Seasonings

We pruned the trees in our yard last weekend. It was warm and sunny and eventually we shed our coats to stay cool as we worked, cutting limbs and branches overhead and then stooping to gather them up. It is a different thing to work overhead: to grasp and use a tool at the limits of your reach above head height. Even just to study the structures overhead, looking for problems to be solved by a pruner or a saw.

It was warm and sunny, but there was still over a foot of snow covering the entire yard. Walking back and forth between the backyard and the driveway was an effort all its own. At some point I realized I was actually thirsty, which can sneak up on you sometimes in cold weather.

We wrapped up late that afternoon and then went for a walk with a friend, making the most out of the pleasant weather. It was dark when we got back home. We had leftovers for dinner, but they tasted better than they did a couple of nights ago. They were perhaps even better than some freshly prepared meals I’ve had.

There are many ways to prepare food, but that’s only one part of a meal. How we come to the meal is just as important: the dinner and the one who dines both benefit from preparation. It wasn’t that I simply worked up an appetite and was hungrier than usual. I think that food simply tastes better somehow after being active outside most of the day. Perhaps our senses are sharpened or our blood flow is increased or we are simply more alive…

Activity, exertion and adventure are methods of slow-cooking our perceptiveness and appreciation. They are seasonings we add to ourselves that improve our ability to savor.