Tractor

I see tractors almost daily on the roads. This tractor has been stationed in its spot since last Friday. I know it has a story. Did you break down on the way to mow a field? Does your owner live in one of the flats? Ireland’s economy was once agrarian based: raise cattle and sheep. Today there are sheep in many of the grazing fields I pass. They bleat (baa, a sound that stops me, and I turn and acknowledge ewes, lambs), eat lush green grass, sleep or just lie still with eyes open. There are tractors that pass on the main streets and even the main highways. This is a slow world, and I am slowing too. I walk more leisurely, meander down roads rather than hurry back to my place to read, knit, or talk to family. The walk is the point. I heard the writer Craig Mod describes how walking is how he finds himself. He was interviewed on Longform, a favorite podcast while I am knitting socks, sweaters, scarves, and I am inspired by his work. There is no better time to slow down than right now, even if what I pay attention to is the single tractor parked on a street in front of flats.