Lately, I am acutely aware of the passing of time. As the end of this project gets closer and closer, I find myself feeling very mixed. I want December 1st to arrive and yet, who would want to wish away a few weeks of a precious life.  A minor occurrence a couple of weeks ago brought these thoughts to the forefront of my mind.

Philip and I were spending the day in Boston. He was in market research for his job, and I was doing some research of my own on the makeup counter at Neiman Marcus. We were about to reunite in the evening when a little sandwich shop caught my attention. This place reminded me of the Putnam Market in Saratoga. It had a little bit of everything, great service, fantastic pre-made food items and creative sandwich combinations. I ordered a couple of pressed panini to take on the road and upon checking out, noticed an old friend….the pomegranate.  “Hey,” I said, “you’re back!”

You may recall one of my early blog entries where I discovered the ecstasy of consuming this now beloved fruit? Seeing the pomegranate, I was immediately thrown back to the early stages of this blog and the feeling of excitement for this project. The pomegranate will forever be the symbol in my mind of beginning this effort. In my heart, fondness arose. Seeing the pomegranate display at the market allowed me to experience this project coming full circle back to the beginning of a cycle and end of the year. I bought a few and took them home.

On the farm, the experience of coming to the end of a year is part of the daily routine; pulling up all of the irrigation, cutting down trellising, uprooting plants and disposing them in a compost pile. It is a bitter-sweet time. I feel an excitement for the upcoming Holidays, decorating the house, preparing meals with family and moving on to a quieter time. Yet, the decomposition on the farm is somewhat sad, saying good bye to all the plants, food and critters until next spring.

Lately, as I work, I daydream of an other old friend, a yoga practice. Returning to the yoga studio started out as an intellectual and rational idea. I pondered, “Maybe I should do yoga over the winter to stay strong for my work at the farm.” Then the idea became more visceral. I started craving a handstand or vinyasa. My back started asking for space to stretch. My legs started asking for elevation and rest. So, I listened and have returned to yoga and the many wonderful people who study at the studio, Yoga Mandali. It is joyful to revisit this area of my life that has been abandoned for the last few years. It is an opportunity to acknowledge all that has changed in my body, mind and spirit since the last time I got on the mat. And I love it.

This morning presented one more opportunity to embrace old friends. I came home from voting at the local election and realized that it is time to put up our bird feeder. If I had my way, it would be up all year but, Philip hates fussing with it all summer and mowing around it. He also hates the fact that the squirrels, who like the leftover seed below the feeder, kill the grass. So we compromise and put it out when the birds need it most during the late fall, winter and early spring.

I found the feeder tucked next to the house under the lilac trees and retrieved it. Grabbing a hammer from the basement and setting up a ladder, I pounded the pole that holds the feeder in the ground and set the whole thing upright in the middle of the yard. Then, I climbed the ladder and filled it to the brim. Within an hour, our little bird friends had returned. We are back in business. Hello, birds!

With 25 days left of my dry year, I know that I will always remember the time spent writing this blog, and this body of work will also become an old friend that I can revisit from time to time. For now, however, I think I will savor the last few of weeks and wait in patient anticipation of whatever else is yet to come.