A testing night, for us and for many others. High winds, cold, the wood stoves are struggling to keep up – we have no storm windows yet on much of the house, the wind is really felt, the stoves going, we need more firewood, this is a determined and relentless winter, we are so lucky when we think of those many people in sub-zero weather with no power. We went out and tried tto clean out the Pole Barn, we put some old hay down for the donkeys. Got a shot of Red at last light, holding the sheep, as he always does. There is some relief from the bitter cold into next week, I am struck again and again by how shared an experience this is, there are several hundred people on my Facebook pages talking to each other about the weather, people from all over the country and much of the world.
It’s curious to go to the Round House and see my photos and George’s photos staring down over the walls. Three of them have been sold, we’re having a reception next Thursday at the cafe, it is unnerving to see images of Red, Simon, my favorite farms hanging over me, sometimes when I eat lunch there, I hear the people at the next tables talking about their favorite photos, pointing up at them, this is a new experience for me, seeing which of these images cause people to smile, touch them.
There is much awe about George’s stately photographs, they are very powerful and dignified, they evoke another time and world, they are majestic. George takes very different photographs than I do, he understands light and settings in a way I never will, he is a great artist and photographer, George and I are taking our women to the Round House for a Valentine’s Day lunch tomorrow, assuming we can get through the snow, ice and wind everybody is expecting tonight.
In my bones, I don’t feel as if a huge storm is coming here, I am like an old farmer who listens to his knees to predict the weather, it works pretty well for me. I am thinking about Valentine’s day and the meaning of love, I’ll write about it later. Maria says she hopes I haven’t gotten her anything for Valentine’s Day, no, I said, surely not..heh-heh.
Sometimes I go and stand in the kitchen and watch my friend Scott Carrino, the co-owner and chef at the Round House Cafe, whiz around the kitchen, it is a creative thing, cooking good food in a kitchen, it is an exciting place, orders flying in, three or four meals being prepared at once – omelettes, sandwiches, salads, bean burgers, egg sandwiches, baguettes, soups, Scott spinning around and around like a maestro, he always seems at ease, turning up some heat, reaching for some olives or eggplant. When Scott has prepared the food he likes to bring it out to the customers personally, saying hello, checking on things.
I think I’d love to do that work, really, just for a day or so. I like the intensity of it, the multi-tasking, the creative touches in arranging the food, keeping things separate, the flourishes and garnishes. The world recedes for a bit, just the food. Scott works brutally hard – he gets up at 3:30 in the morning, leaves the cafe around 3 or 4 p.m.
His wife Lisa runs the bakery back home and I think the two of them have not had a day off in months. There are so many things to worry about – staff, food, regulations and temperatures, orders and tables, vegetables, equipment, dishes and glasses, staffing, fresh flowers and supplies. Still, the cafe is a hit, it is becoming the heartbeat of my small town, a place of community and connection, not to mention George Forss’s photos and mine on the wall. Scott is a creative man, he is a musician, he brings this creativity to his cafe, and it touches me to see him spinning around in the small kitchen, stuffed with colorful foods and vegetables and smells.
I know I couldn’t do it, but I appreciate the artistry of it, creativity can flourish anywhere. We often have a narrow definition of creativity – writers, artists – but creativity can shine anywhere and in Scott’s cafe, it is a powerful and tangible force, from the fresh flowers to the food. I had an egg sandwich for lunch there the other day, an egg omelette on a fresh roll with eggplant. And a cup of pea soup. I don’t remember life before the Round House, and I am loving seeing so many people in the town, they can look right up at my photos and George’s, they can ask me about them, tell me how much they enjoy them. Three sold so far.
The storm has arrived her, some people say 16 inches, others five or six, it is snowing heavily enough, and is supposed to snow all night. We have our firewood in, have plenty of food stocked – I’m making a white clam pizza tonight, clams with kale, ricotta cheese and some red pepper, I think, maybe some tomato as well. Going out to get the animals ready, to open up the stalls in the barn, bring out the last hay and fill up the water tanks.
