"Mother Earth Will Make You Strong . . .

. . . if you give her loving care."

(title taken from "Garden Song" by David Mallett)

Happy Earth day, everyone! This month has been action packed . . . FarmWife and FarmHusband celebrated their sixth anniversary of marriage this month (without me, I might add), Little Larval Human turned three years old (which means that she should soon be ready to start doing heavy labor such as pulling and carrying), tax day came and went (but the refund's long since spent), Minimule Harriet turned one year old (stuck though she is at a fetal stage of development), and International Grass Day hit us like a delicious flavor explosion. Today, April 22nd, we celebrate the Mother that we all share. Not horse mother, not donkey mother, not Mother Goose or Mother Hubbard . . . I mean Earth, in whose loving arms we all reside.

Humans, here this: my overgrazed pasture ain't nothin' compared to the abuse you've committed towards our dear Mother. I won't go into detail—that would be depressing, and this website is a happy place. I will just say this—as you love your mules, love your planet. As you look after their bodies, their minds, their hearts, love her land, her atmosphere, her waters. As you give them tender care and ask in return that they nourish your soul, be to her a kind custodian that she might feed you, house you, make you strong. If she ends up run-down and starving, it is you who will suffer. And me, Fenway Bartholomule.

On a happier note, our friend over at Meandering Washington  has a much happier take, and a very valid one, on this day we love to celebrate. It's important to remember that the Earth is still a vibrant and healthy mother for us, and that there is no beauty she cannot show us.

After all, where did the mule come from? From the mare, from the jack, from the human's management of his stock . . . but before that, really, from the Earth. She's a generous lady.

Love,
Fenway Bartholomule