Dreaming the World

A bright, cool morning. The crows converse loudly in the field next door.

Last week we received almost three inches of rain, which put a big dent in our deficit. The rain seems to have deepened the leaf colour, so the greens, yellows, and reds are all more vibrant. Water wise, we did better than most places in the region and the drought, severe in many spots, persists.

We’ve been commenting on the paucity of rabbits. They were everywhere for much of the summer and we now seldom see them. Rabbits, here, seem to live in boom and bust cycles. We also have not seen the fox or coyotes of late, and that may be tied to the general absence of rabbits.

The oaks appear to be dropping more acorns than usual. Perhaps this is a mast year, although I suspect we are seeing all of the acorns dropping at once as a result of the drought. There seem to be few left in the trees.

Saturday morning we finally made it to the nearby town of Fall River, and one of our favourite farmers’ markets. The market is tiny, usually no more than six or eight farmers, most of whom are from the Portuguese community. Fruit and vegetables at the market are fresh, locally produced, and affordable.

The biggest draw for us is fresh figs; in order to get them, one has to arrive at the market early. The market opens at seven and we try to get there by a little after eight. This week we made it in time to gather some of the quickly disappearing figs, which we began devouring as soon as we got to the car. They don’t last long so we allow ourselves to just eat and enjoy them. Speaking of which, we need to finish the bowl before they go bad.

Saturday was a day for errands, one of which us took us by the osprey nest on the bay. To our glee and surprise there was a mature osprey standing in the nest, surveying the world. This individual had darker plumage than our local birds so was most likely a visitor stopping to rest on the way south. It was also most likely male, as they tend to migrate after the females.

Last night we had a visit from a young colleague who wanted to chat about the world of solons. She’s a writer, musician, and videographer and her passion is getting people of diverse backgrounds and ideas to talk with one another, to take public space back from the Internet. Her enthusiasm and engagement is refreshing and important, and her project crucial, so our conversation lasted for several heady hours. Before she left, we began planning an intimate event and shall see what comes of it.

This morning we both awoke with a sense of dread. Some of that was just fatigue from a long evening, but much of it stems from real challenges we and the world face. Talking about it as we drank our tea on the deck, we were reminded that emotions are information, rather than ultimate truth. We acknowledged that fear and dread make sense, but when overwhelming, can stop us from being useful. They are, in fact, just what the powers that be want us to be feeling; they want us to despair and become passive. Its a strategy as old as Abuse itself.

We didn’t get much further than deciding to take a few moments to settle and center. Later, we will take some time to walk in nature, work on some art, and maybe be social. Right now I’m writing this blog post so I can connect with you. There is only so much we can do about the state of things for now, but giving in to fear and dread just steals creativity, connection, and joy, so today we will practice being present to our lives, to others, and to the still living world. That’s the best we can do.