Sabbatical -- Day 56: Nature Is Amazing

August 20

Grass. Bluegrass. Fescue. KY 31 Tall Fescue. The property is almost completely grassy. Save for the outbuilding, the driveway and the house, there is about 2.5 acres of grass. Like a teenager, it is moody and it is needy. Not much rain, and the grass goes dormant in the summer. Give it some rain and it runs wild. It requires trimming. It requires edging. It requires mowing. Needy. Grass is a pain in the ask me how much mowing I normally do in August. This is more.

If you have been following my blog, and why would you, then you know that my mower was out of commission for four weeks. The rain held off during that time. The yard got mowed three times in four weeks. Get the mower back and what happens? No. It didn't break again. It rained. And it rained. Grass is needy. It needs rain. And when it gets enough rain it needs cutting. Needy.

Grass Communicating With Me

So, I cut the needy grass. I gave in to its passive-aggressive and silent demands for attention. I realize I may just be enabling its needy behavior by giving it attention, but, well, the grass needed mowing and I mowed it. I will deal with the consequences of my enabling behavior another day. So, of course, it's raining again. You know what that means. Give it a couple days and it will be silently staring at me, silently communicating, "I need to be mowed." Almost makes a "summer" person call out for winter. Not quite. Actually, no, I can't stand winter. I would rather mow than play in snow.

I didn't accomplish much other than mowing the needy grass. Enabling needy behaviors can be taxing. Well, I did listen to another On Being with Krista Tippett podcast while I was attending to the needs of the grass. She interviewed Alan Rabinowitz, a zoologist, and apparently the Indiana Jones of  zoology. He talked about how amazing nature is. He has ventured across the world and spent a great deal of time with big cats. He spoke especially of the leopards of Central America. "Perhaps we are all wildlife." No perhaps in my mind. On Being has been a constant companion for me on the sabbatical. It is filled with the really good stuff in life. Nature is amazing. It does what it wants whether we humans exist or not.

Later in the day I did spend some time looking online for more ways to pour money into the sailboat. Tule Mor is needy too. You can't just sail her. You have to attend to her needs, maintain her. Baby her. Then, when her needs are met she wants things too. A new tiller. Colorful interior LED's. New sails. New sails? That's a bunch of money. Yep. New sails. Needy. Always needing something.

Sails and grass together. Hmmm. Almost like they're mocking me.

I also spent some time working on the format of the blog, changing the design a bit. Not that you would notice, but it felt like a good day for change. Changes aren't permanent, but change is. That's what Tom Sawyer says, anyway.

I am enjoying writing the blog every day. I think it has brought out something in me that should continue to be nurtured going ahead. I think the discipline of it, and the writing itself have been a positive during the sabbatical. Is anybody reading it? I know of three people who do. Other than that, I am not sure. It doesn't really matter though, because I am enjoying it, and I don't need people to read it.

Leave the needy behaviors to the grass. I can hear it growing right now.

Peace and Love,
Jerry