As I undertake the Great Mowing of 2008 my scythe and I are traveling the entire untilled and unwooded portions of our lot. I hadn’t realized how much I’d let my movements be hemmed in by the paths we’d tromped in the 3 feet (or so) of grass. So, as I was swish-snapping* along, I found myself under an apple tree along the edge of the property in a lovely cool, kind-of enclosed feeling space. It turns out that the tree made a cozy little room underneath it. How cool is that?

I took lauren out to show her the new “room” I’d discovered and she declared that we will come to this space to pick blackberries and apples and set up a table and eat dinner. I have no disagreement with this plan. I love that there are little nooks and crannies that I haven’t found yet. I also love that, trees being what they are, the nooks and crannies are going to keep changing. Plants are awesome.

*It turns out that, if you’re mowing with a scythe, every so often the general swishiness of the sound will be interrupted by a *snap* that sounds exactly like an electrical arc. I don’t know if grass has static electricity stored up or what, but I do know that hay burns down barns**, so I’m not putting anything past those sneaky-assed cover crops.

**Yes, it’s a footnote in a footnote, but I wanted to call your attention to the fact that Auburn University appears to have the URL “aces.edu,” which is at least four kinds of awesome.