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Relatively Stable · Thursday · 30 min

The Four Seasons

The Four Seasons: An almanac for those who are emotionally dependent on mowing grass Kim has a problem. Summer isn’t even over yet, and she’s already worried about what will happen when the grass stops growing. After one full trip through the seasons at Lavender Hill, mowing has become more than another farm chore. It’s three uninterrupted hours on a machine, moving slowly enough to notice things, loudly enough that nobody can talk to her, and leaving behind the deeply satisfying evidence that something has been accomplished. So what happens when winter takes that away? This week, Kim creates her own slightly unhinged almanac for the year ahead: winter rye grass, mulched leaves, soil biology, forest paths, a deeply justifiable need for a PTO wood chipper, and eventually, the glorious resurrection of the grass in spring. Along the way, The Four Seasons wanders into bigger territory: the difference between owning land and knowing it, our human compulsion to improve and control the natural world, and why a farm may be one of the best places in the world to avoid writing. Twenty-seven years ago, Kim quit her real jobs to write a book and promptly discovered a thousand jobs that needed doing around a barn instead. Maybe she wasn’t procrastinating after all. Maybe she was taking field notes. In this episode: winter rye grass and the journey of a bag of seed; why mowing leaves can feed the soil; the Four Season Tractor Avoidance Program™; learning the bones of the land in winter; the ecological case Kim has constructed for buying a wood chipper; why mowing has become a spiritual practice; and what 27 years of barn chores have taught her about writing, paying attention, and the work we think we’re avoiding. Read Stable Roots for the original essay, photographs from Lavender Hill, and the weekly subscriber video that takes readers beyond the page and behind the fences. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stableroots.substack.com/subscribe

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The Four Seasons: An almanac for those who are emotionally dependent on mowing grass

Kim has a problem.

Summer isn’t even over yet, and she’s already worried about what will happen when the grass stops growing.

After one full trip through the seasons at Lavender Hill, mowing has become more than another farm chore. It’s three uninterrupted hours on a machine, moving slowly enough to notice things, loudly enough that nobody can talk to her, and leaving behind the deeply satisfying evidence that something has been accomplished.

So what happens when winter takes that away?

This week, Kim creates her own slightly unhinged almanac for the year ahead: winter rye grass, mulched leaves, soil biology, forest paths, a deeply justifiable need for a PTO wood chipper, and eventually, the glorious resurrection of the grass in spring.

Along the way, The Four Seasons wanders into bigger territory: the difference between owning land and knowing it, our human compulsion to improve and control the natural world, and why a farm may be one of the best places in the world to avoid writing.

Twenty-seven years ago, Kim quit her real jobs to write a book and promptly discovered a thousand jobs that needed doing around a barn instead.

Maybe she wasn’t procrastinating after all.

Maybe she was taking field notes.

In this episode: winter rye grass and the journey of a bag of seed; why mowing leaves can feed the soil; the Four Season Tractor Avoidance Program™; learning the bones of the land in winter; the ecological case Kim has constructed for buying a wood chipper; why mowing has become a spiritual practice; and what 27 years of barn chores have taught her about writing, paying attention, and the work we think we’re avoiding.

Read Stable Roots for the original essay, photographs from Lavender Hill, and the weekly subscriber video that takes readers beyond the page and behind the fences.



This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stableroots.substack.com/subscribe
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