Writer in Residence | Spring

Seventy degrees, the last two dozen pieces of firewood stacked lazily against the rail, to be moved over to the fire pit. Cows and their big calves moved to the spring field behind the house, and I don’t need to check them every day like I did when babies were still dropping.

I’m watching the heap of old bricks behind the hay barn for blossoming canes of wild black raspberries- hopeful to find that they survived the cold winter we had.

Daffodils bloomed short this year. Slender purple irises balance like ballerinas in costume on their stems. Black-eyed Susans sprinkle baby leaves throughout the mulch up next to the house, and the biggest dogwood tree I’ve ever seen is halfway to leafed out in my front yard.

I wish you could smell the purple flowers that are blooming in force beside the front steps right now. My husband could tell you what they are called, because they are native to here, and so is he. But I’m not and all I know is that they bloom mid-April for a week and a half, and they smell so wonderful that every year I cannot believe it.

Do you know, I named my second daughter Virginia Mae? She said I am terribly uncreative for doing that. But I told her- sit in springtime, in Virginia, and you will understand!

Juli Price is a local cattle farmer, writer, wife, and mother of four who enjoys capturing everyday experiences with her words. She is our official Writer in Residence for 2025 here at The Current and I am excited to share with you seasonal glimpses into her life on the farm throughout this year!