Paying attention without getting distracted by the beauty and math of the farm and cows may be my biggest challenge there, after training. Yesterday I peeked under the grain silo, to see the exact point where grain pours over the metal lip, into plastic buckets. That ten second pause nearly created a mess it might have taken an hour to clean up. I'll have to focus on the exact point of the present moment, instead. I'm going to take a camera over there one morning when I'm not on the clock.

Back home on our tiny farm, which only gains in charm and right-feeling the longer I work at a bigger place, the guys are building a new and proper goat barn. For now it sorta looks like wooden Goathenge. We are so excited to get the goats into a luxury crib and the hay off our front porch!

Dear girl has been reading her way through a series of books from Girl Town, what grown southern women traditionally call "beach books." At her age, delighted reading is the goal. I don't care what she reads. Educationally, neurologically, reading for fun is one of the best things kids can choose.

Yesterday she asked to go the library for more books. She's getting tired of beach books and wants to branch out. She picked up "Pride and Prejudice" and I tossed "The Bean Trees" by Barbara Kingsolver onto her pile. Either of these choices might resonate with her. But that doesn't matter. The point is, children will always challenge themselves when they are ready. This reminds me so much of the moment her brother spent some time with Edgar Allan Poe. Free children always reach for more at the point of need.