Leaves covered an area around the side of our Florida home that we never visit. We know it’s there, right outside our garage by the air conditioning unit but we’d rather stay inside where we can feel the unit instead of see it.
Still, one of my New Year’s Resolutions was to work in the yard for a half hour per week. Since Tom drove to our property in NC, I had free time on my hands, so I raked.
Over months of neglect, there was a fair amount of dirt. As I swept, I unearthed about 20 worms. The kind my dad and I used to dig up to go fishing. I hadn’t seen one in years.
Except the time I drove my home school kids 80 miles to a worm farm.
No stirrups, lassos, or saddles on this farm. Just worms in big boxes. My kids were unimpressed although a litter of kittens purring at our feet saved the day.
I’m growing to appreciate worms. I’m not sure what they do, but according to the experts, if you have them in your soil, it’s a good thing. A great thing even.
In my worm excitement, I called Tom as I raked.
“I found several worms in our yard. You want me to send them to you?”
Pause. Sigh.
He laughed. “No, we’ll just have to be happy with our worm.”
I knew what he meant. The last time we visited our soon-to-be-farm together, Tom prepared a field for plowing. A dry, rough, stubborn field. Just before he plunged the shovel into the soil, he spied our worm.
He ran to the me. “I almost killed it with the shovel, Pauline. We’ve got a worm! I was careful to put him back in the soil.” His voice broke.
It’s a good thing a worm will bring delight to our souls.
We’re gonna need it.
The following video doesn’t have to do with worms, but I love it. It’s a shot of our new driveway from the homesite to the street. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQ7Iz0fS8sg
It makes me smile even more than worms.
