The Turkeys on Pasture
Jul 26, 2024
Breathe Deep that Sweet & Lucid Air
I was up early this morning. My mind immediately on the hamster wheel of future plans, mulling over old baggage from weeks ago, and thinking of all the things that could or will go wrong. Some days are like that.
But mid-morning while moving the turkeys to fresh pasture, my mind mid-stride on its paleolithic hamster wheel, I heard a load buzzing. I looked up to see the tall pasture grass covered in a cloud of golden brown dragonflies. More than I've ever seen in my entire life. Many hundreds, maybe thousands of them covering the grasses and walnut trees in the hedgerow. A buzzing so loud I thought it was an airplane at first.
I don't know why they were there or if I'll ever see a giant cloud of dragonflies like that again, but that moment of magic snapped me out of the unaware rut my brain had been stuck in. And drew me into the absolute miracle of the living breathing natural world that we walk around in every day. A place I love with my whole being, but sometimes fail to appreciate. And it reminded me to share with you (again) this piece of writing I love. A classic from old Edward Abbey reminding us to wake up, to soak in this wild and wonderful world while we still can. Today is the day.
Garrett and the Cider House Crew
“One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am - a reluctant enthusiast....a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.”
― Edward Abbey
