the passing of time

I was working in my garden yesterday and I reflected on the passing of time. We are here for such a short while. A few things triggered my musings.

I was planting some flowers along the edge of an old wall. This wall is actually the foundation of an old stable that was once on our property. The old stable is gone now and all that remains is this lovely foundation. The former owners planted a perennial garden inside and around this foundation wall. I found myself thinking of the original settlers of this land. They cut trees to carve out pasture land for their animals and fields to grow crops. The stable was a necessity - housing the farm animals that they needed for food or in the case of horses, animals they needed for transportation or farm labour. These people worked hard to establish a farm and now they are gone. All we have left is a glimpse of what their lives were like.

I am planting dahlias. These plants are from my Mother's garden. She too has passed away. I think of the life she and my Dad carved out. They too were farmers, but in a different era. Before I was born, they bought a farm that had the potential to be what they dreamed. Over the years they built a barn, bought machinery, built up a herd of dairy cattle and renovated an 1850's stone house. My Father still lives there. The cattle are gone, and the house and barn need repairs. Time marches on and we struggle to keep up.

So where do I fit in? What will I leave behind? My husband and I wish to be good stewards of this place. We shall look after the fields and not let them grow up into brush. I shall take care of the gardens I have inherited from the previous owners. We too will put our stamp on things with the trees and plants we will plant and the changes to the house that we are going to make.

Nature reminds me of how brief my life is. We have some maple trees on our property that are probably two hundred years old, perhaps older. Humbling really.

Time does pass so quickly. We must savour every moment of our lives.