2.6 KiB
It's been a month out here.
This is the most beautiful place to pray. Perhaps it's just the nostalgia - but to read the Gospel facing the rising of the sun illuminating all - all the work for the day - is marvelous. The stars adorning the night sky and the moon still reflecting the sun's radiance - glorious. The splendor of God is most decidedly on display here.
Harvest has begun. We've only been at it a few days. I'm still trying to figure out the best use of time - there's ample downtime given in five-minute bursts. I'm realizing it's actually pretty conducive to reading and writing, at least for me. A captive audience, and an excuse to put down the book or keyboard after a few minutes.
It's refreshing - but a bit despairing - to take up this work of machinery maintenance and operation. Being at the whim of what some engineer decided was a good idea - like, for instance, mounting a hydraulic motor by a rigid coupling with a wear plate to react the torque. It looks like something an intern came up with and nobody design-reviewed. Maybe it was...
I baled hay for the first time in my life - so I'm officially a farm kid now (if I wasn't before). Beats the in-cab experience - much more formative. There was a real beauty in it.
A few weeks ago was a bit of an 'apple week'. We picked some 20-30 bushels from our tree. Mom made applesauce and the like, and I made cider. I've got a few gallons fermenting in the basement. I'm very excited for it to be ready in a few months' time. Fresh garden veggies and eggs make a difference.
We've cleaned out the shop massively. I've made room for some of my own equipment, so come winter we'll have more time, space, and ideas for projects. Already back at the icons...
I got roped into teaching 1st grade CCD at the parish. That just began; hopefully it will bear fruit in time. The whole culture out here is... markedly different. I'm struggling to figure out the way in which it is, but there seems to be an amplification of the rural-urban divide, in part borne out of a resentment for what the industrialized farming has become - not something idyllic. Add suburban sprawl on top of that, the outflowing culture from the colleges, and nearly 200 less years of history... and you've got a much less rooted people (except sometimes in the small towns - and even then - the desire to flee is there). I'm not sure what to make of it. It's in need of conversion, sure - but how to light the fire, and from where?
Pray for the continued conversion and healing of my family. There are pains here which need healing, and I'm not sure how other than by the grace of God.