And So It Begins

* Queen * 

all about me

 news from my life

Hello! I am posting on a Monday, instead of a Saturday, again, because it has been turning out that my weekends are the most busy days of the week so far! This Saturday I went with one of my housemates down to a farm in Eugene for a gathering of the Oregon Bio-Dynamics group. Just as humans can use herbs to make homeopathic medicines that help work with our bodies to heal them when we are sick (I gratefully benefited from the success of homeopathic medicine all growing up!), Bio-Dynamics is a way of creating homeopathic cures for the Earth. Carefully prepared fertilizers timed to seasons and movements of the planets, this Ayurveda for the earth deeply aids the soil, not merely by offering dense nutrients, but by applying qualities of nature that allow the soil to open itself to what it needs from its environment. I sure enjoyed my introduction to this complex process. About thirty of us worked all day, digging holes, tenderly preparing animal parts, praying in a big circle, and finally (after trudging through a muddy bog, a first for me), enjoying a fantastic potluck.

Sunday was our household work party. With the onset of winter, it is time to embrace the part of the life cycle that includes dying, releasing, and being cleared away. In this spirit of gratitude for the rich harvest and willingness that such colorful, bright abundance should come again next year, we cleared out at least eight rows of old tomatoes, tomatillos, corn, beans, and squash. Out comes the nettle, the stakes and twine, and soon the plots are cleared out for the next planting of winter crops. Of this vibrant harvest, one of my housemates and I cooked a dinner for ten people, my first shift as chef in the household rotation. The joy that I receive from being a part of the process of harvesting and caring for these plants, and then seeing, smelling, and tasting them in such a colorful, delicious, and wonderfully healthy meal, is enough to allow me to say that as much as my heart sometimes burns for my friends and family down in Albuquerque, I know that I am exactly where I need to be ~ 

                                             

(a very simple recipe of carrots, leeks, onion, squash, and beets roasted in a pan in the oven for 40 min in olive oil, anise, and fennel) 

* Worker Bees * 

for do-ers and make-ers

 practical skill, tips,  or tasks I have learned this week

Just a couple of tips for keeping clean, beautiful, non-stick cast iron pans 

(this does not include instructions for curing the pans when you first get them or they need renewing) 

• In a pan that is properly cured (non-stick with a good layer of grease) most cooking should not really leave much of a mess. In these cases, using a simple scraper to clear out any food bits will leave the pan greasy and clean- no need for water

• When the pan requires more cleaning, use hot water but no soap. You can use a steel sponge as long as you don't scrape too hard. In this case, after washing it is good to heat the pan on the stove to help dry it out, and then add a nice layer of good, high-heat oil, such as coconut, canola, or sunflower 

* Gatherer Bees *

for savorers of the sweet stuff

 sticky, juicy, colorful, sweet stuff that serves as inspiration 

                           Our lovely home                             (garden, my room, dining room)    

Gathering the great chanterelles!   

      

                          

 

* Drones * 

for lovers

 short essays and stories about things that are important to me when it comes to creation and sustenance of Life

The Meditation of Flow

This Wednesday, I joined one of my housemates out at the Community Supported Agriculture farm where he works. I helped to harvest kale (Tuscan heritage  a.k.a. “Dino,” and red winter), peppers (pepercinos, Hungarian sweets, red bells, paprika), lemon cucumbers, and the last of the basil, (green and purple ruffles) and sweet beans. This was my first experience of harvesting on a larger scale, enough to bring to two restaurants and two large CSA deliveries. As far as farming goes, this is really quite small, but when considering that every single bean and basil leaf was to be collected by our fingertips, it seemed a rather large-scale task to a first-timer. This experience, the first of many to come, taught me a lot, especially about a kind of meditation that I think I will come to cherish more and more as time goes on. Our first item of the day was the basil, which grew in raised beds. As I first began to bend and squat, trying to position myself over the plants in a stable and efficient way, I began, after a few minutes, to mentally panic a bit. Oh my gosh, this is so uncomfortable! There are so many leaves! This is going to take so long! My calves, thighs, back, butt, fingers, and neck suddenly understood what it means to “harvest.” Just like an uncomfortable yoga pose or the somewhat shocking silence of a first meditation sit, the physical position of this work really called for a certain inner position of the mind and heart. Instead of continuing to panic or feel miserable, I began to ask the plants, and ask my body for a flow that would allow me to move through the work gracefully, using my energy well. What this means to me is that I have always approached work, especially physical labor, with a kind of toughness that says, “Move aside- I got this.” If I try to accomplish this work by my own gusto, though, I end up sore, stiff, and exhausted. Instead, this interaction asks for a gentler approach- pulling, carrying, and picking not with the force of muscular resistance, but rather, with careful sensitivity to the ways my body can use balance, the right application of force, and steady patience to find the easiest, smoothest, and softest way to move and interact with plants, boxes, and otherwise. 

As an Aquarius who loves to have theories to hold theories, and a person attracted to the philosophy in things in general, it is so much more fulfilling to me to come upon these kinds of lessons in such a physical way, a way that my mind alone could never understand if my body was not doing the work or finding the flow so intuitively. No matter what kinds of physical work or movement you do throughout your day, out of choice or necessity  you might be amazed at what your body has to teach about slightly different ways to do things that makes a better, more lasting and healthy use of energy ~