Its been a week and a bit but not much has changed at Goodness Grows. The gardens need mulching, the seedlings need planting; the work never ends. I don't at all, the work is great although the bending over can be tedious. I fell ill saturday night, my sunday and only day off was spent in bed watching Da Vinci's Demons and Hell on Wheels two incredible shows but nothing abated the pain in my stomach and body. Monday it rained which means cleaning the barn to avoid compacting the wet soil so with a mild fever and nausea I pitchforked the goat pens with my fellow WWOOFer Mark who barely grasps the idea of a pitchfork. It is amazing how some people lack any kind of intuition as to the proper way to get work done, do not get me started on how he handles goats but some people are outsmarted by them. Tuesday I got a sick day which was filled with more internet shows and some light reading. I brought Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage with me and find his style to be annoyingly not descriptive. I understand he is a realist or symbolic writer but there is a reason he died penniless; you can write so no one can understand you if your topic is worth the time.
Wednesday was more mulching and planting I cannot even remember what I did specifically as the same goes for thursday and friday...the days all mesh together when routine strikes and the novelty wanes. I do say I most enjoy mornings when I milk the goats. It is a great hand workout and establishes flo early in the day setting me up for achieving good work throughout. Saturday was a half day filled with planting melons and mulching as did the previous days. Fathers day was rainy which ruined our plans of going to the local Shawnee State park but we took a half day Monday and went for a nice afternoon on the lake and beach. It was a very nice beach for a lake I must say. Throwing the frisbee and playing in the lake with Silas and Levi was great fun was well as with Mark and Sue I don't think I have laughed in a jovial manner just from the situation in a long time, it warms my heart to remember there is still fun in this world that need only be made with a simple plastic disc and a child's smile.
Tuesday was an easy picking day wow that was today it feels so long ago already. The CSA bags finally got some color with beets and some summer squash which I am sure the customers enjoy the change. That was pretty much all for today oh and the arrival of a new WWOOFer Phil from the UK was a welcome hand. We must ahve planted half an acre of winter squash and mulched in one afternoon, the extra hands go along way on the farm.
Backtracking slightly I would like to mention a book that I finished yesterday titled Big Bang The Origin of the Universe. It is note worthy not becuase I actually finished a book but how incredibly well written and presented such an intangible concept for any lay man to understand. Simon Singh begins with the Greeks and the use of geometry to better understand distances of us to the sun and moon as well as the circumference of the earth. From Erotosthanes to Copernicus to the multitude of scientists that developed the Big Bang theory of creation this book very methodically lays out the story with all the ins and outs. He gives a mini biography of each scientist, the context of the times, the impact of the discovery and everything in between. I think the best part of it all is the common theme that science is guided by humans who are fallible and do not act solely for the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. The most profound mistake for me was by Einstein who created his theory of general relativity while assuming the universe was a static entity but it is his theory that led Friedmann and Lemaitre to independently extrapolate the consequences of relativity to propose the big bang. Einstein called their math wrong and physics laughable however he did concede in his life-a switch few scientists make-that the big bang was a valid interpretation of general relativity to which he said, "To punish me for my contempt with authority fate has made me an authority myself." So ladies and gentlemen, we must all remember that authority built on incorrect assumptions is doomed to failure therefore our assumptions must always be left to revision upon the discovery of new evidence and I plead with every soul to not be as many learned men of history that choose to remain ignorant of obvious facts for the only way science truly progresses is the death of the old guard and the earth cannot wait much longer.
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