Another great day to work outside

The high point of the day is that Salamander came out and mowed.

Things are coming back together.  In the beginning there was chaos.  And then, thread-by-thread order is being woven out of the chaos.  The orchard, once again, is starting to look like an orchard.

It has been two long days of physical labor.  I was sitting on a bench on the front porch.  Salamander had finished his chores and he joined me.  He had a bottle of spring water.  I had a PBR.  Salamander was in a reflective mood.

Pride
Pride is what gets men out of bed each morning.  It is why we gird our loins and join battle against the forces of darkness and entropy.  A man without pride is not worthy of the air he breaths.

We think we understand our mission.  We train for it.  We gain expertise.  We think we are listening to the orders.

And sometimes the mission changes in mid-stride.  God has a way of getting our attention by hitting us between the eyes with a two-by-four...at least those of us who are too dense to pay attention to every shift in the wind.

It is a hard thing.  A very hard thing; to be focused on executint the mission and yet be attentive the stones shifting beneath our feet.

God gives us today.  Sometimes he does not even give us the entire day.  Each of us are but a tumble off a ladder,  a few feet from the path of a driver who is texting,  a clot cleaving from the wall of an artery away from leaving this mortal coil.

But today was as close to heaven as it gets.  It was warm and partially sunny.  It was breezy enough to discourage the flies and mosquitoes.  The trees are blooming.  All of the equipment worked.  The air is filled with promise.

And if you look closely you can see perfection in even the smallest bits of creation.