Today I learned to drive the red tractor. The big one. The new one with an enclosed cab with heat and AC. I began to mow the meadow. We had let the grass grow all summer long to allow the field birds like the bobolink, a favorite summer bird, to have a safe breading ground. Then Dad got pneumonia at the end of August before we started to mow. We waited, hoping he  would recover enough strength to get into the tractor again, but now it is November, and I find myself in the tractor in his stead.

After a trip around the loop to get used to the feel of the tractor, I headed down to the field to start mowing along the south woods.  I mowed for about 90 minutes, squeezing some time in after a work from home day and before darkness. I thought I would get more done in that time than I did, but I could only go so fast.