summer

In summer when my shadow grows to about my height it is time to walk out to the pastures and the fields.  The cattle are uncomfortable this first hot day and the hogs as well.  We got the cattle to shade and the hog sprinkler started and now it is the end of the day; time to walk out and let the sweat dry in the fitful breeze to see what has become of the world as we got through the time from noon til now. 

I can see what weeds are coming in the corn, judge how the grass regrows after we made a too early start in the north pasture and try to figure if the bulls can stay where they are for another two or three days.  It is also a time to quiet the mind, begin some plans for tomorrow and look forward to a night's rest.  For me, it is also a time to ruminate on how unusual the work I have been blessed with really is in the modern world and to contemplate how little the world can tolerate the draining of meaning from work and what it has done to all of us.