The preparation for the Creative Metalworking Weekend continues and I can feel the energetic buzz of our team building. Volunteers arrive to set up camp and lend a hand. We run tool tests on the welders, plasma cutter, chop saw, and grinders. We hang murals and lighting in the shop and hammocks in the trees. We chop firewood, weed whack, improve the outdoor shower, and sort metal for the sculpture. We make shuttle runs to the airport, show guests around the farm, and put on our hospitality hats for the weekend. At the end of a long day, we share a meal and tell stories around the fire while a friend strums a soft melody on the guitar. Although the bottoms of my feet are begging for a break, there is a happiness glowing deep in my middle, where my passion for gathering community on land lives. Most participants will arrive tomorrow. I know the energy will shift and I’ll be busier once the crowd arrives, but the sweet anticipation held in this preamble is solid gold.
~Joy
