Over the past year, we’ve gotten to know Bernie Hyatt well, he is our UPS driver and I am not sure I have ever known a more courteous, hard-working or efficient working man than Bernie. He and his wife Pam are also passionate animal lovers. Bernie is here several times a week at least, he always has biscuits for dogs, and we have gotten to be good friends. Even Frieda has given up barking at him, she pretended not to see him today.  We depend on UPS for many things around here, and Bernie is dependable but now, more like a member of the family. People all over town hope he will choose to stay on this route.

Last week we invited Bernie and Pam to come to the farm to spend some time with the animals  – Pam follows the blog and is into the lambing drams. Out of uniform, Bernie is lots of fun, I’m used to seeing him rushing to one place or another, he works long and sometimes grueling hours without complaint or mishap. He can recite the name, nature and address of every cat, dog or goat in the country, he carries photos of many of them on his Iphone.

The Hyatts hung out with the lambs, hugged dogs and cats, photographed chickens and brought two bags of carrots for the donkeys who wasted no time loving them. Bernie said he told his kids that was more of a real author than their Uncle Harry but not as big as John Grisham. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that, he said.

Why not, I answered? It is sure true. I love many things about the country, but one of them is that is is possible to get to know someone like Bernie, someone one might never get to talk to in New York or Los Angeles or New Jersey. I am grateful he felt comfortable enough with us to come visit here and bring his wife.

I believe it is connection that drives most human beings, and I feel so many connections here. Bernie and Pam are coming back for the first Open House on the weekend of June 21-22.