I've been away. To my millions of readers, I apologize for not blathering on about something or other for the past ten days or so. And while this blog entry may not make it self-evident, I am refreshed and raring to go.

I am also mighty smug about the fact that I missed a whole week of tremendous heat and humidity (although I did hear all about it whenever I called home--thanks Mom).

When "home" is comprised of a bed & breakfast-like atmosphere including 90 acres with a grassy woodland trail to stroll with the dogs, a private beach on a lake just around the corner from which to launch our kayaks, small sailboat, canoe, or rowboat, and a couple horses I can ride anytime I want, going on vacation becomes a questionable activity--when you live in a vacation-like atmosphere, why go away?

Obviously, one reason to go away is simply because it is fun to explore new places. We spent the week in Cape Breton, snacking our way around the Cabot Trail and sitting in lawn chairs at our rented cabin only looking up from a good book when bald eagles, whales, and moose flew, swam, or wandered by--which they did quite regularly.

One thing about traveling that I always like is when you get back and suddenly you notice how often you hear references to the place you went. Like when you buy a new car that you've only ever seen a few of but now that you own one they crowd the highways. Now when I hear something about Acadian culture, I'll know what that means--my mind will wander back to a delicious meat pie dinner in Cheticamp.

A bonus was that I added a bird to my "life list"--a Gannet, which for some reason I thought I would have to travel to the Galapagos to see. When I told a birding friend how excited I was to see a Gannet on my trip, she burst my bubble: "Oh ya, we watch them all the time off the shores of Ogunquit." Ah well, it was still exciting.

But leaving a "farm" for eight days is no small undertaking even if it is not a commercial operation. No matter when you go, there is something that should be being done. Pasture to mow, fence to fix, gardens to tend, crops to harvest. It would be the perfect time to prepare that bed for the future raspberry patch. The list is absolutely endless. And the biggest task of all, perhaps, is finding responsible animal care.

If it were just the dogs, I would stick them in the local kennel and go away without a worry. I always miss them and I know they miss us, but the kennel can be great fun for a few days--all those new dogs to meet and people who just goo over them! But since the farm also is home to  three horses (and only a tw0-horse trailer so moving them for a week is more complicated than it's worth), and a goat, and a couple barn cats, having someone stay at the farm while we are away is the best solution.

I'm lucky to have a couple petsitters I can rely on. I wrote a book about starting a petsitting business once and made sure to put in it all the things that I hope petsitters think about. And mine do. I could feel completely carefree that even during an impressive heat wave, my animals were getting the best of care.

That way I could enjoy a new culture, yummy pastry shops, birdwatching, and relax with a book without worrying about being off the farm. And then I can return "farm fresh!"

 Cheryl Kimball is a freelance writer/editor who lives in Middleton. She is author of several books on horses and other topics.

Photo: Bald eagles hang out in Pleasant Bay, NS, harbor looking for handouts. 

Photo by Cheryl Kimball