I have been back here at the family home now for just over a month. I have been my own company for most of that time and it has been an interesting experience. The first few weeks I concentrated on cutting firewood for the house using the opportunity to clear back a field that was becoming overgrown.
At the same time I was also arranging interviews with people for my research and now my time is largely dedicated to that. But still I have many hours on my own and it has allowed me to settle back into the quieter rhythms of life in a rural area. Today I collected a few berries from the marsh for my dessert. It took me back years doing something I had not done since I was just a young man. Taking the time to harvest wood and to collect a few berries brought back more than memories. It restored a connection that had faded over the years. Now I have started a few plants in the sun porch in anticipation of the warming weather. I have a spot picked out for a garden plot and by May I should be able to move the plants out to a cold frame to let them harden.
Given the opportunity I know I could gladly live this way, a quieter slower pace where each day affords the chance to be present with the cycle of life, something hardly possible in a city or even a larger town. I have little ambition left for career or work beyond my basic needs. I suppose it is somewhat a hermetic life but it suits me now.
