This week Racey went down to Boston to help her mom with a few things, and I have had my first taste of physical responsibilities in almost 3 months. My capacity to move around has continued to improve and while standing still or sitting are still quite aggravating, walking and activity seem to be more and more comfortable. Lovett had her last week of summer camp this week and so Lewis and I took on the farm at the pace of a 6 year old.
Our peach trees have been laden with a delicious crop of peaches this summer, Lewis and I picked peaches, sliced them, and laid them out on trays to freeze for the winter (just like Sal and her mother). We don’t know much about peach production, but the last fruits to ripen were still very flavorful although the texture was tending towards mealy. So we made some chutney and freezer jam to round out our winter peach offerings.
Lewis and I worked on a few farm projects including trying to fix the sticky door to one of the chicken brooders. We suspected a shifting door frame due to not-so-level ground, so we had fun learning about the power of leverage and how to use a level. With a few blocks of wood and a few tries learning how heavy things push blocks into the ground, we were satisfied with our progress. Next we had to prepare for the next batch of chicks arriving.
Lifting and twisting are still tender movements for me and my healing body. So Lewis was invaluable help with this project. He helped me carry the boxes from the post office to the truck of the car. We figured out how to undo the tricky card board locking taps on the top of the boxes and Lewis unloaded all 240 chicks.
The process of re-entering the world of movement has been slow but steady for me. And yet the pace of healing is just right. I have spent so much of my adult life fixated on the process of “getting things done” and having a physical limit and reminder of my pace is invaluable. Lewis continues to teach me many things, including the difference between doing and getting things done.
Lewis has no drive to complete, it is the process of doing that is important and his focus. Completion lies somewhere out in the future, while the act of doing is in the present, and so are the crickets little chicks love to chase, the patterns in the wood blocks and everything else we find along the way.
Imagination
By Wendell Berry
A young man's love is bitter love
For what he must forego,
For what he ignorantly would have,
Desires but does not know.
The years, the years will teach him joys
That are more bitter still;
What in his having he foregoes
He has imagined well.
Reber Rock Farm Blog 