* Queen *
it's all about me
The Queen bee is truly the director of the hive in that her presence is the enabler and motivation behind all of the activity that takes place, including building, scavenging, dancing, reproducing, moving... a Queen bee is not selected, but made, in a special cell, with special food, with a unique body that allows her to fulfill her roles as the hive's organizing factor. In this section of my blog I will give news about events going on in my life, and the unique ways that my own particular circumstances are taking form ~
The beginning of this blog marks and announces my shift into a whole new phase of life: I have decided (and circumstances have allowed for me) to move to McMinnville Oregon at the end of September! I am amazed that I am right now able to go follow my dreams to live in community and learn how to to live life in a more tangibly connected way, especially through growing food! Part of my vision for this change is seeking for creative ways to be a part of this changing world. As a young person today, I feel that many of the challenges faced by my generation have to do with trying to bridge gaps and construct compromises between the old and the new. As I've been reading in Michael Mead's book The World Behind the World, "When it seems that the end is near the origins of life are also closer. When seen through the old ideas of many cultures, endings and beginnings are both mythical occasions, both close to the place of origins and to the sources of all originality." Because of this, there is a special need for both Old remembering and Young creation of the new (no matter what age you are!). Another quote from Mead says, "When the oldest and the youngest capacities of the soul come together, then we have finally caught up with ourselves. Then, we can learn again how to hold the ends and the beginnings of this world together."
Another compromise I feel many of us are facing is the mix between city and country, wholesomeness and convenience, passion and practicality. An Urban Homestead is a wonderful place for all of these forces to meet, a balancing hub for finding a way forward through the extremes. As I proceed forward, opening up to my new life, I hope that my own experience at this hub of joy and moderation can be of inspiration and interest to you, as you make your own way in this beautiful sea of mysterious paradox and ever-more-wonderful growth.
I plan to arrange my blog according to these sections, so you can always feel free to brows to whatever bit catches your curiosity. Hope to see you here on Saturdays from now on, particularly beginning in October! Love always, Melissa Joy
* Worker Bees *
for do-ers and make-ers
In a hive, the worker bees comprise the majority of the population. They do everything from making the hive and the honey that fills its cells, to standing in the doorway and using their wings as fans, circulating outside breeze to keep the place from overheating. In this section of my blog, I will talk about some practical skill or task I have learned, for which I would like to pass on the know-how.
How to make a delicious stuffed Zucchini...
1. find zucchinis big enough to stuff, most likely at a farmer's market, where the vegetables are more likely to be allowed to grow to such big potential!
2. make a "boat" of each of the two halves, by carving out the seeds and some of the zucchini surrounding this. If you want, you can use this extra bit to cook later, adding into your eggs or rice, for instance.
3. In a frying pan, sauté your stuffings, individually or together. As far as meats go, salmon, ground beef, turkey, chorizo, sausage- all are delicious. Otherwise, you could use tofu, soy substitute, or just go meatless! Add any vegetable you can think of! Bell peppers, mushrooms- I used chunks of tomatoes; onions always add great flavor...; rice is a great filler to add a grain; quinoa would work too! Be creative and use whatever is particularly delicious (or available) at the time!
4. Layer the fillings into the zucchini boat. Here, I put rice first, then my ground beef and onion mix, then tomatoes. Don't forget cheese on top, if you're a dairy eater!
5. Sprinkle some parsley, oregano, chile pepper... depending on what fillers you used and what you're in the mood for.
6. Bake for about 40 minutes at about 375 degrees F. This is an absolute estimate- you really just want the zucchini squash to become soft and malleable enough for cutting and chewing. The ingredients on the inside should already all be cooked, so this step is all about the zucchini, and letting all the innards merge together and get nice and toasty in their zucchini boat. Simple, fun, and available to lots of creativity! Enjoy!
* Gatherer Bees *
for savorers of the sweet stuff
Though technically members of the "worker bee" category, the gatherers are a specific group that goes out to scavenge for pollen. By wading through the sticky centers of fertile flowers, these bees gather up all of the bundles of perfume-rich pollen onto their bellies and legs, carrying it back to the hive to be used as food for honey-production. In this section of my blog, I will share things that I find to be inspiring- all of the sticky, juicy, colorful, sweet stuff that serves as inspiration for my own creations.
These inspiring pictures are from a trip up to Northern New Mexico last week, with one of the growers I met at the local farmer's market. I got to help harvest zucchini, beans, peas, squash, potatoes, and sunflowers, help to sell them at the next market, and then cook with them the meal described above! It is inspiring to me to see this process of food-from-land to table, first-hand. This really encapsulates why I am moving up to the Homestead!
Step one: Garden!
Step two: Harvest!
Step three: Market!
Step four: Dinner!
* Drones *
for lovers
Drones are the only male bees of the hive, who mate with the Queen so that she can create new bees and carry on the life of the clan. In this section of my blog, I will write short essays and stories about things that are important to me when it comes to creation and sustenance of Life, physically and spiritually.
I am quite surrounded by marriages recently; here are some of my reflections on marriage...
I used to be very afraid of the idea of marriage, because I worried that the decision to remain committed to one person would eventually become a legalistic bind that kept two people tied to each other out of obligation, even when real connection was not actively working between them. More recently, I have opened to the view of marriage as saying, "this is a system that supports, sustains, and betters itself; let's continue in this manner!"
My grandpa once told me that when he didn't know what to do about his relationship situation, he prayed for direction and he saw a vision of my Nona's face. As simple as that, he understood the one he was meant to stay with in his lifetime. And sure enough, they did. I am opening, also for the first time, to the possibility that such clarity of direction in the area of partnership actually may exist with ease.
Such ponderings have also led me to consider the question: after this huge question of life finds some conclusion (which is to say, after I actually do become happily involved with a person who will presumably remain my life partner), what is it that I want to I do with my life? This question, in this context, is very important, because the story often told in American culture, through many different idea forms, is that finding a mutually loving partner also means finding the purpose, the meaningful path forward for one's life. Though a husband, wife, or family may be a huge part of a person's life path, I think it is important to realize that whether married, single, dating, or divorced, each living person must eventually ask of themselves the question of why they are alive. I think that a fulfilling, enduring, beautiful, and productive marriage (or relationship) is one in which both people have a goal they want to accomplish in life that is outside of the relationship in and of itself, so that the substance of how a person lives is not directed all towards the destination of a single other human being. How do you want to give in the world? What gives you satisfaction from life? What gives you peace in the quiet moments of the day? I think marriage is dangerous when it is used as a loud blanket to cover the quiet asking of these questions. However, when two people are able to seek, side by side, the real answers to these questions, answers that are active and resonant in their own living, then I think that doing so as a loving, supportive, acknowledging team can be one of the most joyous ways to experience the simplicities and wonders of living. Many blessings to the newlyweds and soon-to be married people in my own life <3
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