint of sidelong rays Begins to tint the brush with gold
The way late Spring colors her days, As if instead of growing old
She’s only burnishing her tone The more to show her graciousness,
Inviting birds that fly alone To join a choir whose notes confess
A radiant love of living things, Of all that’s sweet and warm and new,
Of leggy calves, of seed that brings That grass now banking up the slough . . .
The cattle walk, now, in their line, Their black flanks shaded in the dusk
With blue-tinged shadows, as a fine Light scent arises like a musk
From all their footsteps tapped in clay, Veils of the thinnest dust laid low
Between the sorghum rows’ array And that tall hayfield yet to mow,
And not one calf among them all Drifts off the center of the trail,
Because they sense their supper-call As sure as seasons never fail . . .
Art-Colored Glasses 
It’s been an unexpected surprise, hasn’t it? To see such an abundance of flora this early in the year (or at any time, really, in Texas). Everywhere you look, color is splashed across the landscape. Lovely, really. We forget, sometimes, in those dull brown and grey winters of ours, that even here in Texas, the color is alive. Nicely done.
Thank you, my dear! Yes, it’s been quite the revelation to see such a GREEN Texas, and such abundance of bloom. I’m savoring it all I can, knowing that it *is* a bit of a rarity. 🙂
Beautiful. We are having our first thunder storm (snow on Friday, thunder on Sunday… sigh) as I’m reading this. Love ❤
Hope everyone weathered the storm just fine. We keep hearing that we *might* be due for another small spate of rainy days, but so far, not so much evidence to back up the claims. And the heat’s rolling in already–supposed to hit 32C in a couple of days, and we’re certainly close to it already. AIEEEE!
Beautiful – thanks
Very welcome, my friend!
The countryside must be beautiful now that you’ve had some rain. It’s amazing how quickly mother Nature responds and rebounds. The work can wait. You were absolutely correct to take a nice drive. If not now, when?
Precisely. One must take advantage of the moment. ‘Specially when things get busiest I’m convinced it’s the most important that we break out of the groove, if only briefly, to grab these amazing opportunities. And we *did* still get home and finish the dreaded Canadian taxes before bedtime, too. 🙂
Must be such a relief to witness such lushness after a long drought. And your poem so beautifully captures your pleasure so that it is the reader’s as well! I love the images here…it reminds me of an old English pastoral poem.
I’m sure that in the relative scheme of history this was far from a long drought, but it was *my* first, and certainly long enough to kill a whole lot of the precious trees around here. So yes, it’s an incredible joy to see all of this unprecedented green here! 🙂
I’m still catching up and this poem is one reason I won’t just delete old emails. Very good!!!!
Thank you so much, Dennis! I’m glad you like!!