Eugeny Ass

The Way

Archstoyanie 2010. Summer

The idea is to make a straightway swath in the field and to devote the process of mowing to memory of Lev Tolstoy who used to mow and loved the process. It has been an extraordinary new experience. Such things rarely happen in common life. I have mastered a new profession, but I do not think I am going to use it again. I am grateful to Oleg, my trainer, a country mower, who has showed me some professional tricks.  One has to press down a butt, handle should be on the level of one's belly-button, and length of a blade should be similar to the length of the diagonal between edge of the blade and a scythe handle. I mowed by so called 'seven', I am sorry for detailed terminology. It means the length of a blade and its diagonal was seventy centimeters. I learned to edge a scythe, which is an important part of mowing process. One has to sharpen one's scythe very often, all the more so as it is hard to mow old grass nevertheless we mowed at down when grass was wet with dew. My “Way” turned out to be tortuous; it is a way of doubts and troubles.