Wow, two weeks...It seems like a lifetime ago since I last checked in.
So, we visited all the places mentioned in the previous blog, and then some to boot. I was in an HEB in Austin stocking up on of the more difficult items to localize of toilet papyrus, when I had an urge to buy some tasty looking grapes...I even picked them up, but something was riveted in me, deep...dark. Even sinister. That guided my hand to bring the grapes back to their resting spot on the fruit stand. No longer can I buy any old food any more, I am around enough local food economies that I cannot spend money that will immediately go out of state. But wait! I'm not so much of a purist that I'll turn down someone cooking me a meal in Wimberly that she learned how to make from her Thai roommates back in college...no. That would be just silly. Or turn my nose to foods at glorious Sacred Acre potlucks...this is just solely related to the dollars that come out of my wallet and into the hands of someone for the sake of food. The only thing different is that now that someone needs to be local, or if it's not farm direct, a local business. Exceptions can still be made...
I am getting used to drinking dairy again though, but raw cow's milk is well worth it. Something I noticed this evening is that when other people (raw foodies even) are experiencing allergic reactions to things in the air, the extra mucilaginous substances within my nasal cavities serve a vital role in being a blanket of protection for my otherwise weak and pathetic lungs. Can you tell I'm a little brain fried and sleep deprived? Ooh, rhyming and everything, I should be a rapper or something. I'd totally get on the list of shortest lived careers.
Well, the 'Transition Texas Initiative' by the team is slowly but surely gaining momentum. Up until this point I haven't spoken of our work in those terms, but it has been a process for me to understand the complexity and scope of this prject. It is no less than a project of truly Texan proportions. There is a considerable amount of local living already happening in the Austin area, so there we have to take a stance of...how can we best interface with the current movements to inspire the next level of change? That could be as simple as providing frequented businesses in the area all their veggies from a local farm. And seriously, I don't think I even want to start delving into how complicated it could potentially be...what an energy sink! :P Though for less happenin' places, like um...the rest of Texas... it could be a little more massive, but networking with local landowners to boost or create CSA's and providing whatever concerned local restaurants and grocery stores with high quality local produce is an excellent first step. As we gain more momentum however, attention to how we operate our agents and goals begin to become an issue of much more concern. Staying in alignment and in tune with each other is getting more challnging wuth the growth of the entity. So, much fun stuff lies ahead.
Wow! I just got sidetracked for a few hours...oops. Turns out that there is some crazy things on youtube...and to think that I used to like namu namu...ah i can't lie, I would still totally rock out to it. Breakdancing is fun too.
Yay reconnection to another one of the Raw Spirit Fest Crew! Yeah! Woooooooo!!! Whenever you guys come down to Texas y'all are gonna have a blast! I've found some great places in the past couple months! I can't get enough Kundalini in nowadays!
There is some big stuff going on right now...but I don't want to disclose too much of it because of the stage we're at right now...no need to count your eggs before they hatch. So...maybe we'll make a documentary about it someday or something. Hey, we know people who do that...cool.
Ok. Enough vagueness for one day. I got to climb in a school bus engine the other day...that was fun, there was a mud dobber nest in the carbeurator...not very conducive to fuel efficiency i'd say but..it's just a personal condition. Then someone else had a blown headlight in their car and we stopped at...*cringe* walmart...because it was late and we didn't want to get pulled over everything thirty minutes....oh...the sacrifices we must make sometimes...so in the same day I got my hands in two entirely opposite vehicles (the car was a Toyota Echo). Yay rudimentary car maintenance knowledge! Woohoo! Those days watching a friend work on my car and passing him tools has payed off a little! But it always has really.
Ok. Not very informative and productive discussion going right now...it'd be fun to talk about a couple of workshops I attended at the Sacred Acre recently about awakening the Light Body and about the 4 agreements from a student of Don Miguel Ruiz. Very cool. That''s an inside joke for some... :)
But I don't want to right now, so if I don't in a couple of weeks, then bug me if your curious. I can't deny requests.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wow...Update!
After a conversation with my Brother this morning, I decided (I'm a decider!) that I should put this stuff out there so I won't have to tell long stories 50 times. So...in the past 4 weeks I've probably put about 2000 miles on my car...I love it! Texas is a big and dare I say it..(yes I do) beautiful place. Honestly, I am so happy that I grew up here and know this land. I've been out to East Texas in the Jungle lands, in Hill Country, Kerrville and Austin, and...well, that's it so far. But there is a lot going on in these places! Out in East Texas there is a place called Maypop farm, which is totally brutally awesome, and Home Sweet Farm out in Brenham (which I haven't been to yet, but looks also totally brutally awesome). In Austin there is a place called the Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems (cmpbs.org), holy brutality...and then the Sacred Acre and their twin project in the Blanco-Wimberely area. So...Let us review shall we?
Maypop Farm
In the land of Montgomery (Rhapsody of Fire! Yes! And yes, there are only a few people who know what I'm talking about :), lies a land of Terra Preta and Jungle Agriculture. We're talking mile long 5 foot wide rows of asparagus. 10+ acres of pure greenery. The project consists of two plots of land on either side of the town of Montgomery, connected by a river (small) running through the town, which was owned by the Ashley's (Larry and Tiffany, the ones responsible for this awesomeness) until they donated to the city for Kudo points. But they are still in charge of developing the greenbelt along the river. The idea is to have eco villages on either side of the town, so you can walk or bike anywere in the local vicinity in mostly greenbelt areas. Not to mention that these facilities will be completely self sufficient on their own food and stuff. So yeah, kinda sweet. More to come on this, I'll be visiting again, and anyone is welcome to join me.
http://www.maypopfarm.com/
Home Sweet Farm
Okay, so this place is a 108 member CSA, planning to expand to 150 members next year. They have monthly market days every 3rd sunday of the month (holy crap that's this Sunday!) where a gathering of Texan family farmers sell their beautiful bounty to the public (that's us!). So, because of this...I have decided to sustain myself mostly on Local Texan food by travelling to this event and partaking of the beauty. I can't Wait! *giggling* So...yes, please also feel free to join me on this trip. And because its out in Brenham I will also be going to Maypop Farm. Yes!
www.homesweetfarm.com
The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
This is run and developed by brilliant faculty member of UT at Austin, his mission, as the name of his place implies, is to create a world of zero waste by applying use to industrial byproducts. As a testament to this, this entire property is created from rebar and fly ash cement (coal burning byproduct) to name just a couple. He and his team (which includes his 27 year old son who is also named Ariel! Yeah!) just submitted a plan to the Bucky Fuller contest to repair the coastal oceans by implemnting certain procedures on offshore drilling platforms. Yeah! The next step is to get Andy & Robby's affiliates in the oil business to start using everything they dig up when drilling for oil! Which the research also already been done for. Needless to say that this is huge, we can be repairing the damage we're doing while in this transition stage off oil....while still drilling for it. A little inspiring! Just a little. :)
cmpbs.org
The Sacred Acre and the Property out in Blanco-Wimberly
Very cool cats out here! Emma, Joshua, Mike, Jessalynn, and...Ethan...and...I think that's it, for now! These peeps have gotten the nickname 'the kundalinis' because they do a fair amount of kundalini yoga which is extremely powerful awakening stuff. They are creating an awesome eco village/healing retreat out in 65 acres in blanco wimberly area. And I'm going to bug them for a name so i don't have to keep referring to it in that cumbersome way. Hmmm...yes. Awesome potluck and music jam and laughing yoga at their place in Austin this Friday! This is going to be an awesome weekend!
Their in development site
So. I think taht's it! Come join me on one of these expeditions! I well be taking them at least once a month! I consider part of my new education plan. Until next time!
Peace and Love,
Ariel von Raven
So
Maypop Farm
In the land of Montgomery (Rhapsody of Fire! Yes! And yes, there are only a few people who know what I'm talking about :), lies a land of Terra Preta and Jungle Agriculture. We're talking mile long 5 foot wide rows of asparagus. 10+ acres of pure greenery. The project consists of two plots of land on either side of the town of Montgomery, connected by a river (small) running through the town, which was owned by the Ashley's (Larry and Tiffany, the ones responsible for this awesomeness) until they donated to the city for Kudo points. But they are still in charge of developing the greenbelt along the river. The idea is to have eco villages on either side of the town, so you can walk or bike anywere in the local vicinity in mostly greenbelt areas. Not to mention that these facilities will be completely self sufficient on their own food and stuff. So yeah, kinda sweet. More to come on this, I'll be visiting again, and anyone is welcome to join me.
http://www.maypopfarm.com/
Home Sweet Farm
Okay, so this place is a 108 member CSA, planning to expand to 150 members next year. They have monthly market days every 3rd sunday of the month (holy crap that's this Sunday!) where a gathering of Texan family farmers sell their beautiful bounty to the public (that's us!). So, because of this...I have decided to sustain myself mostly on Local Texan food by travelling to this event and partaking of the beauty. I can't Wait! *giggling* So...yes, please also feel free to join me on this trip. And because its out in Brenham I will also be going to Maypop Farm. Yes!
www.homesweetfarm.com
The Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
This is run and developed by brilliant faculty member of UT at Austin, his mission, as the name of his place implies, is to create a world of zero waste by applying use to industrial byproducts. As a testament to this, this entire property is created from rebar and fly ash cement (coal burning byproduct) to name just a couple. He and his team (which includes his 27 year old son who is also named Ariel! Yeah!) just submitted a plan to the Bucky Fuller contest to repair the coastal oceans by implemnting certain procedures on offshore drilling platforms. Yeah! The next step is to get Andy & Robby's affiliates in the oil business to start using everything they dig up when drilling for oil! Which the research also already been done for. Needless to say that this is huge, we can be repairing the damage we're doing while in this transition stage off oil....while still drilling for it. A little inspiring! Just a little. :)
cmpbs.org
The Sacred Acre and the Property out in Blanco-Wimberly
Very cool cats out here! Emma, Joshua, Mike, Jessalynn, and...Ethan...and...I think that's it, for now! These peeps have gotten the nickname 'the kundalinis' because they do a fair amount of kundalini yoga which is extremely powerful awakening stuff. They are creating an awesome eco village/healing retreat out in 65 acres in blanco wimberly area. And I'm going to bug them for a name so i don't have to keep referring to it in that cumbersome way. Hmmm...yes. Awesome potluck and music jam and laughing yoga at their place in Austin this Friday! This is going to be an awesome weekend!
Their in development site
So. I think taht's it! Come join me on one of these expeditions! I well be taking them at least once a month! I consider part of my new education plan. Until next time!
Peace and Love,
Ariel von Raven
So
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The world of Blogs
Wow. I am now an official blogger. Can I just say that I am very happy that the font that the template graphics for my blog put my name in is copperplate gothic? It's perfect.
So this is the unofficial Concho Valley Sandbar CSA blog, and the unofficial Ariel blog as well. So I'll try to keep personal ramblings short unless they have some merit or explanation to why I'm so crazy and do what I do.
Yesterday I got garlic and onions in the ground. By the biodynamic calendar it is a root day until tomorrow. I also finally transplanted the fig trees that Shannon/Cardo's Farm gave me. Very exciting! I'm just praying the little guys make it, they seemed a little sad. Today I want to get turnips, beets, carrots, and radishes in the ground as well. We have some beds that we created at the bioregional conference in mid september so now I'm going through and filling them in.
Ah...coffee. I went and got an electric skillet yesterday at Target...I feel like such a consumer...but at the same time it totally rocks in my little cottage! Just what I needed. Now when I wake up at 5am I have motivation to get up: start some water boiling, break out some Brazilian coffee, bust out the mortar and pestle and start grinding...an excellent ritual to start the day. Ah...so good.
Just brought the cats down and I found out that I have a cat allergy! I always lived with cats so I never knew! Since that's the only thing that really changed since before my last trip then it must be so...unless I have a desktop computer allergy...yea. Didn't think so. Turmeric has been recommended to me before and it seemed to help after it got in my system a couple years ago...and then I just wasn't rigorous with it. Now I know how clean sinuses feel and will have to start the treatment again. Any other ideas or tips welcome.
I also got a call from Karen from Raw Spirit Fest yesterday while at Target! Woohoo Trash Cats! I saw some people sorting recycling and compost from the trash once while visiting the porta-loos and I decided to ask if they needed help. 7 to 10 hours that weekend preceded to go towards helping those peeps out, and made some great friends doing it! Hey all you Rawsome Peoples! As I drink my coffee...ah it's soooo good. 6:40am and the horizon is just barely lighting up. It's crazy how fast time flies and how the days get so much shorter so much more quickly.
I love my cats though, and they seem to dig it here. I was here about 12 hours or so before I left the door open for them to check it out. Most people say leave your cats in for a few days so they know where their new home is. I think it helped that I took a lot of things before I took them and ruffled the place in a little bit. Storpo went right up into the rafters of my box spring. Astra is doing well too, she/he keeps wanting food and I just give it to her until she fattens up. Food is medicine, fundamentally. I work under the pretense of humans having a lot of latent potential, so the following is based on this: I also kept sending the image of the property and of the idea of living on that property to both my cats, and their attitude seemed to be that of acceptance while still in Denton. I went about a month ago and wanted to take my cats but it didn't work out, I ended up packing the kitty tranks in the truck and realized it after i strapped my bed down. Oops. Ended up working out great (referring to the fact I got to establish the space I live in down here as mine), except the cats seemed a little miffed they were left behind, especially when I got back up there. But they are doing great now.
So! Enough about the cats, though having them here as well as the uber computer station I've been working on over the past few years really makes this little cottage feel like home. I'll post some pictures as soon as I have a decent means of taking them and downloading them onto the computer. My little phone just isn't quite snazzy enough to make that process easy. Though I do want to get a google phone and compare it to Andy and Robby's Iphones, which seem to me like they totally blow! *Ahem* Yes. Well. Indeed.
So last thing, but very cool. Check this link out
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/dining/08verm.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&em
This is so exciting and inspiring! This is exactly what we're looking to create down here in San Angelo. A huge network of community that supports itself. Though we're going to need gas prices to get a little higher before a whole lot of people will get on board, but I don't think we'll be disappointed. Thanks Devin for giving me this article! I think it might be prudent to visit Vermont and try their apple pie... mmm...homer drool sound...
So this is the unofficial Concho Valley Sandbar CSA blog, and the unofficial Ariel blog as well. So I'll try to keep personal ramblings short unless they have some merit or explanation to why I'm so crazy and do what I do.
Yesterday I got garlic and onions in the ground. By the biodynamic calendar it is a root day until tomorrow. I also finally transplanted the fig trees that Shannon/Cardo's Farm gave me. Very exciting! I'm just praying the little guys make it, they seemed a little sad. Today I want to get turnips, beets, carrots, and radishes in the ground as well. We have some beds that we created at the bioregional conference in mid september so now I'm going through and filling them in.
Ah...coffee. I went and got an electric skillet yesterday at Target...I feel like such a consumer...but at the same time it totally rocks in my little cottage! Just what I needed. Now when I wake up at 5am I have motivation to get up: start some water boiling, break out some Brazilian coffee, bust out the mortar and pestle and start grinding...an excellent ritual to start the day. Ah...so good.
Just brought the cats down and I found out that I have a cat allergy! I always lived with cats so I never knew! Since that's the only thing that really changed since before my last trip then it must be so...unless I have a desktop computer allergy...yea. Didn't think so. Turmeric has been recommended to me before and it seemed to help after it got in my system a couple years ago...and then I just wasn't rigorous with it. Now I know how clean sinuses feel and will have to start the treatment again. Any other ideas or tips welcome.
I also got a call from Karen from Raw Spirit Fest yesterday while at Target! Woohoo Trash Cats! I saw some people sorting recycling and compost from the trash once while visiting the porta-loos and I decided to ask if they needed help. 7 to 10 hours that weekend preceded to go towards helping those peeps out, and made some great friends doing it! Hey all you Rawsome Peoples! As I drink my coffee...ah it's soooo good. 6:40am and the horizon is just barely lighting up. It's crazy how fast time flies and how the days get so much shorter so much more quickly.
I love my cats though, and they seem to dig it here. I was here about 12 hours or so before I left the door open for them to check it out. Most people say leave your cats in for a few days so they know where their new home is. I think it helped that I took a lot of things before I took them and ruffled the place in a little bit. Storpo went right up into the rafters of my box spring. Astra is doing well too, she/he keeps wanting food and I just give it to her until she fattens up. Food is medicine, fundamentally. I work under the pretense of humans having a lot of latent potential, so the following is based on this: I also kept sending the image of the property and of the idea of living on that property to both my cats, and their attitude seemed to be that of acceptance while still in Denton. I went about a month ago and wanted to take my cats but it didn't work out, I ended up packing the kitty tranks in the truck and realized it after i strapped my bed down. Oops. Ended up working out great (referring to the fact I got to establish the space I live in down here as mine), except the cats seemed a little miffed they were left behind, especially when I got back up there. But they are doing great now.
So! Enough about the cats, though having them here as well as the uber computer station I've been working on over the past few years really makes this little cottage feel like home. I'll post some pictures as soon as I have a decent means of taking them and downloading them onto the computer. My little phone just isn't quite snazzy enough to make that process easy. Though I do want to get a google phone and compare it to Andy and Robby's Iphones, which seem to me like they totally blow! *Ahem* Yes. Well. Indeed.
So last thing, but very cool. Check this link out
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/08/dining/08verm.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&em
This is so exciting and inspiring! This is exactly what we're looking to create down here in San Angelo. A huge network of community that supports itself. Though we're going to need gas prices to get a little higher before a whole lot of people will get on board, but I don't think we'll be disappointed. Thanks Devin for giving me this article! I think it might be prudent to visit Vermont and try their apple pie... mmm...homer drool sound...
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