Saturday, October 23, 2010

makin' thyme

I’m no martyr, nor do I embrace righteous deprivation. I’m just from the school that believes the least amount of moving parts is better. A screw driver instead of a power drill, an old saber tooth saw instead of a circular saw. A walk rather than a ride. Although I realize a project can take me at best twice as long, I enjoy the quite. The two things I revere (besides my sweetheart who tops the list) is my hoe and my Honda Rancher, the 4 wheeler I got last week that my brother in law gifted me. So the flip to my quiet methodical workings is now contrasted by the ripping engine full tilt boogie through the fields to check on lambs and hopefully scare the crap out of coyotes.


I see nothing wrong with striking a balance between the two. Lately, I have to admit I’ve been in a hurry. I’ve had to rush through one project to the other and the work just never seems to be done. The other morning I walked outside to start work and I heard the strangest sound. What was it? I stopped and cautiously listened. Head tilted, ear cocked, eyes shifting north, south. It was birds chirping and singing! Why was this sound so foreign to me? How long had it been since I noticed the world around me? Probably not that long, but my greatest pleasures are when I am quietly harvesting, listening to the wind move through the trees, and watching the killdeer scurry and socialize. I like hearing my own heart beat while I thin arugula.


I’ve still got two more weeks of crazy busy and believe me I am not complaining. But I can’t look at time the same way anymore, because it just goes so fast when I do. If I am lucky I’ll always be busy like this however I know I’ll need a new approach to dealing with it. I want my sunrises, and bird and cricket orchestra but I also want gas in my 4 wheeler. What decadence!

2 comments:

  1. Damn fine writing!
    I just took a hike in the lower pasture of our farm and decadence is the exact word that popped into my mind!
    Here's to your fall and winter quiet!
    Cheers

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  2. It's a brisk 58º on this Sunday morning and it's time to step away from the computer and take my coffee outside. I'll sit on the porch, maybe take a walk through the woods and listen to those wonderful creatures that share this land with me. While others are at church - this solitude and quiet time of reflection and gratitude is my religion and when I feel closest to my Maker.

    Have a great day.

    ~Tammy

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