A Golden Wagon : Tangled up in wild

"The Cartesian belief in the absolute separateness of lives, bodies, and brains maintains a foothold in the traditions of our modern culture. We see it in the ways we are pitted against one another in commerce, in education, and in the small, daily jealousies of our own minds. We see it in the ways that we continue to find it culturally acceptable to diminish animals in agriculture, in entertainment, and in scientific experimentation. And yes, when we are attentive, we find that we are not separate, not alone. We are not isolated little minds wandering on a large, indifferent earth. We are surrounded by our kin, by all of life, beings with whom we are wayfarers together. Instead of walking upon, we walk within, and this within-ness brings our imaginations to life. We are inspired -- literally "breathed upon" -- together." - Lynda Lynn Haupt

Yesterday was a beautiful spring-like day. Pete made hay while that sun was out hauling his bucket of tools to the hedgerow along Thompson Road. There is the reassembling of a tool shed to be done. A Crock Pot filled with turkey wings, chunks of yam, slices of Braeburn apples and Minnesota Wild Rice was readied for supper later in the day. And I had a pair of new leather gloves to break in with a patch of raspberry canes in need of a haircut. Thanks to Linda, our friend and sister of the pea patches, we have half of her large garden to tend now. Half of that half-garden will remain a raspberry batch, the other half we'll plant with plants yet to be determined. If you know anything about Raspberry you know they love to spread! Pete has begun laying down and digging in pavers (the thin stepping stone bricks) to discourage their ever-seeking roots.

The Honeysuckle that bees love

New leather gloves are stiff and these had a rough seam between my pointing finger and middle finger that was rubbing me the wrong way. A little readjustment, a few seconds massage of the two rough edges helped to dissuade me from the irritation. The sun and the wild hairs of raspberry canes kept me to my task blending physical exertion with being out and within the company of others. While out in the gardens a birder friend waved to me across the fence and then stopped to chat; sharing stories of who we saw and when, doing what in their winged-ways. Among the talk were tales of Hawk and Starlings ... their ways and their needs, their flight and their voices.

Neighbors talking about neighbors.

Yesterday was not a writing day. It was instead a day and a phase of the moon when the waning cycle of thirty phases concluded. It was one of the kapu or sacred days where giving thanks to the gods has priority. I needed a break from writing, needed to allow for a filling up of the well before siphoning off a little bit of something. Getting tangled up in the windness of Raspberries was just the thing for yesterday. Noticing while engaging in the physicality of thanksgiving.

We are part of something. We are part of everything. And, sometimes we need a haircut, to encourage new growth and make room for our neighbors.