#2 – Friday/Saturday
A windy, clear day; west field.
Cleaning up around the corn crib. The vultures are nesting in the south bay, just at the right edge of this photo.
One of my overseers.
March 18-19, 2022
One of the early jobs was to get the Husqvarna chain saw that I’ve used on the farm for some years operational. It wasn’t running well at the end of my previous trip, so I’d ordered some maintenance parts: fuel filter, air cleaner, new spark plug. Despite installing these and tweaking some other parameters, it still wouldn’t run properly, so I took it to the shop for professional service. Repair in minimum two weeks, probably 3-4 weeks. But, a comparable rental saw is available, and as it’s a Saturday, I’d only get charged for a two-day rental if I return it Tuesday morning.
So it means a lot of the heaviest, most physically taxing jobs will be front-loaded in the week. I balance the demanding jobs with easier ones, pausing to watch the clouds fly over on a windy day, and enjoying the bright azure of the Eastern Bluebird. I cut ash trees in the west field, in the lane near the shed, and one that had taken down the fence above the road and fallen into the right-of-way. This latter one I was only able to cut up and move aside; it’s on a dangerous curve in the highway, so it’s not safe to work there without traffic control.
I also trimmed up around the corn crib, where the turkey vultures have been nesting for several years. Cathartes aura - the genus name "katharsis" meaning to purify or to cleanse, or scavenge. One school of thought derives the species name “aura” from the Greek word for “breeze” (rather than the Latin for ‘gold,’ which makes little sense with this bird). So, cleansing breeze; sounds about right.
The nesting pair weren’t too breezy or pleased with my work around the corn crib; they watched intently from nearby perches. Were I to be here longer, I’d make an effort to befriend them; they are spectacular in their own way.
Miscellanea:
-Despite being dry and dead, ash wood is very hard and dense, and requires really straight cutting, lest the saw bind and overheat.
-In response to note #1, the voice in my head decided it would speak out loud today.
-Rhythm: light and dark, sound and silence, doing and non-doing, motion and stillness. Things move in cycles, and often, these have nothing to do with our desires or intentions. Expectations: frequently not helpful. Just take, fully, the next needed step.
-13.8 billion years of the universe expanding, and I’ve arrived here at this moment, sitting exhausted next to a house built in 1804 by my great-great-great-great grandfather, sawdust in my hair, a friendly golden cat kneading (and drooling) on my leg, the highest peaks of the Great Smoky Mountains standing up across the lake.
