Where have all the flowers gone? Beautiful song. Digging down through all the meanings can really dull your shovel. War, love, death, the cycle of life. It's got it all. We're at the down stage in the cycle. The bear market stage. Socked in deep by old man winter. Flowers, gone. Color, gone. Waiting on the rebirth that happens every year. I miss the color. The better than "Solomon in all his glory" color. Green. A clover field could turn you on your head if you had to describe the color to a blind man. The true color. Almost infinite shades. Dawn to dusk shades. Full moon shades. Season shades. Sun to shadow shades.
Sometimes we don't even notice that the flowers are gone. Too busy. The work- family-social life speed train. It'll warp your lens. Tunnel your vision. We all want to slow it down but just can't seem to find the brake. I'm on it and you probably are too. Train keep a rollin. Farming is a little different in that this time of year we usually do notice that the flowers are gone. Our problem is we don't seem to notice them when they're there. The plant-cultivate-harvest-wash-sell cycle can pull your blinders down just as tight as any corporate gig. Different cause, same effect. Time keep a rollin.
Exponential time loss. Who doesn't notice that time goes by faster and faster the older you get? Einstein caught a glimpse and penned it "relativity" - not enough electron activity in my grey matter to delve into the mystery. As a kid the time reserves seemed endless, full account, ledger's-in-the-black endless. Hit fifty (I'm almost there) and you're making withdrawls so fast it can unbalance your checkbook. Red's overtaking your green. You can make deposits though. De-rat your race. Get out on a hiking trail, a deserted beach, a quiet lake, or even in the backyard, laying in the grass (or a clover field) watching the clouds go by, and you can feel your chute open, slow your fall, bring your focus back, till you notice that the flowers really are gone, with the knowledge that they're soon to return. We've all got a road, or even several roads, that leads us to notice, but we seldom take the journey. Inertia funk. Why is that? When will we ever learn?
It really is a beautiful song!
What do you like to do that slows your day down or de-rats your race?
FYI - We've ordered our brat cart, delivery expected in mid Febuary. Cooked brats at Cherry Street and Broken Arrow this coming market season!
Pork & Greens