The Day Off Update

Ok, about that freckle. I have been working outside in the garden for twelve days. I wear some sort of sunscreen almost every day and I definitely have a new freckle on my nose. While I know it's not good to get new freckles in this day of skin cancer and all but I am going to wear it as a badge of my hard earned new skills and gardening muscles. I can't believe at the ripe age of 30 I am still finding muscles I didn't know I had. Two days ago I discovered my lawn mowing muscles and it only took 2 hours of mowing to find them. Then I found my weed whacking muscles, that only took 1.5 hours and a few wayward plants I accidently whacked. The next day I could barely hold my chant book my biceps were almost shaking.

I know that my descriptions of my work might sound like I am having the best time ever and in some ways I am. But on the other hand, the work is not only physically exhausting but mentally too. Every single day I am learning something new. I am being given instructions and names for things/plants and expected to remember how to do it all with minimal follow-up. I am the only new person so sometimes I feel all this anxiety about making mistakes and looking dumb. It couldn’t be a better lesson for learning to let go and being patient and to be honest with myself that I am doing my best (usually) and that is all I can do.

Today I have the day off. Fridays and Mondays. It’s pretty great to have split days off because I never work more than three days in a row and I don’t have enough time on vacation for it to really hurt when I have to get up early again. Most of Green Gulch is off Friday so they make it kind of special. It is bag lunch day and usually there is something fun for breakfast and dinner. This morning it was bagels and cream cheese with the requisite rice cereal too. Tonight it will be pizza for dinner. Bag lunch means a spread of homemade bread, different veggie pates, cheese, spreads, lettuce, hardboiled eggs, etc. and you make your own plate for later. Awesome! I feel pretty blessed to get to eat all organic food, most of the veggies are grown here and very little meat. When I do eat meat it will be a treat. Working in the garden I am reminded how much I care about the health of the planet and the subsequent health of its inhabitants, including, but not most importantly, ourselves.

P.S. We finally got some good rain

P.P.S. The first picture is of Redwood Creek emptying into Muir Beach; the second picture is of the lower fields of Green Gulch