Different kinds of work

I was puttering around Slanty this morning when Carlo called, saying we’d been invited to a staff meeting in town. I changed into an outfit that didn’t feature a muddy hoody, and we climbed into the FMT for the long drive downtown. We sauntered into the office a few minutes late, to a group of people politely listening to some suited guy talk about retirement benefits. I don’t intend any offense by this, because I believe the people in that meeting were talented and kind, but meetings are boring. When we got back outside, it was like the weight of all the boredom in the world had been lifted from my shoulders. We walked back out to the FMT, which we had parked downtown with a sprig of Douglas-fir sticking out its tailgate, and a cement pillar dedicated to Samuel Cobb in its bed, and drove back to camp.

After sitting around for a few hours, sanding wood was amazing. We worked on Slanty for a little bit, and then Carlo left for a party. Stacy was still in town, and with Carlo and his family gone, I was alone in camp. I meandered over to the Nature House, where I stripped bark off those red alder poles. It was delightful. My back ached, and the knots were incredibly stubborn, but I worked them for two hours, past quitting time. I only worked on that one rail, because each knot requires a gentle time commitment, but it was delicious to see it turn from rough, knotty bark to pure, just-cut wood, to dark red alder, all with the rain pouring outside. It was so quiet, with everyone gone. With all the changes on the way at camp, and all the uncertainty, it was mighty nice to have two hours in an open-air building, alone with red alder, just working, nothing else, with the rain pouring outside.