After 13 hours of straight physical labor, I reminded myself how gloriously exhausting physical labor is. As I had electricity I could listen to Keb Mo sing. ‘Government Cheese’ . ‘All She Wants to do is Dance’. ‘Don’t Shave Your Legs..’. When I wasn’t listening to KM was listening to the course material for Permaculture that I am signed on to study this month. The hour-long discourse was about the Hun dynasty and the Loess Plateau. This land was used and abused for way too long, but has been brought back to fruition in a 10 year period. The results are amazing and the idea of Permaculture – ‘permanent agriculture is that we can work with the land and have a mutually respectful and profitable relationship man to land. Hence my wanting to get rid of the lawn. What a silly concept: pay for seeds, fertilize and do everything possible to get it to grow and then cut it all off – sometimes weekly. There has to be something smarter, more efficient and more mutually beneficial.
As the 14th hour was rounding the clock, I marveled that it was possible to keep up with the job. I was pleased that my physical stamina allowed for this. I ended the day with the longest hottest shower, climbed into my king size bed with new linens and fell asleep.