I imagine one lure of farming is in the simplicity (though potential monotony) of the tasks. Tedding this field, for instance (gathering the mown hay lying flat on the ground into windrows to allow better aeration), probably took under an hour to complete, and the farmer may very well have been on autopilot during that entire time. His attention could have been anywhere, perhaps even within a profoundly meditative state. That’s a significant freedom to enjoy in one’s work, and art.
I showed this picture to Bonnie, who with her husband John runs a Devon cattle farm, (and a CSA) in our area. She was quite amused, saying ” ..they cleaned up that Kubota pretty good too..”
I first heard of this band about an hour before their set at the “Strolling of the Heifers” festival. So what if the stranger recommending them quickly identified herself as one of their moms – buzz is buzz. They write their own songs, and one of them, “Anna”, made it to #2 on the legendary radio station WRSI’s “Top 93 of 2013″. In the words of a song that charted WAY WAY BEFORE any of them were born: ” the(ir) future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades..”
Looking for photographs around New England (and elsewhere) brings me into contact with some wonderful people, and this woman was no exception. I almost missed her “flamingo installation”, a couple of doors down from an old brick colonial that had caught my eye driving by. She was more than happy to share a number of flamingo stories, and her passion for the place of whimsy in the world came through loud and clear.
Coincidentally, today’s email from the website www.gratefulness.org (Word For the Day – highly recommended) provides further commentary:
Monday, Jun. 9
“If there is anything I have learned about men and women, it is that there is a deeper spirit of altruism than is ever evident. Just as the rivers we see are minor compared to the underground streams, so, too, the idealism that is visible is minor compared to what people carry in their hearts unreleased or scarcely released.”
