HERITAGE TABLE: THIS WEDDING GIFT TO MY SON, Made during the course of the winter,
posted on
April 27, 2014
HERITAGE TABLE
THIS WEDDING GIFT TO MY SON, Made during the course of the winter,
And delivered over Easter weekend to his abode in Manhattan, has led me to ponder the meaning of a table.
What happens around and upon a table?
- Nutrition is administered,
- Newspapers are read,
- Homework is conducted,
- Groceries are stacked,
- Artful food is presented,
- Delicious meals are savored,
- Stories are recounted,
- Community is gathered,
- Values are taught,
- Emotions are shared and concepts pondered,
- Rest is taken,
- Love is offered...
...rendering the eating table a potent place.
This presumes one, in fact, sits at a table. Many cultures employ a different surface for these functions, which is the great earth itself. That indeed is the ultimate table..., and would be the ultimate wedding gift, but I couldn't pull that off.
At risk of belaboring the topic, the wood of the pictures above and below come from 100-year-old poplar milled for a granary on our farm.
We took down the sagging granary twenty years ago, but saved the boards from the walls, which are 18 inches wide - of greater width than can be found in trees today.
Converting the worn, dusty boards into surfaces fit for worship is a journey in itself, consisting of much sanding, endless scrubbing with steel wool, and coats of varnish applied, until the grain of the wood races forward and sings of completion. The final product is replete with: nail holes, mouse-teeth gnawings, cracks, and knots - a completely imperfect version of a finished surface and so perfectly authentic.
Why do many of us engage is much labor and activity surrounding food? At minimum, it has to do with bodily nutrition, but what drives us must be something more, like the list above and the feeding of soul and spirit...
What do you think?
We are beginning to focus on the Farm Tour on Saturday, May 31, from 11 - 3. Cost will be $10 per person. Send an email or let us know in person, if you would like to attend.
Last, we look forward to connecting with you tomorrow at the Winter Farmers Market at Clark Montessori. We will have chili, lamb, and beef in all the usual cuts.
Thank you for sitting at the great banquet table of life with us.
Drausin & Susan