Joy
Twice a week we purchase fresh milk from a family in a neighboring village. It can be a pleasant walk if weather is nice, but I usually drive there. This brings with it an odd joy. I say odd because (1) I don’t experience much happiness (not because it isn’t there but rather something about me) and (2) for the ife of me I cannot understand why this, of all things, does, actually make me happy. I usually forget to bring my camera with me, but this morning, as I was stepping out, I remembered to take it.
The dogs usually come running after the car. Indy is always there and goes the longest distance. Rex will usually come along for the run but won’t go as far as Indy. Ricky will sometimes come out and if she goes far enough I stop and take her into the car so that she doesn’t get into trouble with other dogs on the way (she is a small dog). This morning all three joined me.
This is Ricky running alongside the car on the way there (just before I stopped and took her into the car):
This is Rex heading in the same direction:
This is Indy on the way back. This is my precious moment of joy. I just love watching her run trying to lead the way and then diving into the corn field. The images don’t quite work … she was ahead of me and I was trying to catchup with her to shoot her through the window … so I was driving faster then I should on an downhill dirt path through a field looking in the wrong direction 🙂
I never grow bored of watching Indy race me home through a field of corn. It keeps making me … inexplicably happy 🙂
Jam
This morning came with an extra bonus. The older generation of the family we get our milk from were busy making prune jam and I got to witness some cool village-tech – and thanks to the dogs I had my camera with me. They have this super contraption setup where an electric engine is used to drive a mixing paddle in a giant metal pot sitting on a fire in which they are cooking their prune jam (from prunes harvested from the yard directly behind them).
Last week Levente came by and I helped him fix a similar wooden mixing paddle that broke off at the end. The paddle itself is + shaped and is contoured to fit snugly to the bottom of the pot. Levente’s version was a manually operated one with a lever that swings from side to side. We are still amateurs and use a big wooden spoon 🙂
One reply on “Joy & Jam”
Acum ani si ani, privind taranul roman cu haine asa ponosite, imi spuneam ca nu e frumos sa nu s-i le spele. Nu intelegeam de ce astfel de straie erau vesnic prezente in spatiul rural; acum insa, ador astfel de peisaj – caci acum vad dincolo de aparente, si simt povestea omului si a hainelor sale. Eu nu am crescut “la tara”, nu am cunoscut bucuria de a fi cu bunica si bunicul… Dar am ascultat povestea altor bunici, astfel ca, acum, ador omul batran si i-as saruta cu respect si drag mainile obosite de munca de o viata. In fotografia in care batranul desface pruna in doua, vad o poveste intreaga, intreg procesul facerii gemului, de la prima pruna culeasa, pana la ultima lingura de gem pusa in borcane. E minunat sa transmiti ceva prin munca ta si iti multumesc pentru asta.