River Roots Redevelopment: Everything Hurts and Nothing Works (Except Maybe My Skid Loader)

By: Selina Pedi-Smith, Pellere Foundation

I said we’d be back in August. And here we are! Just… maybe not quite the way I imagined. Why does this ever surprise me anymore??

Anyway, back in July, I signed off with good intentions: to rest a little, focus on creative projects, maybe actually get a few videos done. And…I did Think about video ideas a lot. But, I didn’t shoot a single second of footage. Not one.

See, here’s what happened. First, there was the rain that pretty much obliterated any chance of doing any outside work for a healthy chunk of June. Remember that rain? So, come July, I had a serious backlog of property maintenance tasks on my plate. My riding mower also decided to die in June, which made early July even more fun, with a LOT of weed-whacking and push mowing, in between rain storms. And then, there was the skid loader.

Now, I’m gonna admit it up front. Working on a skid loader is FUN. Even when it breaks down. Which it did. Repeatedly. Within the first week. After getting stuck in the mud first.

In fairness, we did buy a well-used second-hand machine with nearly 7000 hours on it. We expected it to have some quirks. We just didn’t expect it to start giving us attitude that fast. But then again, we also didn’t expect to get rained into oblivion and stuck in ankle-deep mud for almost a month. So, you know - adjustments were made. Priorities shifted.

Sooo, instead of filming videos, I spent most of July learning how to run that machine... and how to fix it. I learned how to research equipment that has no manual. I learned how many manufacturers hide crucial info behind paywalls. And I learned that muscles you didn’t know you had can, in fact, yell at you for days if you misuse them.

I also hurt my shoulder, you see. Bad enough to need medical assistance. And since, apparently, working at a computer can aggravate shoulder injuries, I truly DID have to take a step back from my computer for several weeks. I wasn’t too mad at that, if I’m being honest.

But here’s the thing: as I was healing - and sweating - and problem-solving - and muttering at engine gunk, sheared bolts, and frayed belts - I couldn’t help thinking about the way this all lines up with everything we’re trying to do.

Because machines break down when they’re overused and under-supported. So do bodies. So do buildings. So do communities. You can’t keep running things into the ground and expect them to fix themselves. And you also can’t wait around for the perfect repair to fall from the sky. Sometimes, you patch what you can, research what you don’t even know you need, and you… keep figuring it out - one imperfect step at a time.

So, sure - things broke, I got very, very dirty, and my shoulder had a few choice words for me. But I also got that skid loader humming, picked up a few tricks worth their weight in gold, patched potholes, filled soggy spots, carved out a little coffee nook under the trees, and gave my greenhouse a brand-new gravel floor. Not bad for a month that started ankle-deep in mud.

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Rachel Brosnahan is the Community Engagement Coordinator for River Roots Redevelopment. She can be reached by email at rachel@riverrootsredevelopment.org