June 6 and 7

So, it turns out it works best just to keep my private journal in a Word document and then except from that for my Applied Study Term (AST) journal for UIS and for this blog. So, here you are...

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Monday, June 6, 2011

Today was another garden day. Patricia, Theresa, and I planted summer squash, banana melons, basil, peppers, and Malibar spinach. Malibar spinach, I learned, is a tropical, heat-loving, form of vine spinach. I did not know such a thing existed! It’s excellent, because I love spinach. Your average spinach is a cool weather plant, doing well during the spring and autumn (some varieties even over-winter in warmer climates) but bolting to seed in the heat of summer. Now, I can rotationally plant spinach and Malibar spinach and eat it all through the growing season! I also learned to plant basil close to tomatoes, as they are complementary crops. Basil is so fragrant that it confuses the bugs that usually plague tomatoes. Patricia also told me that often plants that work well together in the kitchen (sun-dried tomato basil anything is delicious!) also work well together in the garden. When we were finished planting, she took me in an showed me a chart of plants that work well together and plants that inhibit each other, which was really interesting. I think I’ll make a copy of it to stick in my gardening notebook.

Towards the end of dinner tonight, I got a call from my mom. Apparently, Jake is in the hospital after five guys attacked him and his friends, and Jake fell and hit his head on the pavement. Mom said he went in through the trauma center and is now in the ICU. The doctors say he has a head trauma and a “subdural hematoma.” Mom says he is going to be fine, but the doctors just have to keep him in the hospital for a couple of days to make sure, because head injuries can go south really fast. Mom let me talk to him, and he sounded okay. He even asked me how I liked it here. Mom said he was already joking with his buddies when they came to visit. But, yikes! What a phone call to get! I skipped New Roots to relax, because I was feeling a little shocked and dazed.

After a nice, relaxing cup of chamomile tea, I sat down to distract myself with the first assignment for Liberty Struggles, which was to read the syllabus. Well, I read it and I decided that I can't really justify devoting the time that it supposedly requires. It is a four-hour course crammed into 7 weeks, and therefore really intense. I decided that I need to be here now, especially as I get established this summer. If it were in the fall and I was only expected to dedicate 12 hours a week to it, then that would be a different story. Right now, I need to focus on what I am doing - integrating into a new place, meeting new people and making new friends, and getting involved in several exciting activities. I am not willing to spend 24 hours a week on the internet this summer. So, I emailed my advisor, and we are discussing alternatives.

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Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Today was really, really awesome.

I went to coffee and trade - the community Farmer's Market - this morning. Unfortunately, I was too late to get some yogurt, but Genie said she’d have some tomorrow if I wanted to go an get it. So Chynna and I are going to walk over there for yogurt tomorrow after we get the pond project finished. It wasn’t a total loss, though, because I got a really yummy muffin that Eli made and did some community building. I talked to Kim-Chi about the new off-the-grid Earthaven Laundromat, about her meeting with the lawyers to form a better protective legal bubble around Eathaven, and about doing some computer work in the office for Leaps. I am very glad for the opportunities to imbed myself into the Earthaven network.

Then I came home to do some laundry in the Medicine Wheel bicycle-powered laundry machine. What a cool experience! Once I figured out how to fill up the tank, it was pretty straightforward. Shut the drain, put in laundry and soap, turn on the connected hose to fill it up, pedal to agitate (slow and steady is best), open the drain to let out soapy water, close the drain and refill with the “rinse cycle,” pedal some more, drain, and pedal hard to spin out the last of the water. Hang out to dry. It’s free, burns no coal, and uses water from rainwater catchment. Plus, it is pretty awesome to bike my laundry clean. (Look mom, no hands!)

However, I discovered that the laundry bike would be more efficient and a better experience as a group project. The bike is at an odd, downward angle, so your arms get tired of holding up most of your body weight pretty fast. Also, the “spin cycle” leaves much to be desired, so I had to hand-wring out a pretty significant amount of water. Plus, I started getting a little lonely after a while. So I talked to Marissa and Chynna, and they agree that we should do our laundry together so that we can rotate between biking, wringing, and hanging. Plus, we entertain each other pretty well!

After I got my laundry hung out, I ate lunch and headed out into the garden. I rigged up some trellising for a few tomatoes. I know that doesn’t sound like much work, but between scrounging up some suitable materials, figuring out how to fix them in the dirt and rig them together, and then carefully maneuver the plants around their new habitation and gently tie them to it, it can be a tricky and time-consuming process requiring a fair amount creativity and sweat. I also harvested some walking onions, replanting their little babies to continue to species.

Another awesome Tuesday potluck for dinner. Robby gave a really interesting talk about his research on ecovillages, urban planning, and innovation. I really hope is able to go far with it because his scheme could allow for actual progress in society. I have never really held out much hope for society, but knowing that there are Robbys in the world gives me hope for a more peaceful transition to the new paradigm.

Came home to another awesome jam session with Joe and Taylor. I can't imagine a better place to live!

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Update on Jake: I called my mom today, and she says Jake is home and recovering. Doctor says he should be fine after plenty of rest and relaxation, which is a major relief.

peace!

Molly