53. Springtime Agricultural Ambitions and Frustrations
Anna Karénine - Tome I — Résumé 🇺🇸 English
Levine steps outside into the bright spring air, feeling the seasonal surge of ambitious plans and new ideas for his estate. He inspects his livestock with great satisfaction, admiring the exceptionally large and healthy calves. However, his mood quickly shifts when he discovers that the portable fences for the enclosure have been broken and stored improperly in the workers quarters during the winter. Hoping to address his agricultural projects, he searches for the carpenter, only to find that the tools and harrows have not been repaired as planned.
Seeking answers, Levine confronts his estate manager, Wassili Fedorovitch, who is nonchalantly chewing on a straw and offering vague excuses. Levine grows increasingly frustrated by the chronic disorganization, the shortage of available laborers, and the premature state of the stored English oats. Despite his irritation, he attempts to remain composed, realizing that his anger will accomplish little. He instructs the manager on essential tasks such as moving manure, repairing equipment, and securing extra workers for the upcoming season, though the manager responds with a familiar, disheartened resignation.
Mounting his horse Kolpik, Levine rides out into the expansive fields to inspect the ongoing work firsthand. The pleasant ride through the warming air lifts his spirits, and his mind returns to grand agronomic visions, including optimized crop rotations, pasture enclosures, and expanded cultivation areas. When he reaches the field where the workers are sowing clover, he notices they have mishandled the process by driving the wagon directly across the winter wheat and failing to sift the seeds. Dismayed by their carelessness, Levine briefly takes the seed bag and sows a patch himself to demonstrate the proper method.
After checking on the previous year's clover and the ongoing plumping operations, Levine heads back toward the house with a renewed sense of accomplishment. The clover is sprouting wonderfully, and the soil is nearly ready for full summer planting. Along the way, he crosses the receding streams, startles a pair of ducks, and learns from a local gamekeeper that woodcocks are likely in the area. Anticipating a peaceful evening of hunting, he hurries his horse home to prepare his rifle.