St Patty's Day

Hi folks,

Well I was out in the field early today. Had to do some prep to get the area ready for the planting that we'll do over the next week or so once I'm sure that the weather's gonna stay warm. Never can tell if we're gonna get another cold snap. I put out some starter plants last year when the temps were real warm and bam... the temps dropped so fast you'da thought theyse were just waiting for me to put the shovel away. Three days... that's all it was. I had them plants in the ground for three days. Ifn I'd waited for only another week they would've been Ok. I tell you what, I'm not gonna be fooled again this year. I'm waitin 'til the first part of April before I put anything in the field... even seeds. Still... had to go out and do some work to make sure everthing was ready for when I do.

Only problem was it'd rained real hard the other day. Came down like buckets. Hardest rain we've had around here for some time. Thought it had dried out some 'cause we had a real hot sunny couple of days between then and now. But nooooo... that rain had just turned that dirt into real thick gooey mud. You know the kind of mud that you just sink into down to your knees ifn you're not careful. Each time I'd take a step it'd try and pull my boots right off. Anyway I was pretty well stuck or at least not goin anywhere real fast. It was real clear to me that I weren't gonna get any work done out there that's for sure. Had to just turn myself around as best I could and work my way back out towards solid ground.

And that's when I saw it. Well, I say it 'cause I can't rightly say I've ever seen anything quite like it before. There was this small little fella walkin right through the field, steppin as lightly as a water bug in a pool of water. Couldn't believe my eyes. Didn't even seem like he was getting his shoes dirty at all. He was dressed all in green... playin some sort of concertina sort of thing... dancin and singin as he moved along. Saw me standin there, feet mired in mud but all he did was laugh as he made his way across the field and off towards the house.

Well I dragged myself out of that mud as fast as I could and took off after him. He had a good head start and was already headin around back when I finally managed to pull myself free and run after him. By the time I got to the backyard, that fella had somehow gotten himself into the pen and was playin for them Naugas. They seemed to like it. At least they started to move in time with the music he was playin and even formed a sort of line with the blue marked ones on one side and the pink marked ones on the other. Took turns movin two by two down the middle almost like they was dancin. Now I know that can't be true 'cause no mat

ter how smart some folks might think they is, no Nauga has ever done anything that even remotely resembles dancin... that I can tell you. Still they was doin something as that fella played and danced right along with 'em.

I'd swear they was even wearing hats of some sort... though if you tell anyone I said so I'll deny it. Went on for at least ten minutes of so. Couldn't take my eyes off it. Just about the time I thought to take my cell phone out to try and take some pictures, it was over. That fella just up and hopped over the fence and poof, he was gone. Thought maybe he'd gone back the way he'd come but I never did catch another sight of him. When I turned back to the pen, them Naugas was acting like nothing strange had happened at all. No hats, no dancin, just movin around acting all Nauga-like. I tell you... strangest thing I ever saw...

Well anyways... Happy St Patrick's Day to all you folks out there. Now if I could only find my boots out there in that mud... 'Til next time. Jon