When Steve invited the neighbors to share his abundance of lovely yellow beans, I was twice blessed.
His crop of beautiful mixed zinnias beckoned me and a host of happy bees and ladybugs.
There I was in the middle of his fields, surrounded by swallows and hummingbirds, warmed by sunshine and the creative flow.
After sketching, I pulled some lovely beans to steam for supper...
I cycled down the road for home, past the hay farmers harvesting their third cutting...
... past horses content in their paddocks and fruit ripening in the sun.
There is such a debt of gratitude we owe to those whose labor feeds us all.
How wonderful it is to till the soil and watch the sprouting plants.
What a special skill those farmers have, being able to coax food from the land.
Food doesn't come from a grocery store,
it comes from the sweat and toil of those skilled and dedicated farmers who grow it.
God bless our nation's farmers, who give us both food and beauty.
