(Paddle and Bottle, one handmade, of an antique signaling system of uncertain purpose and value).

The consolidation phase of things continues at Refuge Farm. We are edging into the “distribution” phase, the part when things have been placed in boxes and stacked to be carried away by helpful profit-takers. Something turned up from the top of the refrigerator, and sparked some commentary. It as a paddle-like wooden placard with the numeral “four” painted on the face. We presume there were others in the set, lower and higher within set normal limits of consumption. The signal was to the fellow who delivered dairy products to other family residences in a time now far away. Grandma would have put the paddle out on the porch to signal how much milk she would need for the day’s delivery.

The Fire Ring had a memory about the job description- the “Milk Man,” a common enough occupation back in the day that the two words were sometimes jammed together into one. “Milkman.” It also was a common term for unexpected home services in jokes of the day. But it actually was a home-made signaling device, crafted by a Grandfather, a hearty fellow who passed before we got to share his planet. Now it is in the distribution pile, though a minority view of the circle prefers to put it out on the porch and see if anything happens as a consequence of its placement.

It was only a topic because of partially related word from the United Kingdom that activists are marching into grocery stores and taking gallons of milk down from the refrigerator shelves and pouring it on the polished floor of the modern market. This is apparently a protest about methane gas production by cows. The result of the protest will be to increase the demand for the milky product, which we agreed would increase the total methane production involved in the production, but like many activities here in future-world, we don’t claim to understand it any more than activists hurling cans of tomato soup at one of artist Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings at the Louvre. One of the perpetrators explained later that she/he/them would never have tried to damage the artwork despite being videoed doing precisely that.

Like we said, we don’t claim to understand any of this.

The actual point of the conversation in front of the Bunk House was whether the actual milk bottle in which the #4 Paddle sits might be worth more than the paddle, or whether it should be elevated in value with the provenance of a bygone commercial age. That amounted to an end to rational discussion, since value has a direct connection to whether any of us with knowledge of the history would be around to convey “intent” of paddles and bottles. That would be age, of course, from a trade cast aside two or more generations ago. And home craftsmanship involving a band-saw, sandpaper, brush and enough paint for two coats of oil-based paints that would last a century.

After a wider discussion about a variety of value propositions, Splash closed out the conversation that the last actual delivery of dairy products to the house was at least fifty years ago. All those concerned with the process- dairy farmer, craftsman, Housewife, and children were now resting someplace where physical delivery of milk was completely unnecessary. We decided to remember them this morning, anyway. And which pile in which the paddle and the bottle were going to be placed.

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