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How Easy for Nature; How Difficult for Humans . . .

I’m struck by the ease with which Nature moves, mysterious and majestic, through the seasons; now, already in February, she begins to burst underground seeds into roots balancing silently surging stalks upwards, seeking the sun through very thick leaf mulch . . . 

Or even, not so thick . . .

I think the above are all daffodils. Then there are the welcome little snow drops, which flowered at least a week ago.

The very first green we saw was around the trunk of this tree, about a month ago. What is it?

Okay, now switch to us humans. We are in the beginnings of planting for the the upcoming season. To get ready, we spent five or six work parties of two hours each and 5-6 people each time, preparing the greenhouse — washing walls, shelves, containers, organizing and re-organizing all sorts of stuff; plus cleaning, sharpening, oiling tools. And more! On and on! Then, mixing materials for the soil we use in starting seeds, getting that soil moist enough (but not too sodden!) to agree to be compacted into tiny soil blocks . . .

Here’s Adam, learning the ropes on how to get the pesky soil blocks to work. 

Meanwhile, Joseph is getting itsy bitsy seeds (not sure what kind) . . .

to agree to be placed into tiny soil blocks by wetting the end of a pointed stick to lure one seed at a time to stick to the stick . . .

I went to check on our progress as of this morning. The seedlings were planted Tuesday. This is five days later. Rather than being in the greenhouse, they are in the living room of the house Marita and Camden live in, for now. (That way we don’t have to start a fire in the greenhouse during cold nights.)

Here’s what’s sprouting today. Kale.

 

Some of the seedlings are beginning to poke their roots through the bottoms of their blocks, so Marita and I will put their tiny blocks inside larger blocks this evening.

Meanwhile, Nature just does what she does effortlessly. 

There’s likely a way to survive on perennial plants alone. We humans just haven’t figured it out yet. Or: we don’t remember. We don’t re-member. We haven’t put ourselves back together with Nature, yet.

Meanwhile, we toil and labor, at something we love.

I think it no accident that the words “soil” and “soul” are similar.

February begins: work party still organizing; community dinner warm and excited; new learning — biodynamics!

February begins, and we’re still embroiled in clean-up work parties. Thought we’d be done by now, but we’ve moved from organizing to micro-organizing, to still deeper micro-organizing. Or at least that’s the plan. Our start date for seedlings in February 14, Valentine’s Day! Between then and now, we need to both haul off stuff to ReStore and wherever special things like scrap metal go, plus regular dump (not much of that), plus to a composting place for the continually dropping branches and other stuff from our constantly renewing land!  Will borrow neighbor Dave’s truck. This coming Tuesday?

Unfortunately, so many of us were on hand for yesterday’s workparty that the greenhouse became crowded. And there were times when one or two would be standing around, wondering what next? Luckily, I was on the lookout for this, and would direct the person to “Please take this to the basement where the paints are” or, “Please take the bicycle out of the greenhouse while we’re working.” Or: “Let’s consult on what should go in the lockable cabinet in the inner room.” On and on.

Good humor was maintained by all as we kept weaving around each other on our various tasks. One major task: to test all the tools that use electricity. Do they have batteries? Are they charged. In other words, do they work, or can we get them to work?

You’d think that this would be yearly task, but it has not been. So many extra drills (I mentioned this in a recent post), and it’s all because each time somebody went and bought a new one (and charged it to the GAPV), because either they couldn’t find one (which is why we’re finally getting more organized), or whatever they found, they couldn’t get it to work!

So we (especially Marita, Camden, and Ben) tested everything, sent off tools that need some kind of work to ReStore, labeled those that now do work — and besides, we were able to gift Ben one of our extra drills. 

Our bi-weekly dinners are a great idea. We really look forward to our gatherings, now that they are no longer once weekly. 16 of us this time, and the atmosphere both warm and excited.

Thanks to Joseph, who used to live at a farm upstate with an old woman who used Julia Thun’s Almanac as her gardening bible, he ordered the one for 2023, North American edition, to help guide us in the gardens this year. (If you recall, we used to have an official garden manager, a resident who lived and breathed growing food. Now we don’t. We’ve all picked up a lot of permacultural ideas over the years; but we’ve decided to accelerate our own growth via biodynamics.

Closer . . .

Keep in mind that I take photos exactly once on each occasion, work parties and community dinners. None of them “composed,” and some blurry, due to both quick movements and my hand tremor; the entire photo session might last 30 seconds .   .

Just want to give the flavor. 

 

Lots still going on . . . AND ON! (Are the props the play?)

See last Sunday’s post for the reference.

And, it’s still winter . . . and Joseph and Marita, according to their calculations, say we won’t need to start any seeds until February 12.

Okay. So yesterday was another two-hour work party. What to accomplish? “How about organizing all the non-garden tools,” I text in early AM to the others, “both those in the basement and those in the workshop area in the greenhouse?” To which Marita added a brilliant suggestion: “And let’s consolidate them. Bring all the tools in the basement to the greenhouse.” Okay! So that’s what we did, plus consolidating stuff that has to do with painting in the basement. 

I’ve long been a fan of the old adage, “The props are not the play.”

But you know, sometimes it seems like the props ARE the play.

Or, what I think is a better rendition of the same, because given greater context:

What we’re doing here on Earth is moving stuff around.” To this, I add, “and it’s always an excuse for relationship.” 

And you know what? A few work parties ago, Neng Yao (I think I’ve spelled her name wrong earlier, must correct) and Ben started to join us; and yesterday, another new person arrived for the first time, says he’s a friend of Joseph (who was still asleep! will contribute his energy later), and wanted to plunge right in! Okay! So three new people joining our work parties in ten days! That’s NEVER happened before. 

Here are two pics.

In the first, Nikolas (Marita’s 14 year old son, here most weekends), Ben, and the brand newcomer, Dave, in the basement, sorting paint stuff.

Each of them (and me, too) was also making frequent trips to the greenhouse with tool stuff, handing it over to Marita, Neng Yao, and Camden.

At one point, Marita came down into the basement, begging us to stop sending stuff, that the table for receiving and organizing tools from the basement was already overloaded. We reassured her that we were just about done, so she doesn’t have to worry. 

After two hours, the much simpler job in the basement is now done.

But the greenhouse tool organization is going to take at least one more work party.

Question: How many drills do we have?

(I count five, not all of them in this photo.)

WHY?

Well, I’ve lived here for 20 years, and ever since 2005, others have also lived here, in this house or the other two, circulating through, at least 46 so far, often bringing their own tools, and then, when they move out, either gifting them to us, leaving them for later, or forgetting to take them. But, despite the proliferation, we often can’t find what we’re looking for! And so, go buy a new one. YUCK!

(Another example: soil thermometers. I count five.) 

This kind of organization is long overdue! 

 

 

Late November 2022: YES! . . . DARN! . . .

Mid-November this year was similar to other years . . . grateful for greens still growing in the main garden despite below freezing overnight temps. This haul, on November 17, which I fried up with onions and dusted with nutritional yeast for that evening’s weekly Community Dinner, included arugula, kale, and collards, all underneath the radishes.

But then, over the past three days, the Garden Towers on the back porch at the Overhill House stopped producing salad greens. Today, the scene out there is positively pathetic. Time to defrock the GTs and feed the remains to the chickens.

Just checked the main garden. The arugula and collards are past saving, radishes are iffy, but both both curly kale and siberian kale are flourishing. 

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ONE AND ALL!