It's actually happening now for some crops. The last bales are being moved from the fields and carrots and onions have come up. The comfortable rhythm of the farm planting and reaping is a balm during a challenging summer. There has been lots of washing and chopping and mixing. Tomorrow, a recipe to go with these.
They cut well into the night to stay ahead of the weather. Tall stalks of wheat falling into neat rows waiting to be bailed. "It's dusty on the road tonight," she apologized while we visited. "We're combining." No problem for us. Everywhere the breath of wheat as Willa Cather described:
“Everywhere the grain stood ripe and the hot afternoon was full of the smell of the ripe wheat, like the smell of bread baking in an oven. The breath of the wheat and the sweet clover passed him like pleasant things in a dream.”
Evening has long been my favorite time of day. All the demands that stacked up in the morning trickling away. I lace my shoes and head out the door for sky and air. Actually in between the lacing and the heading out there is bargaining. Cajoling even. I am always recruiting a walking partner and my peeps are always begging off. In fact I posted this status on facebook the other night:
"Who is gonna walk Mom tonight? "
"I went with her last night."
"I have a cold."
"I think I do too…"
Honest to gosh you'd think I was 85 listening to this discussion…
So yeah lol. I walk a long way and have lingering issues about walking alone from living urban places. Sooner or later someone grabs their shoes and the other dog leash and comes along. Usually it works out that everyone walks with me once a week. A mom date. : ) We walk, we talk, we talk a lot. Most often we see something fabulous or do something awesome before the night is over. This night, both things happened…
“Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
– Mary Oliver
The sun setting in his eyes? Astonishing. Alternate title, "How I Spend My Summer Vacation"
"We should stop considering that changing the world is impossible. It’s harder not to change the world. But while the world offers us “chaos theory,” we need to offer the world 'beauty theory….'” the rest of John Clark's thoughts about changing the world with small beautiful acts came in the mail today. You can read them here.
It is good to be reminded, "our are not the things of chaos." (1 Cor 14:33) Some days we just see all the moving parts and it can be difficult to see how they are working together for good.
Starry Sky Journal 