Adaptation

So I think my body has adapted to summer, it really has. My skin is a darker shade, no longer being burned or reddened as much as bronzed over. The heat doesn't bother me much at all, nor the humidity. I'm not saying that I enjoy it or that I'm not a sweaty, disgusting, pile of wet rags when I finally come indoors but the discomfort doesn't make me lightheaded or slow me down. I am drinking a lot more water. I'm also taking a dip in the river nearly every day. Right now the water is perfect, somewhere in the high sixties and the shock of jumping in after you lost five pounds of water weight in sweat is a near religious experience. It changes everything and that never stops amazing me. One minute you are a hot mess and in one big jump later (what's the point of slowly getting into cold water?!) you are reborn into a new reality. I wish I could explain this better, but when I am floating down the Battenkill on my back, looking up at birds and tree tops, I feel like that 95 degree scorcher was instantly domesticated. Everything gets turned down a few notches to a volume you can handle without effort. I sure am grateful for that river…

There is no air conditioning at Cold Antler, as I have said before. In the beginning of the heat that can seem hard, specially when you visit friends houses with the colder air or spend time in stores that feel it is a question of human rights to have it's clientele in the same conditions as a morgue. But now a night that dips to 75 degrees has me reaching for blankets and any shade is all the conditioning I need. The river is just icing on the cake, absolute decadence. Sometimes if I am really grimy from chores or moving firewood I grab a bottle of biodegradable mint soap and before jumping into the river run it through my hair. It's such a wonder to go from smelling like a Thru Hiker to being a minty, cold, ball of summer energy. After I get my office work done, in the late afternoon (hottest part of the day here) I think I'm going Tubing with Tyler and Tara. I've never gone tubing before, only swimming. Around here it seems to demand an extra tube-per-person to carry the cooler of beer and sunscreen. Anyway, we are going for an hour float from Sushan to Jackson and I am excited. It is definitely the river rat time of the year.

I need a break, quite frankly, and I'll take it in the form of tubes and water. I've never felt so careworn and keeping the farm running has never been so hard. You can probably tell that by the posts about items for sale and workshops. I think worrying about money is only making my problems worst. Kicking a dead horse is not the recipe for resurrection, now is it? So I'm going to focus on the work, not the worry, of this place from here on out. And before the river calls my name I have a pile of pages to edit, a rabbit ear to medicate, a goat's hooves to trim, and firewood to move so starting Monday we can get the beginnings of the mews built. Start thinking of names for a red tail hawk, guys. I am not letting my stress get in the way of outstretched wings and a safe October. No sir, I am not.