Alone at the Farm

My daughter, who normally walks with me, declined to join me on a walk yesterday. I've felt a bit reluctant about walking alone, but I've always felt safe in the public areas of Wheeler Farm, so there I went. 

At first, I thought I'd just do a jaunt around the perimeter, to get some exercise and sunshine. I planned to head straight back to my car. I walked briskly until I came to the donkey and pony corral.

The donkey's head was outside its fence. It was fiddling through gravel with its lips, trying to filter up some bits of hay that had blown from its feeding trough. There's a sign that says to not feed the animals at the farm, but I figured I was just helping it reach its own food. So I pushed bigger bits of hay closer. 

The ponies immediately came over because they wanted some too. I obliged. 

After joyfully taking pictures of the donkey and ponies, I realized that being on my own meant I could spend as much time as I wanted taking pictures of other things around the farm. I started by focusing on the metal bits of the tractors and other machinery. 

Then I got the idea I could take a selfie by placing my camera below the seat toward my face. I thought that might be an interesting look if I could pull it off.

I liked the result. It brought me so much joy that I was able to successfully capture bits of myself as well as the patina of the old tractor seats. This accidental picture shows the joy I felt that it worked.

Then I went around taking pictures of my face in all kinds of places throughout the farm as well as through more old tractor seats and orange construction fence. It felt like a creative experience. It was very fun and brought me joy. Not all of the pictures were successful, but that was part of the fun.

Because the experience was so joyful, I decided to share the pictures I took on Instagram. Typically, I'm shy about posting selfies, but I posted five of them with no shame, alternating between me and parts of the farm so nobody would get sick of seeing my face. This post has an additional six selfies. Instagram crops some, so these show the full pictures.

My sister commented on Instagram that I could use one of these as my "author photo." I thought that was a sweet thing to say. I haven't been writing much lately, so her subtle support got me thinking about writing again. I've been meaning to write a post about forgiveness. Hopefully I'll find time and desire to do that soon.