[2021-08-02] Visit to the farm

This quote by American naturalist and nature essayist John Burroughs could have described my day:

I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.

My soothing and healing came in the form of a visit to my mom, something I've done fewer than half a dozen times since the pandemic began. My infrequent visits were due in part to my following public health measures and in part to my wanting to limit my exposure as I underwent treatment for ovarian cancer.

But now that my cancer treatments are behind me, that public health measures are being eased and that I am fully vaccinated—as is my mom and everyone in my household—I feel that it's time to take some tentative steps towards normalcy.

Today, that was a trip to the farm with my son. We arrived in time for lunch, which included homemade vegetable-barley soup and homemade bread. My mom makes four loaves of bread every week.

After lunch, we viewed my mom's garden (bottom left photo) then walked up the road to my niece's house to tour her garden (bottom right photo). My mom and I then took a walk down a cedar-lined lane (top left photo) to my brother's potato patch (top right photo).

When I looked at the potato plants, I was envious: I wanted some of those cream-coloured pearls. Unfortunately, we hadn't brought anything in which to carry the potatoes. "I can come back with a bag," I suggested to my mom. But she improvised the way we had done as kids. She carried the potatoes in her t-shirt, lifted up at the waist to make a little sling for our bounty. My son and I carried some in our hands, but my mom transported most of them.

There's something magical about spending time in the country—the sight of verdant fields or a stand of sun-dappled trees, the sound of chirping birds or the wind rustling leaves, the feel of warm air and soft earth underfoot, the smell of freshly cut hay or herbs as you run your hand through them, and the taste of ripe tomatoes and radishes pulled from the ground.

Today was a great day to put my senses in order.