[2021-11-08] This day
What a gift this day was. Well, every day is a gift, but this one was especially giving.
I visited my mom in the country. In addition to bright sunshine, blue skies and a balmy 15°C, I enjoyed fresh country air and peaceful surroundings. Following some paperwork and a light lunch, we headed out for a walk: first, we strolled to and from St. Patrick's Church; second, we walked down the lane from my mom's house to the back of her fields.
She showed me where my brothers had removed fence rows, turning several small fields into a few larger ones. I asked her about the names she had given to each of the original fields. One had been called the island field because it contained three piles of rocks (the "islands"). These had been created by past owners, who no doubt intended to cart away the piled rocks at some point in a future that never came. The islands remained intact for almost the entire 61 years that my mom has owned the farm. It's only in recent years that my brothers—much better equipped than their predecessors—cleared away the islands.
The scenery today was especially breathtaking: a majestic oak silhouetted against the blue sky, the sturdy rail fence edging my mom's farm, stocks of corn gleaming in the mid-afternoon sun, curious cows in the neighbour's field, a clothesline of laundry flapping in the air. It was all incredibly serene.
Today was about connection, nature and history. What a combination.
