I put in a good day’s work yesterday. Well, perhaps not a whole day, but I worked pretty hard for half a day. I got to the farm around 8:30 and fired up the big weed eater to trim weeds around the bee hives and then continued to tackle some big weeds that had grown up around a concrete block wall behind the barn. Concrete block doesn’t describe this wall very good, because the “blocks” aren’t cinder or cement blocks that can be picked up by hand. They are custom chunks of reinforced concrete. There are various manufacturers that make huge concrete blocks designed to be stacked. You can see them in large retaining wall and highway construction. Most people have seen the temporary concrete barricades that are used to separate traffic and protect buildings from car or truck bombs. There are similar devices made for use on a farm to create silage and compost bins. A former owner of the farm that our son now owns used these blocks to create various storage areas when the farm was operated as a dairy. A second of one of the walls had toppled during heavy rains that undercut the ground beneath the wall. The huge blocks were probably placed without adequately compacting the soil beneath them, so the wall had developed a bit of a lean. Our son has been worried about the jumble of fallen blocks. It is possible that another section of the wall might topple or that the toppled blocks could shift.

These blocks are heavy. Two of us couldn’t budge one. Isaac’s neighbor brought his tractor with a loader over and we used a log chain to connect the blocks beneath the loader. The neighbor is a very good equipment operator and very safety conscious, so the work wasn’t overly taxing, but we had to deal with weeds and chose which block to move next. The blocks were made in three different sizes. It took a bit of thinking to place them so that the portion of the wall that had been leaning was corrected and reinforced. Part of the section that had toppled was removed to give access to a fenced area that Isaac mows with the lawn mower. On the other side of the fence is a runway giving the cows access to the barn.

We ended up moving and placing over 30 of the big blocks. The tractor and loader could pick and move two at a time, but placing the in the wall meant that the blocks had to be picked up one at a time and connected to the loader with two chains to keep it level beneath the loader. Isaac’s neighbor worked the tractor with precision, maneuvering it so the blocks ended up right where he wanted them.

By around 1 pm, the block were moved, the wall repaired, and that chore finished. It was a big relief for our son to have the blocks in a stable place where they pose no danger. Even if the children climb on them, they will not fall. The entire operation was conducted safely. After moving the blocks the neighbor hooked his baler to the tractor to transport it back home. His mower, rake and bailer had been at Isaac’s place because they hayed the big pasture last week. The yield was just a little over half the amount harvested last year. The grass was short due to an unusually dry spring and early summer. Isaac is partner with this neighbor raising beef cattle, and they will purchase fewer cows this year because feed is a bit short.

I have a smart watch that has a fitness tracker in it and although it is programmed to measure workouts and not work, it gave me plenty of “move” points and tracked about two hours of exercise during the half day’s work. I didn’t need the watch to know that I had been really working, however. I could feel it in my arms and legs and shoulders. We didn’t do any lifting, but we scrambled over the big blocks, hacked our way through nettles and blackberries with a machete to connect and remove the chains from the blocks, and kept moving back and forth around the area all morning long.

I did manage to hit my head hard enough to draw blood, but that had nothing to do with the operation. I bumped my head later, in the evening, when crawling beneath the kitchen sink to wipe up a water spill. I’m a bit clumsy, but the block moving operation was conducted safely with no injuries to anyone.

After the morning’s work, I tried to chip in to pay for some of the diesel that the tractor used, but the neighbor refused to accept any cash. He said that his partnership with Isaac is strictly 50/50 and that part of being equal partners is that they help each other. He likes to do his part to help with maintenance of the property where some of his cows live.

I happen to know that this neighbor and I could find a lot to disagree about if we worked at it. I know from the bumper stickers on his pickup truck that we don’t vote for the same political candidates. I know from a couple of conversations that he attends a church that has very different theology than mine. But we had no need to talk about those subjects. Sharing hard work gave us a significant connection. We have learned to trust each other and know how to work together.

The day’s work was good for my spirit and my body. I need hard work to keep myself fit and to feel a sense of accomplishment. I miss working with my friends in our firewood project in Rapid City. That work was meaningful. Good work helps people to connect in positive ways. It reminds us that despite differences and disagreements the people around us are good folk who are generous of spirit and time. Reaching beyond the things that divide us reminds us that we are all in this life together and we all need the community of friends and neighbors.

There are always a lot of chores at the farm. There are plenty of things to repair and work to be done. At this phase of my life my son having a farm is a true blessing for me. Being able to help out, to connect with neighbors, and to feel the effects of good work on my body all contribute to a positive state of mind. As Isaac often says, “We work for progress, not perfection.”