Woman: You must be very happy.
Nelson Mandela: Any man would be happy dancing with a beautiful lady like you.
Woman: Mr. President, you’re exaggerating.
Nelson Mandela: Not at all. My father was Xhosa, so he was a polygamist.
As you know, I am not. But when I look at you, I envy my father.
-Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela, Invictus
Is there anything more beautiful than a well-mown lawn or a freshly plowed field?
So orderly.
So rhythmical.
So fresh and tidy and definitive.
I don't mow or till but when I walk or drive by my neighbors', I envy them.
If I did permaculture and mowed and tilled, too- would that make me a polyagamist?
The title quote is the epigraph in Women of the West by Luchetti and Olwell and the quote faces this photo.
Her yard is a shambles and she's currently living in a hole in the ground.
While that's true it is also not true. She's not living in a hole in the ground; she's living in a place she and her family have built for themselves with their own hands.
This woman has pride in her home and hope in her dream.
Until recently, all I could see was the squalor.
Look at the folks on the top left, arrayed in the deep mud, surrounded by their animals and guns and children. Look at the folks on the bottom right and notice their livestock grazing on top of their sod roof. They are posed in their Sunday best- clean aprons and combed hair, fancy hats and rocking horses. These are people showing off their work in progress.
Their work. Their farm. Their home. Until recently, all I could see was the squalor. But not anymore.
Dirty Jobs cheers me up. I watch it with mouth agape. "I'm so glad that isn't my job!"
It's good to know that there are messier, crazier jobs than whatever I've been trying to do lately.
Today Anjali and I watched Collection 7 episode 5: Sea Lamprey Exterminator. Yeah, I'm not feeling so bad about anything around here after that. Anything which requires a space suit to do and decontamination afterwards- well, it hasn't come to that here. Yet.
For some- a bottle of wine or a manicure or a piece of jewelry. For me- chickens.
I tell myself we need some experienced broody hens. Really, I need an indulgence.
So, Tim, excellent man, took me on a chicken date last night and we spent the evening at Linda's farm in Woodville, WI, admiring her beautiful collection of poultry.
We came home with two broodies, one with a newly hatched clutch of nine in tow, 17 fertile eggs of interesting varieties of chickens, and a giddy Amy.
I woke before the roosters starting crowing and started imagining: How many eggs will hatch? Will the broodies brood? Which kinds of chicks will hatch? What gender will they be? How many will survive? Will they be accepted by the flock? What kinds of personalities will they have?
White Leghorns, Black Australorp, Welsummer, Lemon Orpington, Auracana with some possible frizzled, White Rock, Blue Orpington, Phoenix Bantam, Black Cochin Bantam.
For the days when not enough seems to get done or stay done, I offer you this, especially the final lines.
May you find a happy working song of your own to hum.
"Setting Up The Pins"
by Sara Groves
Man in a silk tie heads downtown
setting up the pins for knocking em down
people in cars all rushing around
setting up the pins
let's get rich find a way around
setting up the pins for knocking em down
we'll get gadget with a whirring sound
for setting up the pins
everyone everywhere some way some how
are setting up the pins for knocking em down
you can find joy in the fertile ground
setting up the pins and knocking em down
you can try to fight it till you're anger drowned
setting up the pins
everyone everywhere some way some how
are setting up the pins for knocking em down
it can feel simple but it's really profound
setting up the pins
rent a tent, build a stage, throw a party, get a gown
buy a ticket, rent a car, pack a bag and leave town,
cook a dinner, clean the kitchen hit the light
brush your teeth, read a book, say a prayer good-night
everyone everywhere some way some how
are setting up the pins for knocking em down
it can feel simple but it's really profound...
my grandmother had a working song
hummed it low all day long
sing for the beauty that's to be found
in setting up the pins for knocking em down
