Summer nights

On a farm on a summer night,
One cannot help but feel everything is all right
The sun takes a break and goes to sleep —
Nighttime creatures begin to creep

Diligent farm kids seek out many a raccoon
Using flashlight or glow from the moon
Those pesky critters are after the hens
Planning a potluck for all of their friends

There are fireflies to watch and snatch
Nature’s fleeting lights, a trick to catch
Put them in a jar for a little while
Release them, let them fly another mile

“Charlotte” the spider has been spied
Her web a work of art — so big and wide
Round and round, spin and tack
Possessing creative skills that many lack

From the coop comes chickens’ sleepy sound
Huddled on the roost, all feathers down
They awake with a start if a light gets flipped
Scolding begins, they are not tight-lipped

Four fuzzy kittens sneak out for a bite
Bellies to the ground, nice and tight
They wish for a rogue mouse out on a walk
Dark hours are easier to stalk

Sheep are silent (unless they hear me)
Snuggled up beside their willow tree
Mothers and lambs, all side by side
Piles of black and white, rest outside

The bunnies settle from hopping about
Halting their ongoing exercise route
They huddle together in their upper tier
Safe from harm, they have no creature fear

Winged night critters swoop here and there
Gorging on bugs in the cool, dark air
Bats come out, flying silent as can be
While birds nestle tight in the nearby tree

Coyote howls are heard from the valley near
Could they be in search of a lonely deer?
Shivers run up and down my spine —
Even the dogs perk up and utter a whine

Each cricket has tuned up its instrument
Chirps, trills — a chorus of amazement
It is though they tell us fall is not far away
Much to our summer-loving dismay

Headed to the house after doing each chore
I breathe a deep breath and relax to my core
Is there anywhere else as lovely to be?
Once again, I am grateful I get to be me.

Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and farm 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira, Dane, Henry and Cora, help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos, and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.