A Bit More Mindfulness

     Ever noticed when you've been made aware of something new, how that something seems to turn up everywhere? (Like buying a blue car thinking the color is rare, only to spot that same color everywhere you turn.)
     No doubt our minds have "selective retention" ...It's the stuff ear-worms are made of (you know...those tunes you can't get out of your head) ...But I dare say it is also the stuff of synchronicity.
     Recently I was introduced to the concept of "Permaculture" ...A notion of working with nature as we plan our landscapes, our gardens, our eco-systems, not forcing moves against it. By more gently working with her, not against, Mother Nature becomes our ally; we are able to accomplish more with less, by observing first, acting second. (Or as it was explained to me when I immediately wanted to know "What can I start planting to stop my soil erosion?" I was told the goal is 10 hours of observing to every one hour of muscle. (A concept I like more and more as I age...Sounds like wisdom to me.)
     To that end, I was moved (not only by the fact that this clip opens with a wolf that looks very much like my beloved Pyrs, and my Siberian husky, Darby from years past) by recent happenings out in Yellowstone. Thanks to one simple act of re-introducing wolves to their eco-structure, the total environment has changed and in relatively short order.  Rather than elaborate or commentate, I'll let the footage speak for itself. (There is a full length documentary on YouTube for those who care to know more.)  Until then, just ponder the possibilities...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q

Straw Houses - Not Just for Little Pigs Anymore

           

Straw Bale House - Frame Phrase (Concrete, Plaster or Stucco Comes Next)

            I’m 7 hours from home, in a land where winter comes early and hits hard. (Just to prove that point, it snowed for us yesterday…And me with sandals on my feet!)

            But not to worry. The warmth of the group coupled with the information being digested revolving around alternative, sustainable, renewable resources held plenty to keep our inner fires burning and churning.

            As mentioned in my prior blog, I’m visiting the community of Stelle, Illinois --Stelle, being what is known as an “intentional community” meaning folks come here for a reason, making for like-minded neighbors all working together for a common good. It’s been a lot to take in. My little brain’s on overdrive…and in the days to come as I begin to download all that’s been uploading by way of info crammed into one very short window of time, I can’t wait to dig into grasping better just how much of this will be viable even back home in Tennessee (where can we agree, last winter was a tough one, even for us Southerners).

           Many things to note…But let me start with the first (for I was blown away by this one, as I thought such notions the thing of fairy tales and bedtime stories...)

Turns out, that first little pig was onto something—(You know…the one that built his house out of straw?) Trust me when I say no big, bad wolf is going to blow this one down. To the contrary, I suspect this one will be standing for generations to come, given the combination of materials, and the unique way in which it is built including a combination of( mostly) straw, some wire mesh, rebar and stucco.

            The concept actually dates back to Paleolithic times, but is now being revisited by those looking for natural, renewable building materials.  Turns out straw (who knew) makes for some of the best insulation known to man AND (again, another one lost on me) it’s amazingly fire retardant! (Who’da thunk?) Best of all, done in combination with reinforcing/strengthening materials like, rebar, wire mesh and stucco, straw house walls provide one of the best matches for materials playing conduit for passive solar building designs (meaning these walls distribute thermal mass more evenly, so no matter what the weather’s doing outside, your inside temps flatten out; otherwise, you need fans and fancy units to blow your heat around).

            One of so many new measures being studied to better our options for sustainable living. Turns out there are folks all over this planet pondering such notions. (I didn’t come up with this just pondering my own garden.) Gardens and food supplies are one form of energy to keep in mind; keeping warm in the winter and cool in the summer, an entire “other”. Bottom line, when you break down energy consumed in vs. energy expended, we’re the least efficient creatures on the planet to maximize a calorie. (Calories being a measure of heat energy …not just that label number most of us think of when dieting.)  In scientific terms, a calorie is what it takes to break down food, but it’s also what it takes to raise the temperature of water 1 degree, and is therefore a universal measurement for calculating how much it takes (i.e. taken in) vs. to produce a result (i.e. given up) - as in how much food it takes to keep your body going, yes, but also how much energy it takes for anything to live.)

            More of my findings to come…But for now, isn’t it great to think of the possibilities? (The longer I live, the more I marvel.)

A Matter of Community

     As my third year's garden comes to a close (only sweet potatoes and one pumpkin high in the weeds, remain...curious the color of these crops to the theme of the season is it not? And all this time I thought Cracker Barrel invented October color themes.) I find myself pausing to reflect once again on all I've learned, and all I'm still learning. I'm pause to weigh what to retain, what to chalk up to experience...And while there is much to process, one theme stands clear: Gardens are not a one person sport, instead, to grow one properly it takes a family if not a village.
     For this reason, and for the next chapter of my life, I am committed to studying those who've discovered just that (i.e. the value of gardens to community and communities to gardens) for it is my fervent belief that the future of our planet will derive from some working formula thereof.
     Visit the moors and villages of Northern England and you see this in play everyday...folks coming together, working common plots, in the school yards and church yards of their villages...In those hours their working jobs will allow, their gardens lay side by side in common plots. In addition to looking quite charming, it's really very resourceful and I've no doubt, very healing.
     But you don't have to jump across the pond to see this sort of thing. Our own country is catching the wave. Many in our own country have been doing this for years, (folks like Steve and Ina Mae Gaskin's "Farm" come to mind; I also think of family I hold dear that lived years of their young married life in a community south of Chicago called "Stelle")
     Lifestyles committed to sustainable living, renewable resources, revering the planet are to me,  lifestyles worth studying, and to those who might scoff at my green, tree-hugging bias, may I simply say that having studied many types of people over the years, with lifestyles ranging from the political high and mighty to the rich and famous to the starving artist, my gardening heroes, these people of the soil exemplify to me, a good and decent, honorable way to live. They are comfortable in their own skin. Their insides match their outsides. They are (as the scripture describes) salt of the earth.
     For that reason (starting now, as my own garden loosens her tethers on me) I begin the next chapter of my journey, which is to study those who've been doing it already...I want to know what they've learned...glean what they've gleaned. To capture (as I have been blessed to study and capture from my own farming mentor, Thurman) those lessons that were years if not lifetimes in the making by others alongside them, living in community centered around the sacred theme of garden. To me it feels a good and worthy investment of my time, for some day I would like to provide others the same if it means they would consider for their own lives such notions as permaculture and all things life supporting.
     More and more each day, these are the people and ideas that capture my fascination, but transcending all this, to be perfectly honest, the real fruit of this labor is that of discovering a peaceful, more gentle way of living.