The peaceful nature of peas.........

Seriously, is there anything better in the world than peas right out of the garden? Many people grow sugar peas now because you don't have to shell them. Personally, I love the quiet peacefulness that comes from shelling peas.

The crack that is the opening of the pod -- the slide of the thumb, pushing the peas into a bowl where there is just the slightest of noise.

But peas can be very social. Kind of a veggie quilting bee. Woman and girls all sitting around talking and shelling. Forming the bonds that are only made by working and cooking together.

But me -- I sit on a bench. A bowl is on my lap -- the basket to my left and a bucket for the pods at my feet. I'm surrounded by the sounds of nature. The wrens, the robins, the sparrows and the frogs. A rooster crows and the kitten walking across my shoulders purrs.

Tonight -- as we eat creamed peas with potatoes and ham -- I'll remember how I feel at this very moment. Very very content.