Sometimes I think Maria was a Willa Cather character in a previous life, laboring on the prairie,  or perhaps she was raised by wolves in the forest. She might well be a forest elf.

We both spent a lot of time Sunday in the pouring rain and mud and cold.

I was writing and wondered where Maria was and finally found her outside raking out leaves into huge piles and throwing them over the fence into the pasture, where they usually go.

I went out to rake with her, only I wore a hat and coat and she didn’t, although she did put on the red British Hunter boots a blog reader named Fran sent her from Canada.

Half the leaves were in big piles by the time I got my rake and joined the fray.

Maria was soaking wet and I was cold almost to the point of chattering teeth, my sweatshirt was soggy and dripping, my hat brim was raining water, my feet were freezing.

Usually, leaves are raked up in dry weather when they are not so heavy. I’m not sure she knew it was raining heavily.

Maria was having a blast, “I love doing work outdoors,” she said. I put on my best Mother’s voice and asked if I could bring her a coat.

She laughed at my silliness. “No,” she said, “I’m warm,  I really needed to get outside and so do some physical work.” She could not have been happier.

Okay, I’m not in the business of telling her what to do, which has always proven futile anyway, so I just worked with her and we got all the leaves gathered up from the front and back yards in an hour or so.

Then she got busy preparing the dining room table for painting. I was a wreck, but she inspired me to take a couple of hours and pour stones on the icy ground (in winter) near the gate.

I love the Willa Cather stance in this photo and the Willa Cather look. I am lucky to have found a Willa Cather girl who wants to live with me on a farm. When I think about it, such a thing is a miracle.