Fermenting a New Culture – Has Begun!

The news from Occupy Wall Street is BIG – the country is in ferment, and yes – we are fermenting a new culture in many ways!  Slow Food is one way we can all participate even if we can’t drive to Washington, New York…SF…

WE CAN ALL Stop shopping at Corporate stores, stop eating corporate food, it is all owned by the same guys & their brothers, the ones that brought us loss of jobs, loss of our homes, loss of our monetary independence.  It makes dollars & sense, it puts money back in the local community, it is sustainable.

It-is-all-connected… & the destination for any continuing abuse of the body politic & your body, temple of our spirit – is sickness in community & in health.

What I am saying is we start spending our precious dollars in our own community, buy locally grown food, go to the Farmer’s Market, make a statement with our pocketbooks – we will feel good about it & will feel better physically too!

I spent the last few days creating and presenting a workshop on Fermentation, the live food chemistry kind.  It fits in with my political rant here as you have let me say – Fermentation of simple, garden grown, local food gives many health benefits & helps stretch inexpensive food dollars, as well as using produce from field & garden.  It keeps us out of the stores & helps us gather some “stores” of REAL FOOD.

We all loved the experience of making sauerkraut together, finding tastes that are new yet delightful & generally getting more deeply informed around the topics of yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, vinegar, kombucha & sourdough.  You can buy all these things or you can make them at a fraction of the cost, finding many ingredients in your locally owned farm stand or market. I encourage you to find such a class in your area or make one happen, it is about LIVE Food, Bio-available nutrients, Happy enzymes & intestines…all good stuff.   I give thanks to my students who trusted me to guide them into the shallow waters of Live Fermentation…simple cottage ferments, political ferments…  may we all find our way to the middle of the river, where deeper information resides, and a lifetime of experimentation brings new thoughts to the mix!

Certainly discovering the vast stores of knowledge at Sandor Katz’s website will be a beginning no Fermenter will regret.

And, oh yes – it is very political to grow & eat your own food, or get raw milk from a farmer down the road, let’s take that to the streets too!

The SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROAD SHOW

A day to play at a Festival!  Hooray!

The best part of my day at Harmony Festival (and there were some great moments!) was discovering the SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROAD SHOW and the Eco-Grove…

a variety of attractions and vendors – ranging from live art to a living mandala to a “guess your carbon footprint” calculator and a whole myriad of other things in between.  Well – yes- seeing Caroline W. Casey was an unequaled unrivaled wordsmithing  blast…but that’s a subject for another day…

A rare family day for me & walking into the Eco-Grove took us right into a carnival!  Five year old Adrien was immediately completely at home & wanted to be there more than anything else all day long – including the climbing structure.  Why not?  Brilliant – the eco-carnival games – yes, getting out sustainability information – not as a lecture or a blog – or any other wordy attempt to educate, but rather – as fun!

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Tossing out Fossil Fuels – a favorite.  You toss bean bags at pictures of ugly drilling rigs or big trucks & if you hit it- it turns to a colorful image of a solar panel or a bus (They forgot to put in a train, darn it!)  All for a donation of – whatever you want.

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Eco-opolis, a Model Green City was a favorite! Here you invest money (tossing coins) into various structures & areas of a Dream Green city built entirely from discards & trash.

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Very fun & punny too!  Best place of all – the LOVE Factory, definitely my next job will be working here…Hard to hit, but Adrien did it, that’s my boy – a love factory investor.

I am sure that what these folks are doing is making a big difference in kids & adult lives, how can you not think about use of fuels or what we are doing for public health when you play these games!?

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Or – how about getting completely covered in mud while you help build a house!  That would have appealed more if I had a change of clothes

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The Earth Mandala was housed under a bamboo structure made by one of their amazing interns,  Ben.  He spent weeks leading up to the festival working on the project – and I must say that all his hard work paid off.  The bamboo structure only added to the impressiveness of the mandala – I mean, it’s an amazing thing on its own, but with this beautifully designed structure, it was incredible! 

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Best of all – way up inside were huge flying honeybees letting us know how important their work is – can you read it?  [1/3 of the human diet requires pollination from our friends - the honeybees]

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~Carbon Footprint anyone?  I am stoked that my carbon footprint appears to be on the extreme lower edge of normal.  Well, I thought I would register even better – but, without cheating on the numbers – it is time for that solar hot water heater!  Maybe that NEV (Neighborhood Electric Car) that I keep threatening to find.

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~Or keeping chickens – that’s it!  Eggs galore & no more slugs, now – that would be paradise…

Back on track (sayings about trains abound!) – I want to mention that you can visit the SUSTAINABLE LIVING ROAD SHOW at their website – even if they don’t come soon to a city near you…you won’t be sorry!

GMO – just say NO!

Addicted to GMO?…the word is now out – GMO foods are bad for us medically as well as making things tough for organic farmers, destroying our bee population, our seed diversity & a host of other sins. The years of banging drums in the dark are over…it can be stated in public that GMO corn & soy are slowly killing us. Of course, the warnings have been loud & clear for awhile – the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, Union of Concerned Scientists, Huffington Post, Institute for Responsible Technology, and others have been trying to get our attention.  But, the seeming need in our recession for more & cheaper food has outweighed the information & the public airwaves ignore this subject.

Recent testing in Europe ..by feeding normal diet of these ”foods” – caused liver & kidney damage in lab rats – and as we know from years of this type of testing, the effects on humans are almost parallel!  By reviewing data from 19 animal studies, Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini and others reveal that 9% of the measured parameters, including blood and urine biochemistry, organ weights, and microscopic analyses (histopathology), were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals. The kidneys of males fared the worst, with 43.5% of all the changes. The liver of females followed, with 30.8%. The report, published in Environmental Sciences Europe on March 1, 2011, confirms that “several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO diet effects.” The authors point out that livers and kidneys “are the major reactive organs” in cases of chronic food toxicity.  The Institute of Responsible Technology has lots more to say…take a peek!

So note your food source…Kids – this means Fritos, McDonald burgers & fries, sodas, and almost all sweetened corporate foods.  So – how much do we need to know in order to quit this addiction?

We could list the newer GM foods & the ones coming on line soon, just to get more worried…GM Salmon, GM Alfalfa, and even GM Wheat!  But – let’s stay focused on the big boys…Monsanto’s own seeds into eternity…our field corn & soy…and I know we can find alternatives to chips & sodas!

Just say NO to GMO!  It’s fun & easy – get your self some organic cornmeal, make tortillas with your kids have a fun & clean meal your garden & the local Farmer’s market can provide.  It won’t cost much today & You will save money at the hospital later.

Save Our Noyo Redwoods & preserve local trains!

“In the end, we conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught.”

- Baba Dioum, Senegalese conservationist and poet~

The last surviving old redwoods in our important Mendocino County, California, watershed face logging after April 1, 2011. Save the Redwoods League needs your help to raise $7 million to purchase and protect the trees, which are now owned by The Willits Redwood Company.
The 426-acre property contains 123 acres of ancient and old redwood and Douglas-fir forest — about 30 percent of all remaining old forest in the Noyo River watershed.

This region contains the smallest amount of ancient redwood stands in the coast redwood range. Because of its high concentration of ancient and old redwoods, the purchase ranks as a high priority for Save the Redwoods League.
Protecting the redwoods on the Noyo River Redwoods property also will safeguard the wide variety of animals that depend on this complex forest ecosystem for their survival.

ENTER…The Save the Redwoods League
The League’s purchase of the property would protect these last survivors of an ancient forest and allow restoration of habitat for imperiled salmon in the Noyo River, which runs through the property. The Noyo River watershed drains west and is the source of drinking water for Fort Bragg and the surrounding area.
Protecting the redwoods also would safeguard the wide variety of animals that depend on this complex forest for their survival. In addition, this project could provide habitat for other imperiled species such as the northern spotted owl and marbled murrelet.

To protect the property permanently, the League would create a land preservation agreement and eventually transfer the acreage to a permanent steward such as a conservation organization or private party.
Current and future generations could see these remote, ancient redwoods from the 125-year-old railroad running between Willits and Fort Bragg.
We can’t afford to lose a single one of these living giants. A Timber Harvest Plan has been approved for the property, and trees are already marked for logging — which could begin as soon as the sale deadline passes if we don’t succeed.

“This is an urgent situation in which the public will play a vital role,” said Ruskin K. Hartley, executive director, Save the Redwoods League. “By purchasing the Noyo River Redwoods property, we will not only safeguard some of the natural characteristics that truly make California unique, but also we will protect these iconic and rare treasures for all to experience and enjoy. With less than 5 percent of the ancient redwood forest remaining, we must continue to work diligently to protect redwoods across their range.”

Since 1918, Save the Redwoods League has saved ancient redwood forests and redwood ecosystems to ensure that current and future generations can feel the awe and peace that these precious natural wonders inspire. We also save redwoods because they are rare — their natural range is only in central and northern California and southern Oregon — and because they are Earth’s tallest and some of the oldest and most massive living things.
Since 1918, Save the Redwoods League has assisted in the purchase of more than 189,000 acres of redwood-related land in California. The support of individual members, public service organizations, private foundations, and the State of California has enabled the League to help build and protect 63 redwood parks and reserves…the plan for the League’s current and future conservation efforts—the Master Plan for the Coast Redwoods. This plan provides Save the Redwoods League with a science-based conservation agenda for all coast redwood ecosystems and guides the League in prioritizing protection of the remaining 5% of the world’s greatest forest for people to enjoy.

E-mail:
info@savetheredwoods.org

Telephone: (415) 362-2352  Toll Free: (888) 836-0005  Fax: (415) 362-7017

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And – saving these trees will help give our railway a reason to exist – beyond giving tourists a lovely ride for the day…this train line could then survive to become a commuter line in the foreseeable near future of reduced private auto usage…we could ride trains again to destinations at 10% the petrol energy now required to fuel private vehicles…

so- here’s the story of our local train line…

This year is the 125th Birthday of the Skunk Train!

In the 1850’s a silk & tea ship beached on the north coast and soon cargo hunters from San Francisco were bringing back tales of miles of forest filled with big trees the likes of which they could hardly describe. Lumber mills began to spring up along the coast. Bands of Indians began to raid these settlements to discourage the takeover of their traditional hunting & fishing grounds. Fort Bragg was built in 1857 as an Army Post to counter these raids. In 1867 the Indians were removed to Round Valley, a saga that deserves a full story in itself.

California Western opened with freight service in 1885.
Built as a logging railroad, the Skunk line began that year as a logical vehicle for moving massive redwood logs to Mendocino Coast sawmills from the rugged back-country. Lumber was also carried from Willits south on the NWP to the Bay Area.

The First Passengers of The California Western Rail Road “Skunk Train”
The crowd at Willits gave an enthusiastic welcome to the first train from Fort Bragg in 1911, gathering around the depot when this picture was made.
Practically every person in Fort Bragg wanted to be on the first train to Willits when the line was completed in 1911. Those fortunate enough to be invited for the trip rode free as guests of the CWR and its then parent, the Union Lumber Company. Considerable status went to the person who could boast that he or she went aboard for the historic trip. The headlines read “ Willits & Fort Bragg – Connected by bands of steel & friendship”. It took 40 miles of track to cover the 23 mile distance between the 2 towns.

Willits soon became the Rail hub of 3 lines – the Northwestern Pacific Railroad with service available from Eureka in the North (1914) and Sausalito in the South with the California Western meeting these trains & running West to the Coast!

Mixed trains of freight, mail & passengers were the norm until 1995, an unusual arrangement hardly found in recent US Rail service.

Steam passenger service was begun in Fort Bragg 1904, extended to the town of Willits in 1911. In 1921 Pullman car Service was inaugurated and you could take an overnight train leaving Fort Bragg at 9pm and arriving in Sausalito at 9am.

Steam service was discontinued in 1925 when the self-powered, yellow “Skunk” rail cars were inaugurated. The little trains were quickly nicknamed for their original gas engines, which prompted folks to say, “You can smell ‘em before you can see ‘em.”

California Western was initially operated as a division of the Fort Bragg mill. In the mid 1960s, Arizona-based Kyle Railways began managing the railroad, and purchased it in 1987. In August 1996, a group comprised entirely of local Mendocino Coast investors purchased California Western, marking the first time is its 111-year history that the line would be operated as an independent business. Today the Skunk Train is owned and operated by Mendocino Railway.

California Western welcomed more “modern” equipment in later years, which rail fans can still ride. The vintage 1925 M-100 motorcar — the only remaining train of its kind in use anywhere today — runs the line year-round, as does the 1935 M-300 motorcar. During the busier summer months, they are joined by three 1950′s diesel-powered engines, and famous Old No. 45, a majestic 1924 Baldwin steam engine, the kind most kids dream of when they think “train.”

The View from the Observation Car
As you leave Willits at 1363 feet above seas level, you travel uphill on a 3% grade through beautiful meadows and stands of softwoods to Summit station at 1740 feet above sea level. West of the Summit stop, as you leave the tunnel – the forest changes dramatically as the meadows & hardwoods give way to the rainforest of fir, pine & redwoods (softwoods) of the Noyo Headwaters. Soon you begin the 8.5 miles of switchback “zigzag “along the descent to the river bottom that offers only 1.5 mile of linear travel for that 8.5 miles of track. (You will arrive in Fort Bragg at only 80 feet above sea level) Here are the majestic Ancient Redwoods of the endangered trees of the Crowley THP – hopefully soon to be purchased “Noyo Headwaters Monument Park”. This incredible opportunity for a redwood park can include an open-air museum and learning center – teaching habitat, unique species, fish spawning – with discovery trails (maybe small EV cars can be used to offer assistance to the elderly & disabled for visiting some areas of waterfalls & big trees) The last 4% of our original Primeval Redwood & Fir Forest of Mendocino County resides in this acreage. This is perhaps the only ancient forest in the world with a train running through it… Mass transit into the forest! Any ecological damage created by building this rail line was done over 100 years ago and the area has healed itself superbly. No more harm need be done to offer ingress to visitors by building roads or new transit feeds.

Please consider donating BIG MONEY to the Save the Redwoods League so that we can – indeed – save these ancient trees & the animals depending on them for their habitat, go to the website-

Noyo Headwaters Forest

http://www.savetheredwoods.org/protecting/NoyoRiverRedwoods.shtml

1000 Suns – a Hopeful Heartfull Movie

DIG IN ! a LOCAL DINNER at LITTLE LAKE GRANGE

HARVEST DINNER MENU

LOCAL SOURCES 2010

The 5^th Annual Little Lake Grange Harvest Dinner is one of over 400 many Slow Food & Gardening Events happening around the country this weekend!

This year we feature a gourmet multi-course meal created from locally grown food products. Our reason for producing a “LOCAL” dinner is to showcase the best of farm products available in our valley and within 100 miles of  Willits.

We want to offer  a  fine dining experience celebrating local sustainable food and farming.  The finest and freshest of foods  prepared with loving care by our extraordinary local chefs – Patty Rede & Linda Relin, and their joyful crew of talented kitchen sou-chefs & assistants.

This is a Grange sponsored all-volunteer community collaboration that brings us all closer together in the supply of food for our health & our future

* ALL DONATIONS listed below are marked with a * (ASTERICK)

* Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts! *

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Local Organic Wines: (Organic wines from Mendocino County)

–     *Frey Winery, *Barra Winery, *Parducci Winery, Fetzer, *Vin De Tevis, *Husch Vineyard

–        Decorative Wine Grapes – *Marsha Pratt

Appetizers:

Almonds, Fresh Fruit & Grapes, (the Santa Rosa farm of Don Rosenburg)

Walnuts, *Baldo Farms  ~  Pepper Jelly, *Fairall  ~ Fig Chutney, *Stella Bonnet

Artisan Cheeses – Triple Creme Brie (*Marin French Cheese), Classic Cheddar (*Clover)

Local Goat Chevre’ (*Redwood Hill Farm), Dry Jack  (*Springhill farm)

Crackers – Wheat harvested in Mendocino, Handmade Italian crackers by our own local cooks

- Olive Oil, Local Sea Salt

Dinner & Buffet Table:

Moroccan Tagines - Ford Ranch beef and local vegetables from Brookside Farm, *Golden Rule Garden, *Senior Center Garden, *Wendy Wilmes & Chris Baldo, Covelo Organics, *Mariposa Market, *Inland Ranch Organics, *Salt Hollow farm

-         Fava beans from *John Wagenet, October beans from *Golden Rule Garden

-         Walnuts from  *Chris Baldo & Baldo Farms

-         Paprika from Richard Jeske

Moroccan Chermoula Sauce

– Parsley from *The Drell Farm, Mint from *Karina McAbee

Rice Pilaf – Rice from our own Granary stores (origin- Sacramento Valley)

Olive Oil  and Spices

Tomato Platters & Seasonal Local Vegetables with Moroccan spices – Many local farmers:

*Hue de Laroque,  *Wendy Wilmes & Chris Baldo, Brookside Farm, *Annie Waters – thanks to you all!

Pickles – from Brookside Farm & Amy Rouse

Local & Seasonal Mixed Greens – *Green Uprising Farm

Lemon vinaigrette dressing – Lemon juice from *Golden Rule Garden, Local Olive Oil – *Chris Baldo

Dessert Table:

Fruit Gallettes & Crisps  – *Sweetie Pies (fruit from Green Uprising Farm)  Thanks Allegra Foley!

Local Pears by *Green Uprising Farm with *Mendocino Queen Honey

Whipped Cream from *Clover Dairy

Pan Forte’ by Mary Senerchia

Beverages:

Local Filtered Water

Herbal Tea (Mint & Lemon Balm) – *Sara O’Brian, *Annie Waters

with Honey from Karina McAbee’s hives

Pressed Apple Cider from *Golden Rule Garden

PS to all – LOCAL NOTES:

~Locally grown grain is still in limited supply- Golden Rule is experimenting with teff, quinoa, amaranth.  Doug Mosel is growing some wheat, rye, oats & barley, but the supply is still limited.

~There are few beans or other vegan proteins easily available from local sources except Fava beans.  This limits the ability of our dinner to supply vegan food and we apologize for that.

~ Locally madeVinegar cannot be found!  It is easy to make & should be available from local apples or grapes – seems like a business opportunity for someone…

~Salt is also available from the ocean 24 miles away, but is expensive in the quantities now available.  We have used just a pinch of  local salt, with our apologies since it seems unaffordable for this large dinner.

~Spices have been traded from the Far East for thousands of years & we hope will always be available and will probably always be an “imported item” on our LOCAL menu ingredients.

What Spices can we grow here that will give us our beloved cinnamon & spice & all things nice?

updated 9-24-2010 – Ann Waters, Producer coordinator

The Vanishing Bees

THE VANISHING BEES

From the dawn of human society, the nature and origin of the honeybee has awakened the curiosity and interest of man. For the past five million years, this furry insect has been a creature of special sanctity, representing many things such as the human soul, industry, cooperation and the sacred feminine. Our relationship with bees also denotes the most ancient form of agriculture. Pre-historic petroglyphs depict women on honey hunts and Ancient Egyptian farmers floated beehives on rafts down the Nile to pollinate their crops.

And yet today, we live in a state of disconnect. The average consumer has no idea where things originally come from, not even something as vital as our food. They think edibles come naturally shrink-wrapped on a shelf and that the bees are merely stinging insects that make honey, when in fact these prime pollinators are responsible for one third of the food we eat, including most of the fruits, vegetables, nuts and even alfalfa used to feed livestock. In America, this amounts to about $18 billion in annual sales.

Imagine half a million adults skipping town and leaving their children behind. Picture an opened suitcase filled with bundles of cash at a bus stop and yet no robber wants to snatch it. The apiary science mystery known as “Colony Collapse Disorder” displays these very symptoms. Not only do the bees abandon their hive, but the queen and the brood as well. Unnatural. Unheard of. Even the predators that usually raid the hive for honey stay far away. At first, this occurrence sounds like an urban legend or an exaggerated tale. Except it’s not. The situation is both dire and all too real. Bees are disappearing all over the planet and no one knows why.

CCD – Colony Collapse Disorder…what is it?  It is disappearing hives, not just dead bees…but, what causes it?  Is it from the habits of commercial beekeepers & the overuse of agricultural chemicals?  If so – why does a thriving hive in a backyard in our area – with no ag & no hive stress suddenly experience this…

A new movie is addressing this pressing subject – in a very engaging way too!

Scroll down for  trailer of “The Vanishing Bees”

Here is one story…from my Bee Journal…

June 13^th 2010 – Seasonal Hive Checks

I was making the rounds that day of our hives…and, eerily got a call…

David Partch’s hive is dead – gone – disappeared!  A thriving colony reduced to several frames of comb with bits if pollen & some uncapped nectar.  How weird.  Was it the cold, rainy spring – they ate everything & then starved to death?  If so – wouldn’t there be bodies in the hive? Is that hive the “swarm” that was caught in my neighbor’s yard, not so unlikely – only a couple of blocks away.   The hive was a stack of ready frames, about 20 frames showing comb development, many with pollen stores, some uncapped nectar, the bottom deep box & first shallow box had been brood chamber for awhile – well developed black comb with lots of old cocoons, pollen & yet – now – with a spotty brood pattern of only a few dozen capped cells, & no queen cells.

By the time I saw it today – the wax moths are already at work in one section.  Partch puts the exodus at after May 31^st, last time they can remember seeing bees making regular forage entrances.  David says he saw lots of fighting around the entrance before then, and it appeared that they were using the top as an entrance also.  Some aggressive behavior toward him as well. .. I have taken the boxes home to expose them or freeze to rid the wax moths, and will create a storage until they are needed or David wants to try again.  Too sad.  I have taken pictures of the odd white stuff I found on several frames, in most boxes.  I thought it was the cappings from the upper boxes, as they were robbed empty.  Will I ever know?

See the movie, I am going to as soon as it is out!

And – here is a word on CCD – a short film from Burt’s Bees…

They are a corporation also wanting to help save the bees!  I think we are all in this together..the bees are collapsing our culture & economy is collapsing…grow borage for the bees & a garden to feed yourself..NOW!

And – if you need more reasons to support the bees & use honey – here is another video (NPR) about honey – as medicine…

Honey is all right with me! In fact, I am going to open a hive this afternoon…hope I see some extra honey… I might just have a taste…
Bee well,
Annie

THE TRANSITION MOVEMENT

Why Transition?

We are living in an age of unprecedented change, with a number of crises converging. Climate change, global economic instability, overpopulation, erosion of community, declining biodiversity, and resource wars, have all stemmed from the availability of cheap, non-renewable fossil fuels. Global oil, gas and coal production is predicted to irreversibly decline in the next 10 to 20 years, and severe climate changes are already taking effect around the world. The coming shocks are likely to be catastrophic if we do not prepare. As Richard Heinberg states:

Our central survival task for the decades ahead, as individuals and as a
species, must be to make a transition away from the use of fossil fuels –
and to do this as peacefully, equitably, and intelligently as possible”.

The Transition movement represents one of the most promising ways of engaging people and communities to take the far-reaching actions that are required to mitigate the effects of peak oil, climate change and the economic crisis. Furthermore, these relocalization efforts are designed to result in a life that is more fulfilling, more socially connected and more equitable than the one we have today.

The Transition model is based on a loose set of real world principles and practices that have been built up over time through experimentation and observation of communities as they drive forward to reduce carbon emissions and build community resilience. Underpinning the model is a recognition of the following:

• Peak Oil, Climate Change and the Economic Crisis require urgent action
• Adaptation to a world with less oil is inevitable
• It is better to plan and be prepared, than be taken by surprise
• Industrial society has lost the resilience to be able to cope with shocks to its systems
• We have to act together and we have to act now
• We must negotiate our way down from the “peak” using all our skill, ingenuity and intelligence
• Using our creativity and cooperation to unleash the collective genius within our local communities will lead to a more abundant, connected and healthier future for all.

The Transition Movement believes that is up to us in our local communities to step into a leadership position on this situation. We need to start working now to mitigate the interrelated effects of peak oil, climate change, and the economic crisis, before it is too late. Together we can make a difference.

Check out this video put together by Ben Zolno on ‘Why Transition?

THE FIRST SHEAF

THE FIRST SHEAF

Ever since primitive man learned to cultivate his own crops, harvest festivals — thanksgiving ceremonies and celebrations for a successful and abundant harvest — have been carried out throughout the world.

The celebration of harvest in Britain dates back to pre-Christian times, when the success of crops governed the lives of the people. Saxon farmers offered the first cut sheaf of corn to one of their gods of fertility to ensure a good harvest the following year. Corn dollies (symbolizing the goddess of the grain) were traditionally made from the last ears of wheat to be cut.  (Referral link)

Today we cut the first sheaf of the harvest, and in fact – it is the first grain to be harvested in Mendocino County in any great amount in almost 60 years!  As the Chaplain of our Grange, I carried a sickle into the field & cut this first sheaf with prayers & thanks for abundance, and with hope that it will continue on into the future cycles – as we sow the seeds of the harvested sheaf once again in the sacred circle of life.

We of the Grange honor this time of the yearly cycle as the bountiful harvest of CERES.  The Roman Cereal Goddess Ceres is the giver of life.

I wrote a play using the initiation liturgy of the Grange (Refer to the Manual of Subordinate Granges), and some of it follows here…

We filmed some film footage today in the vineyard- with the intention that a short film about Grange, the reverence for grain & the cycles of agriculture will be made.

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Ceres: Grass is the basis of agriculture.  Without it the Earth would be arid, barren waste.  It is emblematic of man’s transitory state upon the earth, and of a brighter and more glorious truth. (page 21)

Lecturer: Ceres offers the grain that holds all of humankind in our agricultural ways – from the first ancient wild grasses that were cultivated into bold and heavy grains that can feed many from one field.  Ceres lives in the sheaf of wheat, the bundle of corn, the drying rice on the roofs of dwellings.  Her gift offers our lives stability – thusly have humans settled in one place with no need to roam nomadically, looking for foods in the wilderness.  Ceres represents the first harvests of late summer – as our life cycle turns to Adulthood, both symbolized by the Sickle and the Ripened Grain.  We are both Harvester and Gleaner.  Secure in our abundance we can begin to practice CHARITY.

Ceres: I am the giver of life, the seed becomes the sheaf, becomes the bread and the feast, from which the seed is saved for planting again.  I am all of the cycle in one.

From The Grange Manual: To live in the country and enjoy all its pleasures, we should love rural life.  To love the country is to take interest in all that belongs to it – its occupations, its culture, its improvement.  To gather the flocks around us and feed them from our hands, to make the birds our friends and too call them by their names, to rove the verdant  fields with a higher pleasure than we could have in regal courts and high towers, to inhale the air of the morning  as if it were the sweet breath of infancy, to brush the dew from the glittering fields as if our paths were strewn with diamonds, to perceive this glorious temple all distinct with the presence of Divinity, and to feel, amid all this – the heart swelling with and adoration and a holy joy absolutely incapable of utterance. This it is to love the country, and to make it not the home of the body only, but of the soul.  These teachings would make any home the brightest and happiest on Earth.

Ceres: Be as a grain of wheat.  Begin in innocence in the darkness of your inner thoughts; allow the cultivation of knowledge and then the ripening of wisdom to guide your harvest.  Share these grains of wisdom with all you meet.  Teach this to the next generation of seeds that they may continue the cycle of diligent labor and reward.

Master: The SICKLE is an ancient and honorable tool.  It speaks of peace and prosperity, and is the harbinger of joy.  It is used not merely to reap the golden grain of the sheaf, but – in the field of mind and heart and soul – to gather every precious stalk, every opening flower, and every desirable fruit.  Thus it is a reminder of honest employment, diligent labor – teaching the present lesson of prosperity and peace, and a prophecy of future plenty and rejoicing. (Grange Manual – page 44, paraphrased)

Lecturer: As we begin the harvest of grains – the rustling corn is waving as ripe and ready for the reapers and gleaners – may we feel as well the attendant lessons.  We must reap for the mind as well as for the body, and from the abundance of our harvest, in good deeds and kind words, dispense CHARITY.  The grain is ripe and ready for the harvest.  It is, however, important that the best of intelligent and skillful labors be employed.  Gather only the good seed, both for feasting and for planting in the next cycle.  Our associations in life are the fields in which we reap.  Use judgment, and while you glean let your example be such that others may profit by it.  Cultivate an observing mind; perceive the beauty that everywhere abounds.

Pomona: The harvest time of your life consists not only of that which you take from the seeds planted for your own use – the ripe grains that fall into your hands, but also is a time of CHARITY – sharing the harvest with those in need around you.  As flowers and vines have covered the rough paces in nature, so I charge you, cover the faults and failings of others with the mantle of CHARITY.  Speak well of others, rather than dwell on their shortcomings.  Gather up the sheaves of their virtues, and pass by their faults, just as you gather the good seed, and leave the rest.  Such are the great aims, labors and rewards of the planting, the cultivation and the harvest of life. (Paraphrased from page 43)

~~~~~

Note:  This wheat is being grown in between the rows of grapes in the Vineyards of the Frey Family Winery. 

The standard 8 feet of row space is most of the land use in a vineyard ,and by planting down the center of this space with vegetables & grains, they hope to see a fuller overall usage of acreage, and a reduction of pests & weeds.  I wish them the best of success with this innovation and with luck – the future will see many more California vineyards growing grains!

Harvest festivals in ancient cultures

• The ancient Egyptians celebrated their harvest festival in honour of Min, the god of vegetation and fertility. The festival of Min was held in the spring, the Egyptians’ harvest season. After a grand parade, a great feast was held with music, dancing and sports.
• The ancient Chinese celebrated their harvest festival on the 15th day of the eighth month. The day was believed to be the birthday of the Moon and special Moon cakes stamped with the face of a rabbit (perceived to be the face of the moon) were baked.
• The ancient Greeks worshiped Demeter as their goddess of all grains. Demeter’s daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld. Demeter, the source of all growth and life, withdrew her powers from the Earth during her time of grief. Demeter’s refusal to eat or feed the world until the other gods resolved her conflict with Hades over Persephone brought on winter, and no plants or grains could grow. Because Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds given to her by Hades, she was condemned by the gods to spend half of the year in the underworld and half of the year on earth with Demeter. Every year, when Persephone is in the underworld there is winter, and when she is on the Earth, there is spring and summer.
• The Romans celebrated the Cerelia festival, where offerings of the first fruit of the harvest were dedicated to Ceres (Demeter in Greek). Some believe the festival was held in October, others say that it took place in April, to coincide with the arrival of spring.

P.S.  I also hope to obtain some grain for baking into loaves of bread for our annual Harvest Dinner at the Little Lake Grange.

Waste = Food, Homes, Future

Waste = Food

An inspiring documentary on the Cradle to Cradle design concept of the chemist Michael Braungart and the architect William McDonough. Winner of the Silver Dragon at the Beijing International Science Film Festival 2006. OUTLINE: Man is the only creature that produces landfills. Natural resources are being depleted on a rapid scale while production and consumption are rising in na­tions like China and India. The waste production world wide is enormous and if we do not do anything we will soon have turned all our resources into one big messy landfill. But there is hope. The German chemist, Michael Braungart, and the American designer-architect William McDonough are fundamentally changing the way we produce and build. If waste would become food for the biosphere or the technosphere (all the technical products we make), produc­tion and consumption could become beneficial for the planet. A design and production concept that they call Cradle to Cradle. A concept that is seen as the next industrial revolution. • Design every product in such a way that at the end of its lifecycle the component materials become a new resource.

• Design buildings in such a way that they produce energy and become a friend to the environment.

Large companies like Ford and Nike are working with McDonough and Braun­gart to change their production facilities and their products. They realize that economically seen waste is destruction of capital. You make something with no value. Based on their ideas the Chinese government is working towards a circular economy where Waste = Food. An amazing story that will definitely change your way of thinking about production and consumption.

Director Rob van Hattum Research Gijs Meijer Swantee

Production Karin Spiegel en Madeleine Somer

Editors in Chief Doke Romeijn en Frank Wiering

© VPRO 2006

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