Bluster

It was blustery today and so my wife and I were scrambling with a potpourri of tasks to officially acknowledge that summer was indeed over and fall had begun. We were hurriedly moving about our small property: bringing in tomato trellises from the garden, covering plants for an expected frost, planting others we never got to this summer.

On the deck of the carport I saw four folding sawhorses I’d borrowed in August from our neighbor Jim—the pig farmer. So I folded them up and put them into the back of our old Toyota truck.

Just after starting the engine the wind became fierce, but it was sunny and around 55 degrees Fahrenheit.Turning off the engine and I could hear the wind scattering red and gold leaves throughout the neighborhood. I got out of the car and found the recently duct-taped old wheel barrel. I stacked the sawhorses in the wheel barrel and rolled out the driveway more slowly and quietly while enjoying the breeze and sunshine.

As I came back from Jim’s I thought, of all the benefits I just received:

I got some exercise.

I didn’t pollute the planet with even the tiniest bit of carbon from my truck.

I enjoyed the wind, sun, and quiet.

I felt grateful: to my neighbor but also for nature.

Climate Change is a huge, perhaps insurmountable problem, but I can connect to my core principles, mission and enjoy as Crazy Horse says, “today would be a good day to die.”