This post begins a new theme for this blog; My Joy. It's the outline of a book I've been drafting in my head, now ready to realize in written form.
One of the earliest 'jobs' I can remember desiring as a little girl was to be an author. I wanted to be immortalized by my thoughts and ideas. So I journaled extensively-for practice-and because I wanted to leave a treasure trove of work like every great author who has their private journals 'discovered' and celebrated for the intimate accounts of life as a tortured artist. (Hoping that stuff doesn't get published while I'm alive ;) I hit a big transition in my writing a few years ago when the focus steered away from complaints and whining and turned into the gratitude and expressions of joy that flow forth when my being is resonating with love. I also recently received the advice to 'look for patterns.' One big one I noticed was that I received a lot of books as gifts that has similar themes like: '1001 things to do before you Die', '365 things to Try', etc. People seem think I like self-help books and paced learning. Truth is, I just like People. And I want all people to feel happy and free. Thats my goal for these new 'My Joy' blog posts. It's not a black and white exercise regime to follow; your Joy will be unique to you. And the most difficult step is finding your own path. By sharing my path to Joy, I hope that you can start to form ideas of what your looks like and feel motivated to seek it!
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Juan is the New York-Puerto Rican caretaker of Coldwater Gardens. He takes out the trash, plays drums, grows wheatgrass in his front yard and generally ensures everyone is enjoying their stay. He also has a large stash of paint and string to make dreamcatchers. Juan is currently in the process of breaking the world record for the largest dreamcatcher-22 feet. Animals I've seen at EVERY farm: chickens and bees. I knew chickens were common, I even raised them in my backyard in Atlanta. Bees were new to me. Like the sawmill, since it's there, I had to try it myself. So I suited up for the weekly hive inspection. We were looking for a) honey-just observing levels, not harvesting yet, b) dead bees-collect for further investigation, and c) new queen cells-search and destroy to maintain a stable hive with one queen only. Coldwater Gardens was an ideal farm for me because there were a variety of different environments to work in and learn from. So far I've introduced you to the organic vegetable garden. That was the main event on the property but only occupied a small portion of the physical land. On two occasions, i got to help out at the sawmill where trees from the property were sliced down to dimensional lumber and bark sided trimmings for garden beds. I was really intrigued by this operation 1) for the sheer size of the equipment, 2) general lack of women in this workshop, and 3) a rare opportunity. Beyond what I learn from the farm managers, I learned a lot from the other volunteers. The two people in the above photo series, Nick and Kiera, are both graduates of Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. They met on the forestry crew and learned how to operate a sawmill as part of their work trade that all WW students complete in unison with their studies. Kiera was not a volunteer on the farm (she just visited when it was raining) because she had a paid job on the Alabama burn crew setting controlled burns in Pine forest of southern Alabama. She was an all around bad-ass chick who taught her boyfriend how to operate the saw mill ;) The long and the short of this sawmill operation is a menu of hydrolic levers that move and position the log, lock it in place with a sharp metal claw, then the blade moves across the log slicing off sheets of wood. To get dimensional lumber, first you need to shave off the four rounded sides of the log until you have a square or rectangular block to cut down to size, 2x4, 2x6. On teh property we had lots of pine, white ash, and american cedar.
However, there is no kiln on site (when you buy 2x4s in a store, they are dried in a kiln), so we just stacked the lumber on drying rods under cover. And there is also no wood grader on site-as in person who grades wood. From my Architect days, I know that lumber is graded like school papers, A, B, C, D etc. To receive an occupancy permit, the builder must prove that the lumber was graded, typically by purchasing from a retailer. Private owners, like Coldwater Gardens would either have to hire an inspector to come to their site or send out the lumber to be kiln dried and graded. Either path is contradictory to a self sustaining farm. Thus, the lumber we milled is destined for patio decks, chicken coops, and art projects-my favorite! hanging out at the saw mill was a great activity for me because at the end of the day, I got to take the bark scraps to Fort Juan for art projects :) At Coldwater Gardens, the primary fertilizer for both potting soil and foliar feeding (ie. applying liquid fertilizer directly to their leaves) is worm compost. Every stage of this rich, dark matter became part of weekly routines. First, mixing fresh kitchen compost into five-foot heaps of dry hay for the ' hot compost'. Once it's broken down into less recognizable parts, it's added to the worm bins. The worm bins at Coldwater Gardens are primarily four-foot deep cinder block troughs. The gardens are in a stage of experiment and reflect the patchwork of volunteers that revolve through its canvas tents, so there was also a one-foot deep wood planked box. Whatever your container, the worms and their food need to be covered by cardboard. So to the casual observer, a pile of cardboard behind the greenhouse is not a trash pile; rather black gold. Once the worms have eaten through all the compost, they leave behind airy, soft casting which make perfect potting soil for baby plants. Baby plants need more than the nitrogen in the worm casting (essentially just fertilizer), so homemade potting soil is amended with pearlite, vermiculite, and peat moss for water retention and root medium. This farm practices the Permaculture methods which mean a constant cycle of nutrients. Kitchen scraps to worm bins, to potting soil, to new plants, to our belly and around again :)
Mature, and growing plants, can experience benifits of vermiculture as well by brewing 'worm tea.' You literally take a few cups or handfuls of castings in a sock and simmer in bubbling warm water for 24 hours to basically explode colonies of good bacteria and multiply the nutrients. The result is a 5-gallon bucket of liquid organic fertilizer. I volunteered at this farm in Spring so every week was busy turning the compost, mixing new soil to re-pot baby plants into larger containers, and fertilizing plants in the ground. I became familiar with the feeling of worms in my palm, and I grew to love the feeling of light fluffy casting in my bare hands. Milton, Florida. This farm is banging! We're bagging up bunches of fresh salad greens. Gathering dozens of eggs. Driving nails into tent platforms. And sprouting shitake mushrooms from logs. Everywhere you look, there is buzzing activity and bountiful creation. There is so much going on, it's difficult to pick one place to start the story, so let's begin with the name. Coldwater Gardens gets it's name from the spring-fed Coldwater Creek that runs along the south border of the 300+ acre property. Three naturally placed white sand beaches crown the bends with crystal clear water. Nearby is the Blackwater River State Forest. The food garden is on a hill, bordered by a seed starting greenhouse, fish aquaponics house, high tunnel, and chicken/quail coops. There is a volunteer village for wwoofers like me. We have a shower, kitchen, tent platforms, and compost toilets. A short trot down sandy pine trial is the saw mill to mill lumber from the property for the mushroom logs and building projects. A new village is sprouting up for agri-tourists to stay and enjoy the fruits of slow food without the labor of organic methods. I've been sharing yoga and crystal healing with my fellow crew. More updates to follow, I'll be here for a month. Enjoy the photo tour of the food garden :) <3 <3 <3 New Smyrna Beach, Florida's Atlantic Coast. FARM: 2nd official WWOOF farm, hosted by Kirk who grows vegetables for his own nourishment and donates the abundance to a food bank. I chose this farm because I am attracted to water. Kirk's compound is less than 5 miles from the beach, wow! I call it a compound because like Finca Mycol, there is a motley arrangement of living quarters in various conditions of comfort. Some full-time residents in solid walls, some long-term volunteers in trailers, and some just passing through (like myself) on a screen porch. I didn't have to pitch my tent so it was a type of luxury on the primitive living scale. NATURE: In contrast to the gentle water in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean is wild and untamed. In addition, the flora appears more refined and bears the windswept burden of ocean breezes. I would call this central Florida; it did not have the tropical plants that I love and vibed with in Ft Myers and Sarasota. It did have blimps for the Daytona 500, taking over all airways only a few miles north. SERVICE: The week's activity here was seed germination. We prepared tiny coils of newspaper, filled them with a mixture of peat and sand, wet them, and inserted squash seeds into the perfectly cozy nests. Daily chores were weeding the rows of peas and radishes, watering, and cooking group dinners. From what I've experienced so far, the Farming Life lends itself to Creative Expression. We work in the mornings, and late afternoon is when individuals spend time with their craft. Kirk picked banjo. I took a vine hoop and weaved an organic dreamcatcher (photo right). I played my drum and sang silly lyrics to Kirk's music. It feels good to be able to release that potent energy in a safe, healing practice. I offered everyone at the farm: Kirk, Anja a polish yoga teacher, and Ray&Molly a young couple: crystal reki energy healing, and no one accepted. I was shocked. That night, I completed the practice in my dreams :) Before I left, I asked Kirk, "What will you say about me when I'm gone?" He shared lots of stories about past wwoof'ers so I was curious what kind of impression I made. His answer made me smile, "You work hard, and you play hard." My most valuable cargo in my packed car is my mountain bike, and I took it to an off road trail near the farm as well as to the beach. I agreed with his view. My final observation of this experience is the number of teachers I meet on these adventures. A) the farm host, B) the land, C) the other people, and D) myself. Each teacher offers a mirror to my current condition. Kirk's last words to me, "I admire your balance. Your spirituality. Thank you for being who you are, and being a friend." :) Sarasota, Florida. The synchronicity of the universe placed me within an hours drive of my grandparents home so I could help my mom's parents get to their doctor's appointments and recover their strength and vitality. Sarasota is always a pleasant visit because there is so much art, flowers, and general beauty at your fingertips. No stop would be complete without a visit to the Selby Botanical Garden and Ringling Art Museum, both grounds crowned with enormous banyan tress. I learned that as much as I love to care for Mother Earth, caring for blood family is just as rewarding. New stories emerged from their childhoods and we had a lively conversation about the joys and pains of communal living. My dream is to one day live in an inter-generational community founded on principles of peace, abundance, and healing. Good news is... all my families (blood, star, crystal, spiritual) like it too! North Fort Meyers, Florida. Alex Howe, a new friend I met at the Earth Skills Gathering, invited the Earthskills Family to stay on his land in southwest Florida until the Florida Herbalism Conference starts on 2/15/13. At Finca Mycol, I really enjoyed being part of the intergenerational knowledge sharing community that forms around primitive living. A group was caravaning South, so I decided to continue my journey and check out a more tropical climate while Winter wails her wrath through February. Once here, we continued sharing our skills and I'm passing on what I learned with my heart Family on this blog: Medicinal Tincture and Recreational Mead :) First, we walked the property with some botany experts and identified the local plants. There was a bounty of Gotu Kola growing wild. I am familiar with this plant from Indian Ayurveda; we harvested bunches. Then we visited the neighbor who collects Saw Palmetto and Black Mangrove honey, which we acquired by the quart. This particular neighborhood was also fortunate to be home of ECHO, a global food project to end hunger, and also an amazingly lush edible jungle that fueled my passion for tropical living. This demonstration farm is a must-see if you find yourself in south west Florida. http://www.echonet.org/ |
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