Summer Wanning in August

                                                       left the country for the big city,
                                                               concerts in the park,
                                                        city lights, motionless hours.

                                                                 study of the quinoa.

                                              Quail Babies nestled amongst worm wood.

                                                                        Foxy days,
                                                                       quail trains,
                                               disturbing the peace with a public shower.

                                                   great horn perched, screeching  at dusk.

                                                           summer plantings of lettuce

                                                Great natural trellis for cucumbers and beans.
                                                               stick in the ground, grow!

Design in Time

 It can be frustrating having all the tools for design, application and execution of permaculture, along with experience of growing food and getting it to where it needs to go, and seeing the waste of our food system and our culture of consumption. It is especially frustrating when you are a dreamer and ideas man as i am... mostly unpaid, living with no car, and dreaming of a piece of land/institute/artist hermitage to cultivate and create a space that will forever teach, sustain and provide to the possible and mostly distant next of kin, friends, family, and most of all strangers.

                      DON'T STOP, LIVE GENUINELY.

Through the RDNA year, a lot moved as an artist/gardener with very little drawing/drafting experience and a whole lot of dreams and ideas. the best way i found to cull the somewhat haunting dreams and ideas that flood my mind on a constant and hourly level, was in drawing out what i saw in my mind for designs. of course this is a good idea- any designer will tell you that. but i reached a second terrible space in looking at these finished drawings- damn i like that, and i want it to happen more then ever... 

I am 28 years old. I have no medical insurance. i have not much in savings. no college degree. I am unmarried, and mostly volunteering and unemployed, socially against most of the cultural norm in this country, and don't often relate to my own generation let alone the lower or above.
 I am a statistic that, in my mind, the US and most of western civilization sees as a drain on its resources (even though in reality i use very little), especially since i am technically not contributing to the GDP- the very heart of our destructive culture that puts value on the exploitation of people, resources, and creates all living things (and often non) into statistical commodities.

thus disconnecting everything from its natural relationship to everything else. we then devalue, and then revalue into false markets and ledger sheets. this locks our self and other into the new human drama- the seperation from what Humans are inextricably a part of- Nature and its natural order.
   
"Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains. One man thinks himself the master of others, but remains more of a slave than they are."- Jean-Jacques Rousseau, opening from The Social Contract.


 i am a lackluster citizen NOT contributing to the consortium of american consumer culture. i am a Bum, lost soul, and all at once free... sort of.

                                       AND I AM ABSOLUTELY AT PEACE WITH IT.

These two drawings reflect some of those ideals that a growing number (thankfully) of like minded people are moving towards in terms of a self reliance against a hyper-consumer based culture of individualist. we are so driven, and blinded, that we are literally  killing our selves and working even harder to try and counter the very thing that is killing us...  (albeit slowly ill admit and mostly of the usual top 10 diseases related to the very problem i am referring to). 

Between house designs under 1000 square feet, gray water systems, ponds, food forests, passive solar design to heat the buildings, animal husbandry,  medicinal botany, native plant nursery, i have come to realize i have nothing but time on my side...

although most of my plans include succession plantings of some fine plants and animals, many of these reach maturity in 20 years... meaning all the hard labor and work i must accomplish with my own two hands is ticking down a little more every day. 

BUT as i have had in twisting conversations with fellow peers about time- time is a creation of our own existence and consciousness based on our own short life spans and past history (which on the great timeline of time is very very short compared to the rest of the species on this little blue dot).

                                                                           Time. 

Time used to be based on when the sun came up, the seasons changed, the ground could be worked, and the moon was in cycle; not a 9-5 day doing something you most likely don't even love.

 i see time a little differently, finally, in terms of the emphasis we put on how much has been accomplished by a certain age or time, and the expectations that come with it.

we have a life time to do, and not a whole lot of time to spend on thinking about how. application is the best way to spend this said "time". and don't forget to put some time  aside to learn, be in wonder, and share in the curiosity that flows with us in our NATURAL lives.

Where does this leave all of this in the rambling words of this post?

It leaves the fact of the matter that time is always on our side, that accomplishment and success is based on ones own happiness and not that of the status-quo of our toxic culture. its about what YOU want to accomplish, what your dreams are, and designs for a life you are hopefully wanting to be better, and leave behind something others can forever appreciate and wonder at. expectations should be and are only rooted with the self. and DON'T PANIC. living with as little as you need can put into perspective what some of the dreams are that you may want to ultimately leave behind after the short time we all spend on this little blue planet. If you dream and design for a better future, or a future in general, then you may have accomplished more then all the nay sayers of tradition. Permaculture is, after all, about healing what neglect and abuse has been done to both the human, the earth the human relies on indefinitely, and the community in which both (should) exist.  Happy dreaming.

sauerkraut

so its been a while. been busy on the farm- visitors, events of 70+ people coming on for the past weekend... weeding... lots of watering, and the orchards are about ready to explode! we are also busy making stuff and things with cabbages!
Melanie, who is a dear, amazing, wonderful friend of mine from Iowa, came and stayed on the farm for a month. Todd, our fisherman farmer in residence in bolinas came with a bunch of cabbages from his garden-  what do you get??

sauerkraut! this process is super awesome easy! chop the cabbages into quarters taking the tough stem core out of the middle. then finely (or coarse its up to you) chop the cabbage into ribbons, shreds, or what have you, and salt! dont be afraid of the salt, you want to massage the cabbages with the salt in a bowl till they create a good liquid and become some what translucent (or at least softened and slightly "gushey")- if the cabbage still has a little bit of that crunch, keep massaging. if it doesnt get to the translucent soft liquid, add a little more salt till you do. then add what ever you want to the mix! ginger, peppers, shredded carrots, sea weed, onions, garlic, what ever is laying around and you think would taste good in your Kraut/kimchi!

a side note- red cabbage is good, and some of it we actually made like a kimchi- spicy and pretty salty. if you want good and proper Kraut, use the white/yellow cabbages- they have a better sugar content that the lactic acid loving bacteria tend to favor that exist naturally on the leaves of the cabbage.  this is what really ferments and gives you that "sauer" taste of sauerkraut. Lactic acid loving bacteria are the core of the fermentation process for kraut, and many people use Whey left over from making cheese to start batches of all kinds of fermented products that favor these bacteria. White Cabbage has it naturally in its skins and leaves, so you get that wonderful, sour, and sweet taste when you massage it into that liquid and bottle it up! the whole process eventually goes through multiple stages of wonderful little bacteria that set the stage for making an acidic final solution that prevents any of the nasty nastys that can cause botulism.

after all is said and done with the mix, put into a jar or container, and make sure all the kraut is below the surface of the liquid- we take a smaller jar and stuff it into the container so it keeps the goodies sunk below the surface. if you dont, the kraut will get moldy. if a natural scum or mold does form on the surface  ITS OK! it happens. and it wont go any further then that. just scrape it off and onward you go!

then let sit for 10 days or so. if you decided to use mason jars and put lids on them REMEMBER TO RELEASE THE PRESSURE!!!! we will tape the smaller jars into the larger jars to hold the solids below the liquids so it does not spoil, but it has room to breath around the taped up jar. you will EXPLODE your jars if you dont release the pressure when you put caps on!

when you open one up after 10 to 14 days at room temp, and try it, its ready when you want it to be. it really shouldnt sit any longer then that. transfer out the kraut/kimchi into a better jar- this is when you can cap it- SO LONG AS YOU REFRIGERATE IT.  if you keep it in a new container at room temp, closed up, it will continue its fermentation, and you run the risk of exploded jars. the process stops at or around fridge temp.

there are hundreds of recipes out there, and traditional kraut and kimchi is done in ceramic fermentation vessels that have small non-reactive stones or ceramic disks to put inside to hold down the goods away from the surface of the salty brine. some of these recipes can call for 10 days to almost 6 months or even a year. what ever you find to build off of, know there is endless process to how this can be done!

Happy Krauting!

Green house doings and the last crab dinner

Yesterday was an actual coastal foggy day here in bolinas. it broke nearly 4 weeks of hot sunny and dry weather. so we spent it in the green house planting seeds and getting the aquaponics planted with basil. hopefully they do well... the water PH is still a little high, and for the moment it is still pretty low on the Nitrite/nitrate levels that are so key for the nutrient cycle... those little craw fish just aren't producing enough waste and growing fast enough!

 the seed trays and starts were mostly perennial herbs and some culinary herbs for planting and possibly to sell as nursery stock. we also have these great seeds from Turkey that Penny had brought back- assorted cow/painted beans, 2 types of wheat, herbs, sun flowers and a 1000 year old ancient heirloom wheat.  we started onions and wheat grass as well. if all goes accordingly, we can get 4-6 seed trays started a week and plant out every couple of weeks straight up to the fall and get some sort of production out of the late start... so i hope. 

 

garden pirates Meghan, Liam, and Michelle. notice those nice new seed tables to the left Liam and i built...

Crab boil

 on another note, Todd a very talented fisherman and wood worker who built the front gate,  brought the last of the Dungeness crab harvest from his crab pots. it was a feast! we barely finished them, and James took the prize for most crab comsumed (Todd warned he has seen no other man consume crab as james does) it was a glorious feast, and even for someone as my self who is not a big crab fan, i loved every bit of them. after all as Todd and i agreed on, the ocean is sacred, and we gave thanks for their offering and the respect around the closing of the crab season. I spoke to Todd about the salmon run coming up in July and august, and he said i might be able to come along as deck hand in exchange for salmon catch... that would be amazing...

Todd showing off a crab

the crab pile.

the crab process begin

it was a crab funeral apparently....every one was in mourning.

Honey Harvest and FOXIE CUBS!

Honey! its good...

This week durring the PDC we captured a swarm as well as harvested some honey! in the late day when we culled the hive, we were processing the honey and we were silly drunk from all the honey we were eating, and covered in.. almost 3 pounds, and one of our first serious harvests from one of our 7 hives!

 this particular hive was not even a month old, and the Honey was several colours.  it also had some uncovered combs, meaning that the bees had not finished filling them and capped them off. this "uncapped" honey wont last as long, but is raw and fresh!!! the darker and lighter honey that we had was most likely the eucalyptus and the smorgasbord of flowers and plants on the farm respectively.  

PDC student Claire ready for the bees.

 The Hive that swarmed brought out some great fashion statements, as well as it being the second swarm of the year from our "kitchen hive." the kitchen hive has volunteered in a hole on the outside wall coverings of the kitchen. they are one of the strongest hives we have, and are constantly coming home with their little saddle bags filled with pollen.

Brock clad in bee protection

 and last but not least the adorable grey fox cubs for 2012.  these two buggers were causing a ruckus knocking over a bucket, and just being a bunch of misfits. they have been spotted under James' and Penny's houses. the mom has been seen more often then these two... we hope they are alright! 

grey fox cubs

OAEC and Venus Transit

main gardens we were drooling over!

 This week with the June PDC here at RDI, we got to travel up to occidental CA, in Sonoma. There we got to Visit the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center, or OAEC. Previously the Farallons Institute, it was founded by a core of people who call them selves the sowing circle,  who took the 82 acres and turned it into a permaculture, sustainable farming, water shed restoration, and all around garden paradise. complete with nurseries, guest houses, several amazing examples of earth buildings, wild lands tended, and spectacular gardens and orchards. IF you haven't heard of OAEC before, check them out. web site below as well as some words from their own website.  doing some great stuff in conjunction with the whole Northern California Permie scene.

near the residents houses, a herb and mixed perennial garden up a path

lots of cutting flowers and poppies, some beautiful plants

food production and mixed nursery beds for test plants, herbs and flowers.

From the OAEC web site-  "OAEC is a nonprofit organizing and education center and organic farm in Northern California’s Sonoma County. OAEC was founded in 1994 by a group of biologists, horticulturists, educators, activists, and artists seeking innovative and practical approaches to the pressing environmental and economic crises of our day. Much of the Center’s work addresses the challenges of creating democratic communities that are ecologically, economically and culturally sustainable in an increasingly privatized and corporatized economy and culture. OAEC's programs combine research, demonstration, education, and organizing to develop collaborative, community-based strategies for positive social change and effective environmental stewardship.





OAEC is located in western Sonoma County, 65 miles north of San Francisco, on 80 acres that encompass wildlands of meadows and mixed oak, fir and redwood forests. The Center’s bio-intensive organic gardens and orchards have been a source of inspiration and training for thousands of gardeners, farmers and landscapers for over 35 years, first as the Farallones Institute (1974-1990), then as the Center for Seven Generations (1990-1993), and since 1994 as OAEC. In a typical year, the Center receives over 3,000 visitors. Many attend one of our courses, others come to site tours or to volunteer in the garden. Bay Area social justice and environmental organizations use the OAEC facility for strategy retreats and workshops for their staff and boards. Many thousands more benefit from our organizing campaigns, public presentations, heirloom seed swaps, and consulting services." http://www.oaec.org/

more of the food and mixed gardens.

What a place! Brock Dolman was our tour guide as well as the Director of OAEC's water institute www.oaecwater.org
Brock has been the Co- instructor with Penny here at RDI for the June PDC. Big thanks to him and all of OAEC for showing us around, and being so awesome.

on a Final note, yesterday we all witnessed the Venus transit across the sun... a very surreal site of a small dot drifting across the sun... just another planet. thanks mayans for knowing what you did... what a year.  

in the year 2023

It seems that we think about the future at every point of our lives.

The moment we start talking about climate change, our economy, even a life crisis, we harp on the inevitable but mostly unpredicted future of tomorrow. We think about "the saving of the planet," and how we need to act now for that future, the future for a living planet, and to make sure we protect those rain forests "for our children's, children's, children's, children".

too much of this would burn me out, and growing up with a lot of it, has.

i mentioned before about not being an eco warrior, and how i might have mentioned, a little harshly, against the general liking of the environmental movement.

For the past 25 years of my life, and almost another 20 before that, we were becoming self aware of our environment and what kind of effect/affect modern, industrialized civilization, has had on both us and the planet.

in less then half a century, our planet became less a far off world, and all at once a very small home to a creature with very big aspirations (Humans).

our oceans started to feel the strain of too much harvest, forests turn to pasture::small towns::paved communities::and cities. our air quality and environmental quality

have quickly depleted. the resources that have fed all of this, are doing the same.

so we know all this. its very sad. in fact, its entirely the best of dooms day any literature, film (even radio show) has yet had to offer.

the small forces (and sometimes very large organizations) working to save it, i think, tend to go about it all wrong: we have tried to address this horrible out look on the future with an approach, business like, on all its levels. we have tried to use the same method of organization and capital that has caused the exact dooms day scenario we are looking at.

when we try and predict and draw an outline to this dooms day-

10 years 5 degrees warmer? 20 years there is not enough food? peak oil now, or in 50 years?

we forget about the exact meaning of "now." the most important part of all this, is living in the now, and starting on a path to living as a being. as being one. as being self reliable. as being part of other beings. community, human power, and the ability to come together and figure it out piece by piece.

build water tanks to collect water.

grow food in any space possible.

share a car, tools, stories, skills, even a fork and knife.

DIY: classes, books, and volunteering.

build a chicken coop and rescue birds from industries.

forage for food, and etc.

so live now. by approaching everything you need as being, you can tackle even the biggest problems you think is entirely out of your control.

think of the roots, and imagine the branches in which they lead-

everything starts with you.

you are the sole consumer/creator of [your] life.

the greatest resource we have of all: our bodies, our minds, and most of all our hands.

everything after that does not matter, because it all comes back to us. we.

if its change we need and want, then the roots will have to be unbound and allowed to grow into the proper space. without the room to grow and change, we will wither away within our own soil, with no room to be human. it seems to me we need a good transplant, and something better then a concrete pot....

Bolinas and the PDC

As of Friday, i will be up in Bolinas CA for a two week permaculture intensive, to be certified as a permaculturalist.

what is permaculture?

In the mid 1970's Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, in response to the horrid destruction of top soil due to industrialized agriculture and the poisoning of biodiversity, water and land in Australia-

had coined from earlier definitions of permanent agriculture or forest culture at the turn of the 1900s, "permanent culture" or permaculture, defining both land and people in the practice of a more permanent sustainability of resources and biome.

at right, ( a quick and poor drawing)is just a quick visual of the 3 key principals of permaculture:

earth care-

this is recognizing that earth is first. we are a part of it, not apart from it, and it takes input of energy just as much as we take from it.. in fact we should be putting more energy back into it.

people care-

we live with each other, so that we live within our means and the earth's means. we prioritize earth care so that it becomes own by default. care of our environment for us, not for the sake of saving the earth; we seem to forget that this planet lived on quite nicely without us for millennia.

we are only destroying it for our selves, and no one else. that is a BIG DEAL PEOPLE! (i do not consider my self some eco warrior- go hug a tree, i couldn't care less- people need to realize that there will be plenty of life long after we go extinct... it is entirely in our control whether we live on and have a human friendly planet. remember the T-rex and friends lived in a much hotter, more CO2 rich atmosphere/planet then we did- they went extinct because that atmosphere lost its heat that sustained their cold blooded life style, and it happened over millions of years. im sure if they could have helped it, they would have. this is just one example of a cycle that our planet naturally is a part of, and we have altered our environment on every level since our brains have allowed us to. why our smart and very self conscience brains have not recognized the inevitable finite nature of resources is going to be the punch line of our tool using, and amazing evolution.)

fair share-

by recognizing the limits of resources and consumption, and maximizing their outputs, we can put more back into those resources and energies then we take out of both the earth and for our selves.

these three principles are key, all cycling back into one another, and creating a balance and organization that allows the abundance that is needed for all three- earth, human, and fair share.

if we do not share or work together within this cycle, then we create a isolated, closed system.

imagine a fish tank: we want to keep water and oxygen flowing through the filter and pump, populate it with some plants, invertebrates, and add only a few larger fish that can add to that cycle. every once and a while we must tend to it, clean it, and make sure everything has what it needs and is kept in balance.

permaculture is our solution to our own fish tank (earth) and if we don't start treating it as such, we will all be floating belly up like that gold fish we once had long and ago. might as well flush us down the toilet....