I've Got Something To Say...

via Happy Gardens

The more years I put behind me, the more meaning this verse holds for me. I love being at home, and find so much joy in homemaking...baking, canning, the little bit of gardening I actually do, and spending time with Handsome, our pets, and our family. 

I love filling the bird feeders, not only because it helps sustain them during the coldest part of winter, but also because we get to watch them when they visit. I make sure there's hay, food, and water in the Compass Barn, too, just in case a cold critter is looking for a warm bed and a meal. It really costs nothing to be kind to wildlife.

Our neighborhood has been inundated with dump trucks for the past month. A well-known excavating company (at least in Wisconsin) opened up the land for a gravel pit at the south end of our two-country block road when the highway needed to be expanded from two lane to four. We thought that after the highway was completed, they'd shut down the pit. It was blissfully quiet for a while, but reopened with a vengeance this winter. 

About an hour and a half away from us, a data center is being built. It's going to be huge, and takes up a sad amount of farmland. Farmland that could be used to raise animals or crops. It will be covered in concrete and buildings. I found myself wondering where all the wild creatures will be forced to move, even now as the construction begins.

Our more local concern has been 24/7 dump trucks that come in to the pit at the end of the road carrying loads of topsoil that are left here, so they can drive to another pit to pick up gravel fill for the building site. Did you see where I said "24/7"? These trucks run through the night, using vibrators to force the dirt out of the backs of their trucks. Once they're empty, they leave the pit on their way to the next load. The vibrators are noisy and sound other-worldly. Then there are the jake brakes, which I didn't think were legal to use in neighborhoods - at the very least they're inconsiderate in the middle of the night. It's loud for us living about a half mile away. I can't even imagine what it's like for our neighbors living right across from the pit. I'm not even going to mention the light standards they've brought in (and the generators to power them) that brighten the night like a Walmart parking lot. For folks like us who moved here to get away from city lights, it's a sad situation.

So, we cope. We're told that once the last of the topsoil has been trucked in, the pit will be reclaimed and closed. I'm praying that happens 'before the warm weather, because the farmhouse has no central air conditioning. We rely on the hillside breezes to cool all but the hottest of days, when we're forced to install two window units. We prefer open windows, the sound of birds, coyotes and other resident critters over dump trucks.

I have to admit that the thought of these huge complexes popping up all over the country to accommodate internet and AI are upsetting to me. I've spent more than a little time contemplating my own contribution to the industry. Truthfully, I've thought about checking out...shutting down my blog, my social media and my digital activities. Would I even make a difference? 

I'm old enough to remember a world without instant communication. Without the internet. Without portable media that went everywhere with us and tracked our every move. Kids actually used imaginations and played outside. They searched for answers in books. I know. Time stands still for no one. This is "progress", but is it really? Is this the price we have to pay? I'm not so sure.

So, these days, I occupy my time in the kitchen or at my needlework frame. These are the pursuits that ground me and bring happiness. Someday, everything will pass (including me), but I hope some of these things I have done will remain in the memories of my loved ones. 

When I put up this image today, I really had no idea what I would write about. I guess this just all came tumbling out. I think I'd better have a quiet cup of coffee with Handsome and reset for the day. My plan is to sit and work on my goldwork hearts. No internet. I'll be back tomorrow, and hopefully I'll have completed (or nearly completed) heart brooches to share. I promise I'll avoid anything maudlin. Thanks for listening. See you then.