I've been having a blast working at Teleion Holon. Did a lot of weed whacking around the big field. Got trained in hay mowing with the tractor and attachments. We finished the remodeling of the kitchen where a wall and staircase were taken out, and moved all our supplies in. Demolition was quickly started in the other kitchen and is now at the state of huge open space... time for remodeling. I'm really enjoying the experience of transforming this space, its giving me a much better understanding and appreciation for this work. I think I'd like to work with a remodeling team sometime.
For a week I was helping build a treehouse for one of the wwoofers to live in, out on the edge of the field. Oliver helped us bolt up the main beams. Whitney and I put in all the rafters and trim floor boards so they butt up nicely. The stiarcase that was removed from the kitchen is being used on the treehouse. There is now a solid platform ready for a tin roof and some screened walls. Working on this has made me a bit more confident of my carpentry skills. I felt like I was bringing some guidance to the project. Definitely something I'd like to practice more often.
I went to my first music festival this past weekend. Grey Fox Bluegrass Fest was a blast! I went with a friend on the farm as volunteer staff. We were fed great food from 6am to 8pm and had stage front VIP seating. I was on the trash and recycling crew, which involved a 4-hour shift each day driving around in a golf cart grabbing bags of trash and collecting recycling. It was so easy, we'd work for 40 minutes, chill for 40 minutes, Work another 40, chill some more, do another pass and it was done. The music was great, though I can only remember a handful of band names, there were some particularly good ones. Gained a great appreciation for bluegrass artists, very real people, most of these folks were just touring around in a van, scrapin by, making great music. Lots of good jams at camps... fiddles, banjos, washboards, mandolins just popping out from everywhere and tuning in. Wishing I had learned some stuff on guitar, but I felt too amateur to bring it out much.
I stuck around for cleanup on Monday and got 50 bucks for 6 hours of picking up trash. It was interesting to see the same field that was host to so much activity returning to its more natural state, just porto-johns and water trucks scattered about in an orderly fashion. There was a lot of trash, so many camp chairs and tents were tossed, I guess they break easily, but fuck its a lot of waste, Definitely volunteering at grey fox next year!
Got a ride back to Teleion the next morning with a blacksmith & musician who lives near Brattleboro. Cool guy, talked a lot about blacksmithing since its something I;m interested in learning about. He's part of a grateful dead cover band called Terrapin Island. I rested a bit at the farm, spent some time on the kitchen demolition/remodeling project, and went to sleep early. Tomorrow would be an adventure.
I got up at 8am with the plan of taking the bus to Middlebury to finish the landscaping job with Roberta. Oliver needed some stuff picked up from Rutland which is where the buses would connect. Before leaving I looked up the bus schedule again to find out where in Rutland the bus stop was, then noticed that the mid-day service only ran on Tuesdays and Fridays. This was definitely a Wednesday... So I figured it would be just as quick to hitch and would provide some fun and adventure. After helping load the industrial sink into the minivan, I was dropped off near a traffic light on Rte 7. With a sign saying "Going to Middlebury", I waited a while, and eventually walked, I walked about 3 miles or more. It started to rain a bit and moments later I had a ride. A nice vietnam vet, we talked a good deal about cannabis legalization, its likelihood and legitimacy. When dropping me off at a gas station about 11 miles from Middlebury, he asked if I had any money. Earlier while walking, I had stopped to buy a peach and after searching frantically through my bag, realized I had left my wallet on my bed! He was kind enough to give me $10 and told me to go get some lunch. I thanked and bid him farewell. In the gas station I got a muffin and Clif bar for later. Back on the road, I waited there for another 10 minutes before starting to walk again. I found a nice patch of woods and took a break in its sanctuary, wandering around and eating some blackberries. A little further up the road, a student of Middlebury College picked me up and took me right into downtown. I hung out by the waterfall and called some friends. After some time I walked to the co-op for a sandwich and laid out on the grass reading. Eventually Roberta called saying she was near, sure enough, 10 minutes later we were heading back to the job. Worked about an hour in the evening and dosed off at 11.
Up at 7, coffee'd up and ate that clif bar. Worked most of the day on a sunken timber box. Hard to explain, but basically dug trenches, lined with sure-pack gravel, connected 6x6's and buried them. The point of the project was to hold in place the railroad ties that edged the house-side garden and create a base for rain barrels. The job took much longer than expected and towards the afternoon it was suggested that we go to Bread & Puppet in Glover, VT to visit Roberta's friend Kate and go swimming, there was supposed to be a place to crash there. I went along with it, and we finally left at 10. I realised that the school my best friend Kayla is going to for the summer is on the way and very close to Bread & Puppet. So I called her up and we made plans to hang out for the weekend. We got a little lost around Craftsbury and took a few dirt roads, finally making it to Bread & Puppet at 2 am. There was only one couch available and no one awake. So I left the couch to Roberta and I slept on the grass with a blanket under the stars. I was surprisingly comfortable and warm, until it started to drizzle at the edge of dawn. I wandered in and slept on the ballroom floor until just after breakfast.
I woke up to the morning meeting bell. Munching some leftover oatmeal and banana mush, I watched the meeting take place. The events of the day were discussed and everyone finished with a harmony. I was recruited to help move some mattresses and pick raspberries. Afterwards, I wandered around a garden and edge of some woods for a bit. Went on a little tour of the area, saw the circus field, pine forest and camping. After the tour, I watched a rehearsal skit of vegetable dances. Helped make some banner poles with tree limbs and heavy gauge wire. Tried to contact Kayla, but couldn't connect to her dorm. Dinner was great and ended with a birthday cake, pie and ice cream, one of the interns had turned 20. After dinner, I finally got ahold of Kayla. She was going to come with someone to pick me up soon. A show was starting in the Papermache Cathedral & Dirt Floor Theater I didn't want to miss. What a performance... words can't describe, nor were they used much. Symbolic dances and performance left plenty of room for interpretation and psychological impression. After the main performance, a woman acted out a play called '7 Jewish Children' to help set the tone for the following talk, 'Palestine for Beginners'. It was a very fair and historically sensical explanation of the situation and a suggestion for equal rights. I had been checking the parking lot for signs of Kayla after the first performance, but she never showed, she had gotten lost and stuck in a muddy road thanks to google maps. I hung out on the porch with some people, jamming, laughing, enjoying the evening.
This Saturday was Glover Day for the town of Glover, Vermont. Almost everyone at Bread and Puppet went to town for a bike race and parade leaving the place very still and quiet. I took this opportunity to visit the garden, meditate in a field and wander around in the woods. The place was busy again by noon as everyone was back for lunch. I got ahold of Kayla and she arranged a ride for me in the afternoon. It was time for a circus rehearsal, so I followed everyone out to the 'amphitheater' to watch people act as though they were on stilts, without any, or holding puppets, but no puppets, just getting the order and enthusiasm down. About half way through, Kayla and her friends show up with no time to stick around, so I go with them to pick up my stuff and leave. We stop in town at Parker Pies, a laid back pizza place with a good brew selection. Some of their friends are hanging out talking with one of the owners. Cool guy, starting a farm called NEK Homegrown, he shows us his trailer farmstand that he built from his own milled boards and blacksmithing. We eat pizza, share a beer and head out. After an eventful and almost unfortunate ride down some backroads, we arrive at Sterling College. Oh god, more pizza... roommates are making fresh pizza, one after another after another. I get to hang out with Kayla and catch up through the evening, eventually passing out.
Sunday morning was marked by great brunch. I went to the barn yard with Kayla for morning chores and we wound up sitting in the goat pasture watching them run around and eat grass. We walked around the campus and saw many gardens, a blacksmith shop, dining hall, dorms and woods. After dinner there was music in the park that we watched for a little while, then headed to a hill to watch the sun set. The night was marked by reading and early sleep.
Woke up around 7 and ate a waffle while looking at a Vermont road atlas to figure out the best route to hitch back to Manchester. One of Kayla's roommates gave me a ride out of town to a crossroad. About 5 minutes later I had a ride with a brother building a homestead for his family, milling trees to finish building their house, planting tons of blueberries and a well rounded garden. He took me out of his way to the next town on my way and got me a cup of coffee at the local hip cafe. Bid good luck and parted ways. I noticed a 'free wifi' sign and pulled out my laptop to lookup some phone numbers, maybe get someone to meet me in Rutland. I couldn't get through to any of the numbers I'd looked up, only weird error recordings. So I was on my own the whole way home, out to the road and waste no time. I've found I really prefer walking the edge of the road with my sign instead of standing in one place. The experience is much more pleasant and I think it helps get rides. I got a ride with one awesome fellow all the way through to the south edge of Burlington. His stop was right on Rt 7, so I flew my sign and moments later a festie hitching kid comes running up and shows me to his mom's car. They were heading back to New York from a court date. The Magic Hat brewery was on the way out of Burlington so we stopped for free samples. Definitely my favourite selection in Vermont, #9 is a popular and delicious "Not Quite Pale" Ale. I picked up some maps at the tourist info shelf and we took off. I was dropped off at the junction with Rt 20 into NY. There I waited a good while at 3 places around the traffic light, then wandered off to sit on a rock and watch the cars pass for a bit. Hydrated and started walking, and walking, about a mile. Stopped to eat a banana and granola bar, then just after finishing and picking my stuff up a car pulled over. He could only take me to the next traffic junction, but that sounded great right then. At that point, I walked a bit and got a ride with a college kid going into Middlebury to meet some friends at the gas station I was familiar with from working in that town. I waited for a bit at that corner while some kids across the road were throwing their thumbs on the road. I felt weird just standing there, so I walked through town. Its good that I had gotten familiar with the roads there because Rt 7 takes some odd turns through the town centre. If I'd had some money I would have stopped at the co-op for a sandwich, but I kept walking. Past the pharmacy to the edge of the town center. A trucker pulled over for me at a stop light and let me in. Interesting guy from New Hampshire with a pit bull pup. We talked all the way to Rutland where he was getting onto a road towards Albany, NY. After waiting on the South side of the junction for a few minutes, a man who worked for child protective services and heading home from Burlington stopped to give me a ride. He was going so close to Manchester that he took me all the way to the house. Much thanks and blessing for getting me home quickly and easily. Tired and energized from the day, I left my stuff in the cider house and took a ride with John to pick up a CD at the book store. The state of consciousness I am in after a hitchhiking experience is hard to explain. Its like when I get where I'm going, I want to keep going, I want to meet another friendly driver and see some new place. Its a state of excitement and adventure, filling in the blank with the realm of possibilities. But here I am, back at Teleion Holon Community Farm. A place I love and live, an adventure of its own, a transient farming community with so many projects it sometimes resembles a cloud of thunder. Always growing and changing, building better people in everyone it touches. Now back to work, what a transition!
I found it somewhat difficult to transition back into the work schedule. I felt like a slacker Tuesday, tending towards day dreaming and wandering. Got back into the swing though. I had been feeling for a little while that I needed some time alone to just breathe, and think, to meditate on what I was doing and where I was going. It had been suggested earlier in the Summer that I go to Oliver's friend Theo's farm for a while to help in the fields and shape it for future wwoofers. I decided Theo's would be a good place to get away from the busy atmosphere and spend some time meditating.
I worked the rest of the week at Teleion and the following Tuesday after lunch moved to Theo's farm. I had a room and bathroom of my own and was considering fixing up and moving into a treehouse his brother built. The first day was quiet with a couple hours working in the garden near dusk. One goal while I was there was to tame the weeds in the potato field, an acre with 10 rows of potatoes, and all the paths were belly-high with weeds. Anyhow, had some dinner and found out there'd be another wwoofer coming tomorrow. Practiced yoga with Theo, then passed out.
Starting time is whenever you get going at Theo's, sometimes its 11:30 before we start doing anything productive. After trying to get the weed whacker running several times and messing with the gas/oil mixture, it was decided it needed to go to the shop. Theo's brother Andrew hooked me up with his disc blade whacker which looks pretty gnarly and works well on tough woody stems. Took to the field with a fury and knocked out 2 paths by the time our new wwoofer got to the farm, finished the field over the next week. Jessie showed up saying "Theo, if my mom saw this place she'd be lecturing you on weeding!" ... Theo gave us a lesson on pollinating corn and left us to stomp down tall weeds in the corn patch. Afterward I gave her a tour of the garden and wound up picking blackberries. Theo got us together to take the weed whacker to the shop and spend some time at the community garden where we weeded turnips and cleared beds. Jessie and I made a dinner of mashed turnips and steamed turnip greens. A yoga session before bed was intense, feeling good at the time, but leaving us sore the next day.
The two weeks I spent at Theo's kind of run together. A much shorter work day with a lot of self initiation. Potatoes weeded, bunches of blackberries picked, Thursday markets harvested for and setup, firewood chopped and stacked, swimming holes enjoyed, lots of guitar and ukulele sessions, and nights spent talking and bonding. I've grown a very close relationship with Jessie, there is no explaining, things are just great. I've decided to stay in Vermont into the winter and head to Florida around January.
Well, after a while of trying to figure out where Theo's place was going, ideas of a hostel, event space and organic farm faded in uncertainty and lack of action. Jessie and I moved over to Teleion just when the group of 8 wwoofers I had been with dissolved to 2. The next day, one had to leave for a few days for personal business, then Jessie went to her parents' house in Jersey to take care of some stuff. On Sunday, the last wwoofer left for a few days, just as a couple new woofers, one who'd been here last summer arrived. I was very glad to not have the whole farm resting on my shoulders, still worked doubly hard to get extra stuff done and by the time Jessie got back, both the wwoofers who'd left were coming back. Jessie and I were going to the new england Rainbow gathering for the weekend.
We got our camping gear together and grabbed a box of produce to bring to the NERF kitchen at the gathering. There was an excess amount of sliced bread and loaves at the farm from chicken scrap collection, so Jessie and I made french toast for everyone before leaving. Out on the road just before 11, we arrived in the White Mountains National Forest around 2 and found the road the gathering was near. Hiked in and found a nice camping spot near NERF kitchen, talked to the folks in the kitchen about borrowing a cart and some help to get the produce donation up the side of the mountain. Mission accomplished and all set up. Drum circle that night was fun, I had brought a djembe from the farm. It rained that night and into the morning, a hurricane passed by the atlantic coast sending us its wet and windy edge. Our tent and stuff stayed totally dry thanks to a good tarp job by Jessie. Not everyone else was as fortunate. People dried off with their stuff around the kitchen's bliss fire. It was a slow and dreary day with a somewhat hectic council being the most interesting part. We held council to talk about a location for the annual big gathering in July, since it had been decided in New Mexico this year that new england would be the region to gather in. Another drum circle that night and an early turn in. Very low on energy from all the hard work I've been committed to. Sunday was the day to pack out, the gathering was over and there was enough people to clean up. After getting out stuff in bags and ready to go, we were able to recruit a few folks whop were walking down the mountain anyway to help carry some stuff with us, since we were taking back some of the produce that wasn't used. Goodbyes and contacts swapped, leaving the woods in the afternoon. We called up some folks we met who have a farm not far into Vermont. Wound up at Lettuce B Farm an hour later. A nice place with a short growing season, several free range chickens hanging out and some ducks. Great dinner and comfy warm bedroom.
We walked around and helped weed asparagus beds the next day. Jumped on the trampoline with their son, Ari. Very relaxing day hanging out on the farm. Great group meals cooked the whole time. A hot shower was very appreciated. Their house was a great example of passive solar heat, it stayed very warm as soon as the sun moved into range, all day and night. That night was the first frost of the year, WOW! The next morning we made breakfast and got our stuff together, figured out a route, took a hike through the woods with Ari and the 2 wwoofers there, had lunch, and got on the road. We took a more scenic route through Vermont which was a bit slower, but took the same amount of time to get back to the farm.
Now I'm back at the farm and waiting for whatever comes next. Life is pretty exciting and its nice to have a cool down time to figure out what to focus on. Jessie is a great person to have in my life and I'm happier than ever.
I finally updated my blog after about 2 months. No telling when I'll do this again, but for now... Good luck!
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Work on the Move
The landscaping job near Middlebury took longer than expected, and there's still more to finish up. Over the next week, here's some of what I worked on...
There was a lot of weeding in the vegetable garden, a hoe made that much easier. We took a pickup truck to the other side of town to the Moo Compost facility and had the bed of the truck filled to the top for only $19. Top quality shit! I used the weed wacker to clear some nice curved paths to the fruit trees, a large circle under the apple, and cleared the garden paths (damn quack grass!). "Skirted" a peach tree, which involves removing the grass and ground covering with a spading fork as to not damage the tree's roots. Learned a bit about pruning and training fruit trees. Planted lettuce and arugula to take the place of the spinach when it bolts, tomatos, dill. Planted asparagus starts in the 7-year-old asparagus bed. Repaired the raised bed the asparagus is in. Coated some boards with boiled linseed oil (a very sticky job!) which will be stacked on top of the rail road ties holding in the garden on the side of the house, and ultimately the foundation. Whoever built the house didn't think much about the Vermont climate's effects on slab foundations, the earth had erroded out from the edge on 2 sides of the house. So I spent quite a while packing gravel and stone dust in along one wall to shore it up and create something more permanently stable. Before that work was started though, we very carefully moved several ornamentals that were close to the house. The land behind the house was sloping down quite a bit, so to prevent further erosion we worked on creating an organic retaining wall. Tree trimmings and other sticks laying around were weaved together against some trees to create a nice knit wall. We then built up the higher side of this wall with the plethora of grass clippings, branches, sod and organic debris we created, gave it compost starter and packed it down into a nice firm path. I started the foundation work on the rear side of the house, but didn't get far.
On Tuesday morning, the 23rd, Roberta and I left to head to Chelsae, VT to see her mechanic for an inspection sticker on her new car. She had been pulled over on Rt 7 on the way to Middlebury and warned that she'd be fined if she didn't get it soon. The drive to Chelsae was beautiful, we stopped to watch a moose with her baby grazing on the side of the road in a forest. Spent most of the afternoon waxing boots, something my pair needed badly. Her meachanic friend, Anton was also a silversmith and we spent a little while in the silver shop looking at his collection of tools, materials and projects. I was invited back anytime to help and learn about mechanics and silversmithing, two areas I'd like to have some skill in. Before we knew it, the time was almost 9. We headed out to catch as much of the trip to Teleion in the light as possible. So many rolling green mountains... Beyond the mountains, More mountains! I now understand why Vermont is known as "The Green Mountain State", so much beauty and life! Got back to the farm at 10:30 or so to a singalong jam session in the kitchen, 2 new wwoofers had arrived at the farm the day before and were joining in. It was Mike and Sara Rose's last night on the farm, they were leaving in the morning for NC to work a month, and come back to Teleion in early August. I played djembe for a while and when the jam wound down around 12-something, sat in the courtyard talking with friends for a bit before bed.
In the morning, we got a late start on work. I went to the field across the street from Teleion with one of the new wwoofers, Julia, to weed the crops and rid the field of the dreaded Galinsoga. Came back in for lunch feeling quite accomplished... Can't quite recall the afternoon's events, but I do remember making vegan sushi rolls that night with Whitney, the other new wwoofer. They were delicious and plentiful, I don't know why we don't eat sushi more often around here!
The next several days all kind of run together. Lots of fun times with everyone in the fields harvesting, planting, weeding, gathering garlic scapes. My chores this week were egg collection and "tucking in the chickens." Good food and laughs. We were putting the thought of moving out of the Teleion house as far out of our minds as we could without forgetting.
Friday morning the house keepers arrived to make Teleion clean and nice for the folks who would be renting it for the next 2 weeks. It had been decided earlier on that it was time to move the family and farm crew permanently to "The Big White" house where Oliver had grown up and his parents were still living. Us wwoofers quickly gathered our things and stripped our beds, loading our belongings into the big box van and getting on with the day's work, which was harvesting, washing and setting up for the CSA pickup. I cleaned out the chicken coop that hadn't been cleaned in quite a while, there was a thick layer of nastiness to remove and I wish I had worn a mask. Bonnie and two of her friends made shabbat dinner in the Teleion kitchen and brought it over the the big white house. I spent a bit of time before dinner cleaning and arranging things in "The Apple Shed" which would be the men's dorm and would later be renamed to "The Cider House." A cozy 2 story shed building that was originally built for keeping apples over winter, it has since been fitted with a bathroom, kitchen, wood burning stove, water heater and spiral staircase. Shabbat was a very large gathering that night, somewhere around 20 people attended, maybe more. Some music after dinner and late to bed.
Saturday was a lot of wandering around and talking on the phone with friends and family. I still collected eggs and wound up laying hay down in the coop I had cleaned, and some around the soggier spots of the pen. Watered in the green house and pruned the young grape vines to help them climb the arbor and produce some nice fruits. Went for a drive down one of the roads near Teleion to see where it went. Now that we were living at a different location from the chickens, greenhouse and commercial kitchen, there would be a lot of driving. I dealt with a piercing headache centralised above my right ear most of the day, and it persisted for the next day and a half.
We spent the next several days getting used to the new quarters, moving stuff in and around, cleaning, making space and renovating the "keepers apartment" which would be the women's dorm and the new, temporary, kitchen. Rain and thunderstorms persisted all week, every day, making certain jobs outside difficult or impossible and the work inside even more appreciated. I worked with Oliver on the kitchen the first day, taking out a wall and removing a staircase to make the space larger and more functional. I removed a lot of tiles on the walls where a wood burning stove sat. Oliver did most of the patching and renovation work. Cleaning and painting the apartment upstairs was the big project that took up most of my time until Thursday afternoon when we finally declared it done! Three new wwoofers showed up Wednesday afternoon, Alex, Loddy and Inbal. Injected into the fading confusion of the move, they helped to get things ready in the apartment and keep things productive in the fields and kitchen. We were invited to Oliver's father's Inn for dinner, The Wilburton Inn, as a thank you for the work on his home. We were hoping for fireworks in the park that had been planned for that evening, but the weather decided to get wet and rain yet again.
Its 11:34PM and I finally brought this blog up to date. Yay! I picked up a copy of Tom Robins' novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues the other day and am already entranced into its story. I love Tom Robins' writing style and topics he brings up all through his stories. It was a tough decision for me to put that book down and finish this posting up, but here it is.
I decided I was having too good of a time in Vermont and liked the Teleion Holon farm too much to up and leave for the Rainbow Family gathering in New Mexico as planned. I think I'll be staying here until sometime in August. Perhaps I'll make it to the SpiritFire gathering on the Mountaintop at the Abode. Or a regional Rainbow... Who knows. I'm here now, and that's where I should be.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but its arrav shabbat and I plan on making challah. Everything else will have to fit around that plan. I think I volunteered to help make sesame crackers tomorrow morning too. Ah, good times at Teleion, I'm glad I didn't wind up working in Middlbury this week as was planned, weather made that an unpractical endeavor.
Welp, 'till next time folks...
Smiles and hugs. :-)
There was a lot of weeding in the vegetable garden, a hoe made that much easier. We took a pickup truck to the other side of town to the Moo Compost facility and had the bed of the truck filled to the top for only $19. Top quality shit! I used the weed wacker to clear some nice curved paths to the fruit trees, a large circle under the apple, and cleared the garden paths (damn quack grass!). "Skirted" a peach tree, which involves removing the grass and ground covering with a spading fork as to not damage the tree's roots. Learned a bit about pruning and training fruit trees. Planted lettuce and arugula to take the place of the spinach when it bolts, tomatos, dill. Planted asparagus starts in the 7-year-old asparagus bed. Repaired the raised bed the asparagus is in. Coated some boards with boiled linseed oil (a very sticky job!) which will be stacked on top of the rail road ties holding in the garden on the side of the house, and ultimately the foundation. Whoever built the house didn't think much about the Vermont climate's effects on slab foundations, the earth had erroded out from the edge on 2 sides of the house. So I spent quite a while packing gravel and stone dust in along one wall to shore it up and create something more permanently stable. Before that work was started though, we very carefully moved several ornamentals that were close to the house. The land behind the house was sloping down quite a bit, so to prevent further erosion we worked on creating an organic retaining wall. Tree trimmings and other sticks laying around were weaved together against some trees to create a nice knit wall. We then built up the higher side of this wall with the plethora of grass clippings, branches, sod and organic debris we created, gave it compost starter and packed it down into a nice firm path. I started the foundation work on the rear side of the house, but didn't get far.
On Tuesday morning, the 23rd, Roberta and I left to head to Chelsae, VT to see her mechanic for an inspection sticker on her new car. She had been pulled over on Rt 7 on the way to Middlebury and warned that she'd be fined if she didn't get it soon. The drive to Chelsae was beautiful, we stopped to watch a moose with her baby grazing on the side of the road in a forest. Spent most of the afternoon waxing boots, something my pair needed badly. Her meachanic friend, Anton was also a silversmith and we spent a little while in the silver shop looking at his collection of tools, materials and projects. I was invited back anytime to help and learn about mechanics and silversmithing, two areas I'd like to have some skill in. Before we knew it, the time was almost 9. We headed out to catch as much of the trip to Teleion in the light as possible. So many rolling green mountains... Beyond the mountains, More mountains! I now understand why Vermont is known as "The Green Mountain State", so much beauty and life! Got back to the farm at 10:30 or so to a singalong jam session in the kitchen, 2 new wwoofers had arrived at the farm the day before and were joining in. It was Mike and Sara Rose's last night on the farm, they were leaving in the morning for NC to work a month, and come back to Teleion in early August. I played djembe for a while and when the jam wound down around 12-something, sat in the courtyard talking with friends for a bit before bed.
In the morning, we got a late start on work. I went to the field across the street from Teleion with one of the new wwoofers, Julia, to weed the crops and rid the field of the dreaded Galinsoga. Came back in for lunch feeling quite accomplished... Can't quite recall the afternoon's events, but I do remember making vegan sushi rolls that night with Whitney, the other new wwoofer. They were delicious and plentiful, I don't know why we don't eat sushi more often around here!
The next several days all kind of run together. Lots of fun times with everyone in the fields harvesting, planting, weeding, gathering garlic scapes. My chores this week were egg collection and "tucking in the chickens." Good food and laughs. We were putting the thought of moving out of the Teleion house as far out of our minds as we could without forgetting.
Friday morning the house keepers arrived to make Teleion clean and nice for the folks who would be renting it for the next 2 weeks. It had been decided earlier on that it was time to move the family and farm crew permanently to "The Big White" house where Oliver had grown up and his parents were still living. Us wwoofers quickly gathered our things and stripped our beds, loading our belongings into the big box van and getting on with the day's work, which was harvesting, washing and setting up for the CSA pickup. I cleaned out the chicken coop that hadn't been cleaned in quite a while, there was a thick layer of nastiness to remove and I wish I had worn a mask. Bonnie and two of her friends made shabbat dinner in the Teleion kitchen and brought it over the the big white house. I spent a bit of time before dinner cleaning and arranging things in "The Apple Shed" which would be the men's dorm and would later be renamed to "The Cider House." A cozy 2 story shed building that was originally built for keeping apples over winter, it has since been fitted with a bathroom, kitchen, wood burning stove, water heater and spiral staircase. Shabbat was a very large gathering that night, somewhere around 20 people attended, maybe more. Some music after dinner and late to bed.
Saturday was a lot of wandering around and talking on the phone with friends and family. I still collected eggs and wound up laying hay down in the coop I had cleaned, and some around the soggier spots of the pen. Watered in the green house and pruned the young grape vines to help them climb the arbor and produce some nice fruits. Went for a drive down one of the roads near Teleion to see where it went. Now that we were living at a different location from the chickens, greenhouse and commercial kitchen, there would be a lot of driving. I dealt with a piercing headache centralised above my right ear most of the day, and it persisted for the next day and a half.
We spent the next several days getting used to the new quarters, moving stuff in and around, cleaning, making space and renovating the "keepers apartment" which would be the women's dorm and the new, temporary, kitchen. Rain and thunderstorms persisted all week, every day, making certain jobs outside difficult or impossible and the work inside even more appreciated. I worked with Oliver on the kitchen the first day, taking out a wall and removing a staircase to make the space larger and more functional. I removed a lot of tiles on the walls where a wood burning stove sat. Oliver did most of the patching and renovation work. Cleaning and painting the apartment upstairs was the big project that took up most of my time until Thursday afternoon when we finally declared it done! Three new wwoofers showed up Wednesday afternoon, Alex, Loddy and Inbal. Injected into the fading confusion of the move, they helped to get things ready in the apartment and keep things productive in the fields and kitchen. We were invited to Oliver's father's Inn for dinner, The Wilburton Inn, as a thank you for the work on his home. We were hoping for fireworks in the park that had been planned for that evening, but the weather decided to get wet and rain yet again.
Its 11:34PM and I finally brought this blog up to date. Yay! I picked up a copy of Tom Robins' novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues the other day and am already entranced into its story. I love Tom Robins' writing style and topics he brings up all through his stories. It was a tough decision for me to put that book down and finish this posting up, but here it is.
I decided I was having too good of a time in Vermont and liked the Teleion Holon farm too much to up and leave for the Rainbow Family gathering in New Mexico as planned. I think I'll be staying here until sometime in August. Perhaps I'll make it to the SpiritFire gathering on the Mountaintop at the Abode. Or a regional Rainbow... Who knows. I'm here now, and that's where I should be.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but its arrav shabbat and I plan on making challah. Everything else will have to fit around that plan. I think I volunteered to help make sesame crackers tomorrow morning too. Ah, good times at Teleion, I'm glad I didn't wind up working in Middlbury this week as was planned, weather made that an unpractical endeavor.
Welp, 'till next time folks...
Smiles and hugs. :-)
Monday, June 22, 2009
Turning Points
Life is so full of activity and thoughts. Thinking about where I am, where I'm going. What's next, where do we go from here? Taking it as it comes, I just want to be. Be here now.
The struggle to truly know what that means and live by it, is not a struggle at all, its surrender. Its just being.
I've been so caught up in life that I haven't taken the time to post a blog for a while, but to keep you all informed and keep a good record for myself, here we go!
Met a landscaper while doing work on the mountain one soggy day at the Abode. Roberta offered me a fair wage to garden at 2 houses near Boston for the weekend. We left Saturday (5/30) just before noon and arrived at her friend's house in Westwood at 2 and began work on the next block over. An older lady had me renovate an ornamental bed by weeding, moving the lilly of the valley to another spot in the yard, and remove all the moss. I started using the moss I had removed to patch up dead spots on the lawn where a tree was casting a shadow, but the client didn't want me to spend much time on that project, even though it looked fuckin awesome. Several plants were moved, removed and replaced in that bed, I extended it a few inches on both sides and edged it so the grass wouldn't creep in immediately. That project took the whole Saturday and a good chunk of Sunday. I also transplanted some bushes and flowers on the edge of the house and street corner. This client decided that she liked my work enough to double my pay to 20 an hour. I spent the rest of Sunday at Roberta's friends house who had arranged the work. I cleaned the koi pond, planted an ornamental hardy banana, 2 hardy palms, an olive tree, and removed the plants from around the front steps where a masonry team would be replacing the brick with beautiful stones.
June 1st
In the morning I was greeted with a happy birthday song and amazing omelets were made by Roberta. I was able to lounge as long as I wanted and started working at 11. I tilled a vegetable garden plot with this device called 'the claw' and weeded it clean. Got a nice fluff to it that made you sink right in a few inches. I was asked to dig out this thick steel pipe that used to house wiring for the pool lights and stuck out of the ground by a shed. After figuring out that was a pointless cause I abandoned that project and went to plant the food garden. I put in about a dozen tomato plants, spaced basil out between them, put in a few eggplants, bell peppers, and seeded beans, garlic, cucumbers, and marigolds. Work was over at 5 and we left at 6, making it back to the abode at 10:30. It was too late to start a bon fire on the mountain and enjoy it. So I went up to my friend Kim's room thinking there would be people huddled around watching a show we've been going through called 6 feet under. Just Kim and her kids watching, I was given a scroll as a birthday card with art and signatures and notes from some friendly people. And Jay got to sign the whole back, let the ego fly! ...lol... I was also told to retrieve my cake from the cooler. Raw vegan chocolate mousse cake made from cashews, almonds, cacao, dates, and agave... WOW! Great treat in the evening with a little ale.
Got up to work on the farm, not much eventful. At sunset I had a bonfire on the mountain top with a few friends. Played guitar and drums, enjoyed the evening with some fine crafted ales. Definitely a good way to celebrate my 20th rotation around our sun.
I honestly can't recall anything worth mentioning from the next several days. Just life as usual at the abode. Lots of farm work and whatnot. Sorely lacking shenanigans.
(6/6)
Saturday was the day I finally left the abode! I had arranged staying at a WWOOF farm in Manchester Center, VT called Teleion Holon. Jay needed someone to help cook dinner with Kim, so I spent the afternoon in the kitchen in exchange for gas and Jay to drive me to Teleion. Right after dinner I went up to the dorm and finished packing my things, got everything together outside, and found directions. We spent a while looking at directions and being reluctant to leave. We finally got on the road after sunset and were on track until just a little ways from the farm. We missed a turn and wound up taking another main route and passing several other spots we could have turned at. Eventually we stopped at a gas station and I asked for directions. We were so close, went back through the town we came through and managed to find River Road. Passed the farm and came back around to find the sign on the road. This trip would have been much simpler in the day. I was about to setup my tent when Oliver, the farmer walked up with his buddy Theo. We talked a while and he informed me that the farm house had been rented for the weekend by high school kids for a prom party. They would be rolling up in a few hours and would probably wake me up where I was going to camp. I was shown to a spot by the CSA you-pick herb garden. Setup my weekend arrangements, played some guitar and fell fast asleep... only to wake up at some early hour to honking, loud music and drunken high-pitched singalongs. It didn't take long for Oliver's father to tell them all that he'd be calling the police if they didn't quiet down. A night of odd dreams continued.
(6/7)
Sunday morning I met the farm crew, eight wwoofers, as they washed the harvest that would be going to market. Spent the morning touring the home farm site and talking. Had a chance to visit the market. Started a cherry tomato trellis project that would wind up taking 4 days with the help of another wwoofer, Nathaniel. The prom kids partied on while we worked at another field planting squash, watermelon, etc. That night we took an amazing meal to another house that most of the wwoofers were staying at for the weekend. These folks know how to cook vegan delights. Oliver's father, Albert came in towards the end of our meal and started a conversation that tangented and went on a while with almost everyone involved. I stayed at that house for the night in a bedroom downstairs.
Monday (6/8)
I awoke to an amazing view of Vermont mountains, I can't recall the name, but the Appalacian Trail runs along its top. The prom kids left that morning leaving somewhat of a mess and several trash bags that John picked through to sort cans and bottles. The day was spent building tomato trellis, planting and having fun.
(6/9 - 6/11)
Worked on the tomato trellising on and off for several days and planted up other fields.
We all took an afternoon break one day to go to a swimming hole a few miles away. Such a beautiful place! The river dipped down just deep enough to dive in. There was a ledge at an angle covered with algae, I invented rock surfing by gliding down it from a shallow area into the deep. Spent some time in the bubbles where the stream bottlenecked and cascaded over rocks, even sat up on the rocks and let the river flow past me. Ah, it was so good! Another night we had a sweat lodge by the creek. Nine of us huddled around a hole in the ground under a stick structure covered in blankets and tarps. Large stones had been heating on a fire for several hours and many were glowing red. The stones were brought in at 4 stages, with increasing intensity. We all brought in practices of personal, communal and universal expansion. Intentions, shout outs, stories, chants, spontaneity. Without a formal structure, it flowed beautifully. Bringing us closer, raising energy and purifying body, heart and soul. I'm looking forward to the next sweat lodge.
This family celebrates Shabbat, the day of rest, from Friday night to Saturday night. I wanted to give something to this family and community to show my appreciation. So, Friday morning I called my mom to get her challah recipe, a traditional jewish bread, usually braided, eaten on shabbat and other holidays. After working until 3:30, preparing for the CSA pickup, I went to the kitchen to begin the challah making process, and Its an involved process. Made the dough, kneaded it, let it rise an hour while I did yoga in the studio, punched it down, let it rise more. Finally I divided it into 12 various sized balls, rolled them out and braided them up into 4 loaves. On trays they were glazed with egg yolk/water mixture, covered in sesame seeds and left to rise a little longer. Finally baked to perfection, I was worried they were just a little under cooked, but really just right. Challah was a success! Slightly sweet, moist, soft and full of raisins, everyone loved it and it made the shabbat dinner all that much more special. Oliver started dinner off singing prayers accompanied by his guitar and my drumming. We also sang a song for the two wwoofers who'd be leaving that weekend, Kelly and Elyssa, truly angels. Dinner was followed with an impromptu talent show that got everyone laughing.
Saturday (6/13)
Such an beautiful day, I love shabbat... especially when one isn't expected to be at temple! I got up late, went into the kitchen for coffee and breakfast, played a bit of guitar while Kelly got ready to leave. Elyssa and I decided to go for a hike up the Equinox trail which was a short walk from the farm. We had a great time hiking and talking and observing the beauty of nature. Almost made it to the top of the mountain when it started to rain. We headed back down the mountain running, skipping, almost slipping on rocks several times, but made it down safely and quickly. We must have been hiking for 5 hours or more. Back at the farm we ate dinner and chilled out.
Sunday (6/14)
Got up at 6:20 to help harvest for the farmers market with Elyssa and Nathaniel. Washed produce then ate lunch. After the market crew left, I started cleaning up a section of land that was to be tilled and turned into new beds for the you-pick garden. Got lots of weeds and rocks out by the time Oliver came over with the tractor and started dumping loads and loads, about 15 total tractor buckets of compost down the beds. I spread it out and shoveled it out of the path so it wouldn't be compacted further by the tractor. Oliver had me drive the tractor down the beds with the tiller which got them nicely fluffed and spread the compost out a bit more. Work was over officially, but I wanted to help in the kitchen since Lauren was cooking dinner by herself. I made vegan coleslaw with a tahini/vinegar/soy milk base, surprisingly good. Was a pretty tiring day, I went to bed a little earlier than usual.
(6/15)
Monday I got up to continue weeding around the you-pick garden, now with some help from Lauren. We stirred lime into the new beds and got finished just as the thunder clouds started to rain. Today was to be a half-day anyway, so the rain came at the perfect time. We all gathered in the kitchen for lunch. It started to hail! In amazement, we stood on the porch and watched the ground turn white. I went outside in my rain coat and bare feet to enjoy it first hand, encouraging others to come out as well. The hail stopped and it was time for Elyssa to leave the farm for her flight back to Detroit. A round of hugs and love in the kitchen and she was off with Oliver, Bonnie and the kids. A movie was started in the living room that most everyone was watching. I went outside for a walk and by the time I was coming back in, Roberta was arriving to pick me up. I gathered my stuff and took a little food. We were on our way to a job at her friends house near Middlebury, only an hour and a half from the farm. Stopped in at the organic co-op in town. The house is out past a dairy farm, horse farm, and the neighbour has a ton of goats, chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, and a vegetable field. There was plenty of work to be done around the gardens, orchard, foundation of the house, but today was a time to relax before the long week ahead.
...More to come of this busy week once I get around to writing about it. Much learning and hard work. I'm heading back to Teleion Holon farm tomorrow, the 23rd, looking forward to being back with the community and meet the two new wwoofers who arrived today...
The struggle to truly know what that means and live by it, is not a struggle at all, its surrender. Its just being.
I've been so caught up in life that I haven't taken the time to post a blog for a while, but to keep you all informed and keep a good record for myself, here we go!
Met a landscaper while doing work on the mountain one soggy day at the Abode. Roberta offered me a fair wage to garden at 2 houses near Boston for the weekend. We left Saturday (5/30) just before noon and arrived at her friend's house in Westwood at 2 and began work on the next block over. An older lady had me renovate an ornamental bed by weeding, moving the lilly of the valley to another spot in the yard, and remove all the moss. I started using the moss I had removed to patch up dead spots on the lawn where a tree was casting a shadow, but the client didn't want me to spend much time on that project, even though it looked fuckin awesome. Several plants were moved, removed and replaced in that bed, I extended it a few inches on both sides and edged it so the grass wouldn't creep in immediately. That project took the whole Saturday and a good chunk of Sunday. I also transplanted some bushes and flowers on the edge of the house and street corner. This client decided that she liked my work enough to double my pay to 20 an hour. I spent the rest of Sunday at Roberta's friends house who had arranged the work. I cleaned the koi pond, planted an ornamental hardy banana, 2 hardy palms, an olive tree, and removed the plants from around the front steps where a masonry team would be replacing the brick with beautiful stones.
June 1st
In the morning I was greeted with a happy birthday song and amazing omelets were made by Roberta. I was able to lounge as long as I wanted and started working at 11. I tilled a vegetable garden plot with this device called 'the claw' and weeded it clean. Got a nice fluff to it that made you sink right in a few inches. I was asked to dig out this thick steel pipe that used to house wiring for the pool lights and stuck out of the ground by a shed. After figuring out that was a pointless cause I abandoned that project and went to plant the food garden. I put in about a dozen tomato plants, spaced basil out between them, put in a few eggplants, bell peppers, and seeded beans, garlic, cucumbers, and marigolds. Work was over at 5 and we left at 6, making it back to the abode at 10:30. It was too late to start a bon fire on the mountain and enjoy it. So I went up to my friend Kim's room thinking there would be people huddled around watching a show we've been going through called 6 feet under. Just Kim and her kids watching, I was given a scroll as a birthday card with art and signatures and notes from some friendly people. And Jay got to sign the whole back, let the ego fly! ...lol... I was also told to retrieve my cake from the cooler. Raw vegan chocolate mousse cake made from cashews, almonds, cacao, dates, and agave... WOW! Great treat in the evening with a little ale.
Got up to work on the farm, not much eventful. At sunset I had a bonfire on the mountain top with a few friends. Played guitar and drums, enjoyed the evening with some fine crafted ales. Definitely a good way to celebrate my 20th rotation around our sun.
I honestly can't recall anything worth mentioning from the next several days. Just life as usual at the abode. Lots of farm work and whatnot. Sorely lacking shenanigans.
(6/6)
Saturday was the day I finally left the abode! I had arranged staying at a WWOOF farm in Manchester Center, VT called Teleion Holon. Jay needed someone to help cook dinner with Kim, so I spent the afternoon in the kitchen in exchange for gas and Jay to drive me to Teleion. Right after dinner I went up to the dorm and finished packing my things, got everything together outside, and found directions. We spent a while looking at directions and being reluctant to leave. We finally got on the road after sunset and were on track until just a little ways from the farm. We missed a turn and wound up taking another main route and passing several other spots we could have turned at. Eventually we stopped at a gas station and I asked for directions. We were so close, went back through the town we came through and managed to find River Road. Passed the farm and came back around to find the sign on the road. This trip would have been much simpler in the day. I was about to setup my tent when Oliver, the farmer walked up with his buddy Theo. We talked a while and he informed me that the farm house had been rented for the weekend by high school kids for a prom party. They would be rolling up in a few hours and would probably wake me up where I was going to camp. I was shown to a spot by the CSA you-pick herb garden. Setup my weekend arrangements, played some guitar and fell fast asleep... only to wake up at some early hour to honking, loud music and drunken high-pitched singalongs. It didn't take long for Oliver's father to tell them all that he'd be calling the police if they didn't quiet down. A night of odd dreams continued.
(6/7)
Sunday morning I met the farm crew, eight wwoofers, as they washed the harvest that would be going to market. Spent the morning touring the home farm site and talking. Had a chance to visit the market. Started a cherry tomato trellis project that would wind up taking 4 days with the help of another wwoofer, Nathaniel. The prom kids partied on while we worked at another field planting squash, watermelon, etc. That night we took an amazing meal to another house that most of the wwoofers were staying at for the weekend. These folks know how to cook vegan delights. Oliver's father, Albert came in towards the end of our meal and started a conversation that tangented and went on a while with almost everyone involved. I stayed at that house for the night in a bedroom downstairs.
Monday (6/8)
I awoke to an amazing view of Vermont mountains, I can't recall the name, but the Appalacian Trail runs along its top. The prom kids left that morning leaving somewhat of a mess and several trash bags that John picked through to sort cans and bottles. The day was spent building tomato trellis, planting and having fun.
(6/9 - 6/11)
Worked on the tomato trellising on and off for several days and planted up other fields.
We all took an afternoon break one day to go to a swimming hole a few miles away. Such a beautiful place! The river dipped down just deep enough to dive in. There was a ledge at an angle covered with algae, I invented rock surfing by gliding down it from a shallow area into the deep. Spent some time in the bubbles where the stream bottlenecked and cascaded over rocks, even sat up on the rocks and let the river flow past me. Ah, it was so good! Another night we had a sweat lodge by the creek. Nine of us huddled around a hole in the ground under a stick structure covered in blankets and tarps. Large stones had been heating on a fire for several hours and many were glowing red. The stones were brought in at 4 stages, with increasing intensity. We all brought in practices of personal, communal and universal expansion. Intentions, shout outs, stories, chants, spontaneity. Without a formal structure, it flowed beautifully. Bringing us closer, raising energy and purifying body, heart and soul. I'm looking forward to the next sweat lodge.
This family celebrates Shabbat, the day of rest, from Friday night to Saturday night. I wanted to give something to this family and community to show my appreciation. So, Friday morning I called my mom to get her challah recipe, a traditional jewish bread, usually braided, eaten on shabbat and other holidays. After working until 3:30, preparing for the CSA pickup, I went to the kitchen to begin the challah making process, and Its an involved process. Made the dough, kneaded it, let it rise an hour while I did yoga in the studio, punched it down, let it rise more. Finally I divided it into 12 various sized balls, rolled them out and braided them up into 4 loaves. On trays they were glazed with egg yolk/water mixture, covered in sesame seeds and left to rise a little longer. Finally baked to perfection, I was worried they were just a little under cooked, but really just right. Challah was a success! Slightly sweet, moist, soft and full of raisins, everyone loved it and it made the shabbat dinner all that much more special. Oliver started dinner off singing prayers accompanied by his guitar and my drumming. We also sang a song for the two wwoofers who'd be leaving that weekend, Kelly and Elyssa, truly angels. Dinner was followed with an impromptu talent show that got everyone laughing.
Saturday (6/13)
Such an beautiful day, I love shabbat... especially when one isn't expected to be at temple! I got up late, went into the kitchen for coffee and breakfast, played a bit of guitar while Kelly got ready to leave. Elyssa and I decided to go for a hike up the Equinox trail which was a short walk from the farm. We had a great time hiking and talking and observing the beauty of nature. Almost made it to the top of the mountain when it started to rain. We headed back down the mountain running, skipping, almost slipping on rocks several times, but made it down safely and quickly. We must have been hiking for 5 hours or more. Back at the farm we ate dinner and chilled out.
Sunday (6/14)
Got up at 6:20 to help harvest for the farmers market with Elyssa and Nathaniel. Washed produce then ate lunch. After the market crew left, I started cleaning up a section of land that was to be tilled and turned into new beds for the you-pick garden. Got lots of weeds and rocks out by the time Oliver came over with the tractor and started dumping loads and loads, about 15 total tractor buckets of compost down the beds. I spread it out and shoveled it out of the path so it wouldn't be compacted further by the tractor. Oliver had me drive the tractor down the beds with the tiller which got them nicely fluffed and spread the compost out a bit more. Work was over officially, but I wanted to help in the kitchen since Lauren was cooking dinner by herself. I made vegan coleslaw with a tahini/vinegar/soy milk base, surprisingly good. Was a pretty tiring day, I went to bed a little earlier than usual.
(6/15)
Monday I got up to continue weeding around the you-pick garden, now with some help from Lauren. We stirred lime into the new beds and got finished just as the thunder clouds started to rain. Today was to be a half-day anyway, so the rain came at the perfect time. We all gathered in the kitchen for lunch. It started to hail! In amazement, we stood on the porch and watched the ground turn white. I went outside in my rain coat and bare feet to enjoy it first hand, encouraging others to come out as well. The hail stopped and it was time for Elyssa to leave the farm for her flight back to Detroit. A round of hugs and love in the kitchen and she was off with Oliver, Bonnie and the kids. A movie was started in the living room that most everyone was watching. I went outside for a walk and by the time I was coming back in, Roberta was arriving to pick me up. I gathered my stuff and took a little food. We were on our way to a job at her friends house near Middlebury, only an hour and a half from the farm. Stopped in at the organic co-op in town. The house is out past a dairy farm, horse farm, and the neighbour has a ton of goats, chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, and a vegetable field. There was plenty of work to be done around the gardens, orchard, foundation of the house, but today was a time to relax before the long week ahead.
...More to come of this busy week once I get around to writing about it. Much learning and hard work. I'm heading back to Teleion Holon farm tomorrow, the 23rd, looking forward to being back with the community and meet the two new wwoofers who arrived today...
Thursday, May 28, 2009
The Pretentious Enlightened
My mom, brother and Gene arrived Friday in the early morning and we met up at breakfast. It was so good to see them! After breakfast, I showed my mom the farm and started working. She went back up to help prepare lunch. The barn raising crew had begun their work tearing old siding away and painting the good areas. My mom and brother were asked to house sit down the road, which gave them a comfortable, quiet place for the weekend with a spa bath. And a big golden retriever to take care of.
The barn raising kept the place buzzing and full of novelties like bbq, soda, meat, etc. There was a lemonade and refreshments stand near the barn that I kept stocked with kombucha. I spent most of the weekend relaxing, but did some setup and cleanup here and there. My brother stayed busy painting picnic benches, fixing chairs, and working on the barn some. My mom worked in the kitchen and relaxed, talked to several different people about work she could do for the 6 months she planned to stay. Several different jobs were figured out - copyrighting, cooking, gardening, then taken back by other figure heads. After tossing her around, it was decided they didn't want her to stay after all. So she left with Gene and my brother tuesday night. Very disappointing and saddening.
It really boils down to money, they're all about money right now. Weather its ever been otherwise, who knows, but I've heard so much about finances and money since I got here. Some say its just this year, the deficit the Abode is in, all the money these folks lost by leaving it in the hands of that investor who's in the news for screwing everyone over. They are only interested in volunteers who can do heavy manual labour for 30 hours a week, she was told they need to make room for those volunteers. Its all bullshit in my opinion. I'm really seeing the darkness at the Abode. There are so many beautiful people, but a few bad apples spoils the batch.
This place reeks of moldy cider.
Since the main reason for coming here was to help my mom settle in, I have no reason to be here any longer. I've had some good experiences, but am dealing with a lot of anger and frustration with this place now. All my motivation has been drained, I want to leave. I feel emotionally drained at best, violent at worse. Words can't quite express how I feel, and I really just want to release this tension I'm bottling up right now, but I know I will be feeling better once I'm traveling.
While working on the mountain campground yesterday, I met someone who's going to Vermont soon and will take me. I might even have an opportunity to work on setting up for a bluegrass festival and make some money. I need to start asking for rides to new mexico on the internet, I would like to make it that way by the last week of june.
Send me some good energy and blessings, I could use it!
Peace, Love and Compassion
The barn raising kept the place buzzing and full of novelties like bbq, soda, meat, etc. There was a lemonade and refreshments stand near the barn that I kept stocked with kombucha. I spent most of the weekend relaxing, but did some setup and cleanup here and there. My brother stayed busy painting picnic benches, fixing chairs, and working on the barn some. My mom worked in the kitchen and relaxed, talked to several different people about work she could do for the 6 months she planned to stay. Several different jobs were figured out - copyrighting, cooking, gardening, then taken back by other figure heads. After tossing her around, it was decided they didn't want her to stay after all. So she left with Gene and my brother tuesday night. Very disappointing and saddening.
It really boils down to money, they're all about money right now. Weather its ever been otherwise, who knows, but I've heard so much about finances and money since I got here. Some say its just this year, the deficit the Abode is in, all the money these folks lost by leaving it in the hands of that investor who's in the news for screwing everyone over. They are only interested in volunteers who can do heavy manual labour for 30 hours a week, she was told they need to make room for those volunteers. Its all bullshit in my opinion. I'm really seeing the darkness at the Abode. There are so many beautiful people, but a few bad apples spoils the batch.
This place reeks of moldy cider.
Since the main reason for coming here was to help my mom settle in, I have no reason to be here any longer. I've had some good experiences, but am dealing with a lot of anger and frustration with this place now. All my motivation has been drained, I want to leave. I feel emotionally drained at best, violent at worse. Words can't quite express how I feel, and I really just want to release this tension I'm bottling up right now, but I know I will be feeling better once I'm traveling.
While working on the mountain campground yesterday, I met someone who's going to Vermont soon and will take me. I might even have an opportunity to work on setting up for a bluegrass festival and make some money. I need to start asking for rides to new mexico on the internet, I would like to make it that way by the last week of june.
Send me some good energy and blessings, I could use it!
Peace, Love and Compassion
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
First week at the Abode of the Message
I've settled right into this community, feeling right at home. Spending about 6 hours a day on the farm, helping cleanup after meals and got paid to cook on Saturday. There were about 30 people part of a 4 year esoteric studies course called Suluk. One of the classes graduated this weekend, so there was much festivity, and that's how I got in the kitchen. There are much less people running around now and the feeding schedule has returned to its normal, slightly less frequent arrangement. Plenty of left overs and such to be had in between served meals, though.
This place has a lot going on! There's a kids school called Mountain Road School in session weekdays from 9-3. Summer camp facilities are at the top of the mountain with dozens of cabins, a large stage with tent, common barn area, a board walk to "everywhere" that hangs over a cliff looking out over the area, a huge wind chime that has amazing resonance, and lots of magic! The mountain top is truly a beautiful place with amazing energy. Its host to several summer camps and festivals like "Spirit Fire" and an upcoming camp of ice cream enthusiasts shall we say. There are a few classes each week that everyone's invited to, one tonight I'll be going to called "the dutch papers", which is a collection of writings from Hazrat Inayat Khan. I haven't gone to a Zikr yet, but I was talking with someone about bringing some drumming and guitar to the practice. I joined in with morning prayers today before going into the field, I hope to make it every morning now.
I have had a few great meditations in the "med hall" by myself. Very revitalizing, I've worked out some mental knots and established some new patterns. The med hall has some very calm, transformative energy. Spent some time in the woods meditating on Sunday. It seems like all I have to do is relax, and I strike up a conversation with the divine. Figuring out quite a bit and feeling better every day.
Jay brought out his 30 pound bow and several arrows for me to use. I've taken it out a couple times for target practice and definitely feel like I'm getting better with it already, should be hitting all bulls eyes by the time I get to shoot mine.
Learned how to drive the tractor yesterday while we tested out the manure spreader that was just fixed. Shit's heavy duty! 4 gears, 2 settings, throttle, clutch, and a brake for each side for tight turns. Doesn't go slower than 1 mph, which can be problematic for some attachments like the transplanter we used today. Yeah, today we planted 2 long beds with 3 rows of onions by hand since the transplanter could only poke holes and water with fish emulsion. The transplanter is supposed to work by having 2 people sitting at the back poking plants in the holes it bores, but there's no way we could do it fast enough on the tractor. Anyhow, several hundred onions are now in the ground, and that task is done with.
Looking forward to seeing my brother, mom and Gene Friday. The "barn raising" is bringing in around 50 people this weekend. Should be a fun event full of learning.
Well, there's the dinner bell, going to give thanks and fill up. Dutch papers class in an hour.
Peace!
This place has a lot going on! There's a kids school called Mountain Road School in session weekdays from 9-3. Summer camp facilities are at the top of the mountain with dozens of cabins, a large stage with tent, common barn area, a board walk to "everywhere" that hangs over a cliff looking out over the area, a huge wind chime that has amazing resonance, and lots of magic! The mountain top is truly a beautiful place with amazing energy. Its host to several summer camps and festivals like "Spirit Fire" and an upcoming camp of ice cream enthusiasts shall we say. There are a few classes each week that everyone's invited to, one tonight I'll be going to called "the dutch papers", which is a collection of writings from Hazrat Inayat Khan. I haven't gone to a Zikr yet, but I was talking with someone about bringing some drumming and guitar to the practice. I joined in with morning prayers today before going into the field, I hope to make it every morning now.
I have had a few great meditations in the "med hall" by myself. Very revitalizing, I've worked out some mental knots and established some new patterns. The med hall has some very calm, transformative energy. Spent some time in the woods meditating on Sunday. It seems like all I have to do is relax, and I strike up a conversation with the divine. Figuring out quite a bit and feeling better every day.
Jay brought out his 30 pound bow and several arrows for me to use. I've taken it out a couple times for target practice and definitely feel like I'm getting better with it already, should be hitting all bulls eyes by the time I get to shoot mine.
Learned how to drive the tractor yesterday while we tested out the manure spreader that was just fixed. Shit's heavy duty! 4 gears, 2 settings, throttle, clutch, and a brake for each side for tight turns. Doesn't go slower than 1 mph, which can be problematic for some attachments like the transplanter we used today. Yeah, today we planted 2 long beds with 3 rows of onions by hand since the transplanter could only poke holes and water with fish emulsion. The transplanter is supposed to work by having 2 people sitting at the back poking plants in the holes it bores, but there's no way we could do it fast enough on the tractor. Anyhow, several hundred onions are now in the ground, and that task is done with.
Looking forward to seeing my brother, mom and Gene Friday. The "barn raising" is bringing in around 50 people this weekend. Should be a fun event full of learning.
Well, there's the dinner bell, going to give thanks and fill up. Dutch papers class in an hour.
Peace!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
The Great American Hitch Hike
Friday was slow to start, most of the house folk wanted to go to the thrift store and to a dents & out of date store called amazing savings. I went along and among other things, got some delicious goats milk vanilla ice cream... the most creamy delight ever! When we returned, the motivation for gardening was surging through us! So we started messing around in the garden plot. Turned in some compost, and started planting kale and cabbage. one bed quickly filled up, with plenty more babies to go in the ground. I started working some of the other beds and noticed there were more paving stones than had already been uncovered. I was able to almost double the length of the first 2 beds. Seth took scrap wood pieces from a pile that had been accumulating for some time and built a bad ass ghetto coop for the chickens. I hope I can get a picture to share. We were all very satisfied with ourselves and the garden we had just breathed life into.
Friday evening was a spontaneous costume party at the house in Asheville. What a night! We were getting our goofs out, dancing on the pole in the living room and drinking it up. Not too many people, good crowd, good time. Later in the evening a group of about 8 of us decide to walk a few blocks to the jewish community centre to sneak into the pool. I was bear footed for the whole walk and when we get there, someone's cleaning. Rather than just retreat now, I got the guy to come to the door for negotiations. I explained that we were all jews and just wanted to go for a swim on shabbat. He told us that he had just gotten done cleaning it and the rest of the place and he would have to call the cops if anyone was inside. Assuming none of us were members, he also told us it was for members of the JCC only. I argued that I had been circumcised and if that wasn't membership, I don't know what the hell is! He had been circumcised too and was catholic! I guess that's why they've got him cleaning the place tonight! Agh, a total failure, and now I get to walk all the way back - barefoot. Most of the group found a play structure at an elementary school to jump around on, but I went back to the house. Party was kinda winding down even though new people were there, for some reason I had another beer and then went to bed.
Oi, I slept in and laid around a while. I was reminded of why I don't drink that often, I felt drained and slightly disoriented most of the day. In an effort to wake up, be productive and sweat out some of the toxins, I went out to the garden and dug a new bed. It definitely did the trick on all fronts, and hopefully will inspire even more gardening in that yard! I decided that I had been in Asheville too long and since no ride had come through for me, it was time I hitch hiked. Took a shower and wound up passing out around sunset. Slept a good 13 hours.
Sunday morning I got my shit together, made a sign and walked a couple long blocks to the interstate. Waited about 30 minutes and finally a taxi driver stopped for me and took me about 20 or 30 miles up to a spot were there was only a gas station with an attached Hardees burgers. After waiting at that onramp a while, some folks came by offering me a ride to the next exit. After declining because I wanted a further ride, they gave me a breakfast sandwich and wished me good luck. About 10 minutes later a cable guy picks me up because he used to be a hitchhiker and knew what it was like to wait forever for a ride. He took me about 3 exits up and dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, but it was luckily only another exit down from Glenn's farm. After a few minutes there I called up Glenn and he picked me up. We hung out at the farm with Ian for a few hours, got to see the progress of the field, broccoli were 5 times their original size and all the potatoes were sprouting. Got some pointers and a better idea of my route. He dropped me off at the Tennessee boarder right on the highway. Apparently a good place to hitch from, he and his girlfriend have several times. There were about 7 Appalachian Trail hikers hanging out below watching me and waving. I got a ride from a really cool gardener who took me into Virginia. He told me about his friend who manages several farms in the asheville area and knows a good deal about crystal and gem hunting. Definitely worth meeting up and working with next time I'm in the area. He dropped me off at a gas station in a rather busy area and I was almost immediately picked up by a family who had been spending mothers day together playing bingo. After a car change, the daughter dropped me off at a truck stop further down, must have been a good 20 miles all together. I wandered around the truck stop for a few minutes trying to get a feel for it, talking to a few people and realizing that it wouldn't be quite as easy as I had hoped to get a ride here. Went out to the road to fly my sign near the onramp, and a guy named Gary in a VW bus stops to ask me my story. After explaining myself and mentioning that I was thinking of camping in the state park down the road a bit, he offered me a ride to somewhere I could camp for free. There was a 4 field with young trees surrounded on all sides by trailer parks. I popped my tent up on a bed of leaves that must have been raked together by a previous camper. We sat and talked for an hour or so about several subjects, really cool guy. He said he'd take me back up the road to the truck stop before he went to work at 6 in the morning, that sounded like a good plan...
When my alarm went off at 6 it was already a heavy drizzle outside and I decided I'd wait it out, sleeping, until the rain died down. It only picked up, but I was dry and the rain sounded nice against my tent. Around 8-something it settled down to a light drizzle and I took the opportunity to pack my stuff up and break down the tent. Its amazing how much heavier my tent felt after picking up a few ounces of rain water. I started walking up the road with my thumb out, several cars sped by and one finally picked me up. A couple of local boys drove me down the road, shared a smoke, pointed out several wild deer and turkey and dropped me off behind the truck stop.I went into the "Omelette Shoppe" and had a 2 egg breakfast with hash browns and rye. Hung around for an hour or however long, talking to random people, eventually a trucker who'd just woke up was walking to get some breakfast and saw my sign attached to my guitar case. "Do you play that fuckin thing or do you just carry it around?!" ... "Yeah I play, but you don't want to be around when I do!" ... He told me he could take me into Pennsylvania on I-81 as far as the I-78 junction. Sounded great to me, so I waited while he ate breakfast and checked email. His name's Bob, spelled the same backwards or forwards. Got on the road around 12 and didn't stop until 3 when he decided it would be safest to take a nap at this rest stop. I played some guitar, snacked and laid on a bench. A couple people asked about my travels and offered me rides. After waiting a while I started to get anxious about moving on. Tried to wake Bob at 4:30 when he'd told me to waken him, but that was a fruitless effort. I figured he'd be passed out a while so I grabbed my pack and flew my sign a bit hoping to get on the road. With no luck, I returned to the truck to find Bob had just gotten up and was making some coffee. in about 10 minutes we were on the road, passing other trucks that had left that rest stop earlier. Hauling ass, we made it out of Virginia, through West Virginia, Maryland and into Pennsylvania. Bob called his dispatch and found his next load would be a local run from Long Island to Albany. I was told I was one lucky fuckin hippie, he could take me all the way to Albany! So we made it into a truck stop somewhere close to I-78, each of us took showers got tons of coffee and fiddled around on our computers, that's when I started writing this entry. Its now 1:37am and we are just hopping on I-287 from 78 towards Morristown.
Crossed the George Washington Bridge into NYC at 3:30 am. I waited at a gas station while Bob changed loads at the truck yard. The sun was just starting to illuminate the sky as we passed back through through NYC and across another bridge going towards Albany. Into the ride a bit Bob started dozing and struggled to keep his eyes open. He was looking for the next rest area on I-87. Once stopped he said I could sleep on the top bunk of the cab, but the coffee had me going and I was determined to get as close to New Lebanon as I could. I thanked him and wished him luck. After about an hour of sitting on a bench with my sign attached to my guitar case saying "NORTH I-90 NEW LEBANON", I was picked up by a business man from Pennsylvania who makes this trek to Albany once a week. He was going to Brazil in a couple days on a business trip. He dropped me off right on the highway at the I-90 junction. I wound up walking onto I-90 and over the Hudson River, about 2 miles! Got a call from Jay at the Abode about half-way over the bridge, let him know where I was and asked him to pick me up as soon as possible. I crossed the highway and sat by a sign next to the road. A few minutes later a DOT or some kinda official pulled up with another guy behind him. First asking if I was on the bridge, no of course not! If I was hitchhiking, no just waiting for a friend who's on the way. Looking slightly confused he radios someone and drives off. I see a cop car going the other way turn on the lights and pull up next to me. One of the nicest cops I've met! Ask what I'm up to, runs my ID, lets me know I'm not wanted for anything and proceeds to wait with me until my friend show's up just so no other, possible less friendly cops show up. After waiting an hour we were both very tired of being there, he took me to a near by toll booth where I might travel on, and wishes me good luck. Its illegal to hitch hike in new york state. Someone pulled up just a minute later and happened to have GPS, I got a quick idea for the roads I was near and had him drop me off where I could walk off the interstate to a local road. Down the road a bit I found someone working outside and asked them for directions, he told me I was pretty far from where I needed to be and then took me up the road quite a ways to West Lebanon, pretty much the next town over. I heard back from Jay and he apparently only saw the cop, not me, and the other 3 times he passed by there was no cop. So I told him where I was and moments later, just as it started to rain, I was in the car with Jay. Finally, the journey to the Abode was over. A plate of delicious food was waiting for me. I thankfully scarfed it down and was given a short tour. Found my bed in the men's dorm room and unpacked a little. I was stressed from the road, tired from riding all night, and feeling anxiety like I haven't felt in a long time. The anxiety had a hold on me and I felt very uncomfortable, almost wanting to escape this strange place. I called my mom and talked a bit, she helped me make sense of what I was feeling and suggested I sleep. Good advice! I slept through the afternoon and didn't wake until my phone was buzzing in my pocket at 10. Everyone in the dorm was asleep, so I used the restroom and went back to bed. Little bit of a rough night with lots of turning, strange dreams too.
I awoke feeling well rested and slightly more sane. The breakfast bell was just being rung as I walked down the stairs. I had oatmeal, coffee, half a banana and some toast. Met Frank the farm manager and met him down at the field. We had a team of help from the boarding school down the road. We were turning an old method plot into a permaculture plot by creating long sheet mulch beds. We laid cardboard down leaving no gaps where the beds were going, then covered with finished compost from a very large pile. Tractor power beats hippie power 5 to 1 in this game. Had a good time talking and working with them, particularly one girl who's a friend of Jay's. Eventually it was school time for them, our job was made much easier by their help. Frank and I touched up a few areas, then took an hour and a half for lunch. Such a filling lunch, I felt lazy afterward and wandered around. We finished up with the new permaculture beds and then toured the rest of the farm. Saw the green house, maintenance shop and corn field up the road. This is where we'd be doing most of the work tomorrow. Without much to do, we parted in time for me to attend a Kidmet (work-study program) meeting in the library. Gave me an idea for the program I was getting into. I stayed in the library after the meeting and decided to read through a siddur (jewish prayer book). I remembered that I have never put on Tefillin, a daily ritual involving binding a leather box of prayer scrolls around an arm and to the forehead. It may sound silly, but is very powerful and something I'd like to do as soon as I have a chance. I feel very connected with Judaism when I take time to realize its teachings. I felt reconnected and very centered after reading many inspirational, tingly-sensation raising passages. It was time for dinner just as I finished my reading. The first ones there including myself circled holding hands to give thanks for the what we were about to recieve. Oh goodness, so much amazing food, I stuffed myself while talking with a guy who has heard about me through our mutual friend Amanda. He's also going to the Rainbow Family gathering and said I can go with him if I can drive some of the way. Guess I'm going to have to learn to drive a little better...
I missed healing class and circle to finish writing this blog and check my emails. But I'm about to go to a sauna in the basement. The Abode of the Message is a great place, I am quickly adjusting and feeling at home. I know I will learn and grow much while I'm here.
Until next time,
Shalom!
Friday evening was a spontaneous costume party at the house in Asheville. What a night! We were getting our goofs out, dancing on the pole in the living room and drinking it up. Not too many people, good crowd, good time. Later in the evening a group of about 8 of us decide to walk a few blocks to the jewish community centre to sneak into the pool. I was bear footed for the whole walk and when we get there, someone's cleaning. Rather than just retreat now, I got the guy to come to the door for negotiations. I explained that we were all jews and just wanted to go for a swim on shabbat. He told us that he had just gotten done cleaning it and the rest of the place and he would have to call the cops if anyone was inside. Assuming none of us were members, he also told us it was for members of the JCC only. I argued that I had been circumcised and if that wasn't membership, I don't know what the hell is! He had been circumcised too and was catholic! I guess that's why they've got him cleaning the place tonight! Agh, a total failure, and now I get to walk all the way back - barefoot. Most of the group found a play structure at an elementary school to jump around on, but I went back to the house. Party was kinda winding down even though new people were there, for some reason I had another beer and then went to bed.
Oi, I slept in and laid around a while. I was reminded of why I don't drink that often, I felt drained and slightly disoriented most of the day. In an effort to wake up, be productive and sweat out some of the toxins, I went out to the garden and dug a new bed. It definitely did the trick on all fronts, and hopefully will inspire even more gardening in that yard! I decided that I had been in Asheville too long and since no ride had come through for me, it was time I hitch hiked. Took a shower and wound up passing out around sunset. Slept a good 13 hours.
Sunday morning I got my shit together, made a sign and walked a couple long blocks to the interstate. Waited about 30 minutes and finally a taxi driver stopped for me and took me about 20 or 30 miles up to a spot were there was only a gas station with an attached Hardees burgers. After waiting at that onramp a while, some folks came by offering me a ride to the next exit. After declining because I wanted a further ride, they gave me a breakfast sandwich and wished me good luck. About 10 minutes later a cable guy picks me up because he used to be a hitchhiker and knew what it was like to wait forever for a ride. He took me about 3 exits up and dropped me off in the middle of nowhere, but it was luckily only another exit down from Glenn's farm. After a few minutes there I called up Glenn and he picked me up. We hung out at the farm with Ian for a few hours, got to see the progress of the field, broccoli were 5 times their original size and all the potatoes were sprouting. Got some pointers and a better idea of my route. He dropped me off at the Tennessee boarder right on the highway. Apparently a good place to hitch from, he and his girlfriend have several times. There were about 7 Appalachian Trail hikers hanging out below watching me and waving. I got a ride from a really cool gardener who took me into Virginia. He told me about his friend who manages several farms in the asheville area and knows a good deal about crystal and gem hunting. Definitely worth meeting up and working with next time I'm in the area. He dropped me off at a gas station in a rather busy area and I was almost immediately picked up by a family who had been spending mothers day together playing bingo. After a car change, the daughter dropped me off at a truck stop further down, must have been a good 20 miles all together. I wandered around the truck stop for a few minutes trying to get a feel for it, talking to a few people and realizing that it wouldn't be quite as easy as I had hoped to get a ride here. Went out to the road to fly my sign near the onramp, and a guy named Gary in a VW bus stops to ask me my story. After explaining myself and mentioning that I was thinking of camping in the state park down the road a bit, he offered me a ride to somewhere I could camp for free. There was a 4 field with young trees surrounded on all sides by trailer parks. I popped my tent up on a bed of leaves that must have been raked together by a previous camper. We sat and talked for an hour or so about several subjects, really cool guy. He said he'd take me back up the road to the truck stop before he went to work at 6 in the morning, that sounded like a good plan...
When my alarm went off at 6 it was already a heavy drizzle outside and I decided I'd wait it out, sleeping, until the rain died down. It only picked up, but I was dry and the rain sounded nice against my tent. Around 8-something it settled down to a light drizzle and I took the opportunity to pack my stuff up and break down the tent. Its amazing how much heavier my tent felt after picking up a few ounces of rain water. I started walking up the road with my thumb out, several cars sped by and one finally picked me up. A couple of local boys drove me down the road, shared a smoke, pointed out several wild deer and turkey and dropped me off behind the truck stop.I went into the "Omelette Shoppe" and had a 2 egg breakfast with hash browns and rye. Hung around for an hour or however long, talking to random people, eventually a trucker who'd just woke up was walking to get some breakfast and saw my sign attached to my guitar case. "Do you play that fuckin thing or do you just carry it around?!" ... "Yeah I play, but you don't want to be around when I do!" ... He told me he could take me into Pennsylvania on I-81 as far as the I-78 junction. Sounded great to me, so I waited while he ate breakfast and checked email. His name's Bob, spelled the same backwards or forwards. Got on the road around 12 and didn't stop until 3 when he decided it would be safest to take a nap at this rest stop. I played some guitar, snacked and laid on a bench. A couple people asked about my travels and offered me rides. After waiting a while I started to get anxious about moving on. Tried to wake Bob at 4:30 when he'd told me to waken him, but that was a fruitless effort. I figured he'd be passed out a while so I grabbed my pack and flew my sign a bit hoping to get on the road. With no luck, I returned to the truck to find Bob had just gotten up and was making some coffee. in about 10 minutes we were on the road, passing other trucks that had left that rest stop earlier. Hauling ass, we made it out of Virginia, through West Virginia, Maryland and into Pennsylvania. Bob called his dispatch and found his next load would be a local run from Long Island to Albany. I was told I was one lucky fuckin hippie, he could take me all the way to Albany! So we made it into a truck stop somewhere close to I-78, each of us took showers got tons of coffee and fiddled around on our computers, that's when I started writing this entry. Its now 1:37am and we are just hopping on I-287 from 78 towards Morristown.
Crossed the George Washington Bridge into NYC at 3:30 am. I waited at a gas station while Bob changed loads at the truck yard. The sun was just starting to illuminate the sky as we passed back through through NYC and across another bridge going towards Albany. Into the ride a bit Bob started dozing and struggled to keep his eyes open. He was looking for the next rest area on I-87. Once stopped he said I could sleep on the top bunk of the cab, but the coffee had me going and I was determined to get as close to New Lebanon as I could. I thanked him and wished him luck. After about an hour of sitting on a bench with my sign attached to my guitar case saying "NORTH I-90 NEW LEBANON", I was picked up by a business man from Pennsylvania who makes this trek to Albany once a week. He was going to Brazil in a couple days on a business trip. He dropped me off right on the highway at the I-90 junction. I wound up walking onto I-90 and over the Hudson River, about 2 miles! Got a call from Jay at the Abode about half-way over the bridge, let him know where I was and asked him to pick me up as soon as possible. I crossed the highway and sat by a sign next to the road. A few minutes later a DOT or some kinda official pulled up with another guy behind him. First asking if I was on the bridge, no of course not! If I was hitchhiking, no just waiting for a friend who's on the way. Looking slightly confused he radios someone and drives off. I see a cop car going the other way turn on the lights and pull up next to me. One of the nicest cops I've met! Ask what I'm up to, runs my ID, lets me know I'm not wanted for anything and proceeds to wait with me until my friend show's up just so no other, possible less friendly cops show up. After waiting an hour we were both very tired of being there, he took me to a near by toll booth where I might travel on, and wishes me good luck. Its illegal to hitch hike in new york state. Someone pulled up just a minute later and happened to have GPS, I got a quick idea for the roads I was near and had him drop me off where I could walk off the interstate to a local road. Down the road a bit I found someone working outside and asked them for directions, he told me I was pretty far from where I needed to be and then took me up the road quite a ways to West Lebanon, pretty much the next town over. I heard back from Jay and he apparently only saw the cop, not me, and the other 3 times he passed by there was no cop. So I told him where I was and moments later, just as it started to rain, I was in the car with Jay. Finally, the journey to the Abode was over. A plate of delicious food was waiting for me. I thankfully scarfed it down and was given a short tour. Found my bed in the men's dorm room and unpacked a little. I was stressed from the road, tired from riding all night, and feeling anxiety like I haven't felt in a long time. The anxiety had a hold on me and I felt very uncomfortable, almost wanting to escape this strange place. I called my mom and talked a bit, she helped me make sense of what I was feeling and suggested I sleep. Good advice! I slept through the afternoon and didn't wake until my phone was buzzing in my pocket at 10. Everyone in the dorm was asleep, so I used the restroom and went back to bed. Little bit of a rough night with lots of turning, strange dreams too.
I awoke feeling well rested and slightly more sane. The breakfast bell was just being rung as I walked down the stairs. I had oatmeal, coffee, half a banana and some toast. Met Frank the farm manager and met him down at the field. We had a team of help from the boarding school down the road. We were turning an old method plot into a permaculture plot by creating long sheet mulch beds. We laid cardboard down leaving no gaps where the beds were going, then covered with finished compost from a very large pile. Tractor power beats hippie power 5 to 1 in this game. Had a good time talking and working with them, particularly one girl who's a friend of Jay's. Eventually it was school time for them, our job was made much easier by their help. Frank and I touched up a few areas, then took an hour and a half for lunch. Such a filling lunch, I felt lazy afterward and wandered around. We finished up with the new permaculture beds and then toured the rest of the farm. Saw the green house, maintenance shop and corn field up the road. This is where we'd be doing most of the work tomorrow. Without much to do, we parted in time for me to attend a Kidmet (work-study program) meeting in the library. Gave me an idea for the program I was getting into. I stayed in the library after the meeting and decided to read through a siddur (jewish prayer book). I remembered that I have never put on Tefillin, a daily ritual involving binding a leather box of prayer scrolls around an arm and to the forehead. It may sound silly, but is very powerful and something I'd like to do as soon as I have a chance. I feel very connected with Judaism when I take time to realize its teachings. I felt reconnected and very centered after reading many inspirational, tingly-sensation raising passages. It was time for dinner just as I finished my reading. The first ones there including myself circled holding hands to give thanks for the what we were about to recieve. Oh goodness, so much amazing food, I stuffed myself while talking with a guy who has heard about me through our mutual friend Amanda. He's also going to the Rainbow Family gathering and said I can go with him if I can drive some of the way. Guess I'm going to have to learn to drive a little better...
I missed healing class and circle to finish writing this blog and check my emails. But I'm about to go to a sauna in the basement. The Abode of the Message is a great place, I am quickly adjusting and feeling at home. I know I will learn and grow much while I'm here.
Until next time,
Shalom!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
I'm heading to Philadelphia tomorrow or Friday with some people I found on the couchsurfing ride share group. Its only 4 hours from Albany and its a good place to be. I recalled an infoshop i had found out about in Philly called Wooden Shoe Books. I looked it up online and found a slew of related spaces and projects. There's Lancaster Avenue Autonomous Zone (LAVA), the A-Space, The Divine Bicycle Church at Neighborhood Bike Works, three Food Not Bombs servings each week.
So I think I'll have a pretty good time there. Probably only going to be in Philly for 3 days, then I'll be making my way to The Abode near Albany. The past few days have been rather uneventful, I've wandered around some, checked out a cafe called Izzy's Coffee Den, they had live ambient electronica with visuals going on. Had a good conversation with someone just starting a solo backpacking adventure after being in Asheville a year, might run into him at nationals.
This morning was filled with thundering down pours and chilly winds. Haven't left the house today and I'm hoping something fun will be going on tonight. Definitely ready to travel on now, I've seen all I'm going on here.
Looking forward to being at The Abode. Philadelphia's going to fucking rock!
Out...
So I think I'll have a pretty good time there. Probably only going to be in Philly for 3 days, then I'll be making my way to The Abode near Albany. The past few days have been rather uneventful, I've wandered around some, checked out a cafe called Izzy's Coffee Den, they had live ambient electronica with visuals going on. Had a good conversation with someone just starting a solo backpacking adventure after being in Asheville a year, might run into him at nationals.
This morning was filled with thundering down pours and chilly winds. Haven't left the house today and I'm hoping something fun will be going on tonight. Definitely ready to travel on now, I've seen all I'm going on here.
Looking forward to being at The Abode. Philadelphia's going to fucking rock!
Out...
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