Chicken Little

This morning, as I usually do, I woke right up at 7:30am. I promptly dressed and headed to the front door to slip on my muck boots. After assuring that the two sibling cats were content with their breakfast I headed to the chickens. Monté, the border collie, is just as enthusiastic and bounds up the hill ahead of me. Although it is still near freezing out, the chickens are all up and ready to be released into their paddock. The several ducks that that live with the chickens see Monté and sound off quacking. Monté has a chronic herding disorder and tries to herd our feathered friends through the fence. The creatures of habit know what time to expect me and become pushy if I'm much later. They also habitually run to the entrance of the paddock we closed off two days ago.

Aña and I just built a third paddock area hoping to rotate them through vegetated areas. The 24 or so chickens and six ducks can decimate a good size area in just a couple of weeks. They eat everything that is green and tear up the soil hunting for insects. Our goal is to reduce feed inputs while allowing the chickens to produce healthier eggs. Among other things, I'm sure, if the chickens are eating more green plants their eggs will be higher in omega three fatty acid. In our society's grain heavy diet it's good to up the omega three to six ratio any chance possible.

Letting the chickens out this morning brought back fond childhood memories. Somewhere around six to eight years old I was occasionally “baby sat” on a farm. The farm was only about a mile from where I grew up in the country of northern Wisconsin. Appropriately named “North Wind Farm” was and still is an organic farm that operates off the grid and strives for sustainable living practices. Of course, at that age I had no idea what the gird was nor what organic meant. I mainly just loved arriving on the farm and rushing to check for any eggs in the hen house. It was always like easter; finding a pink one here, a green one there, and some speckled ones hiding under the straw on a shelf higher up. The rare breeds of chickens and roosters on the farm all had original looks and personalities. I remember watching them at great lengths and playing with the chicks in tall cool grass on warm summer days.

Today it makes me laugh remembering how odd I thought the life style on that farm was. People not driving off in their cars to jobs. Not enough electricity for a television. Going to the bathroom in an adjoined outhouse with a pit. Eating weird “alternative” foods and even some stuff that was pulled right out of the ground to cook up. There were drying plant parts and seeds all over and clear homemade soda. Not understanding or being accustomed to that lifestyle made it seem foreign. Now, however, it has become the lifestyle that I'm seeking out.

Aña and I both are happy to have ended up on a wonderful organic farm in California. We found the farm through the W.W.O.O.F. network. It's the same network that many people used to find North Wind back when I was being taken care of there. It stands for world wide opportunities on organic farms. There are international branches for farms all over the world. The idea behind it is to unite farmers with people willing to work in exchange for learning and commonly room and board. After subscribing to a particular country or region you get a list of farms with their descriptions and contact information. Then it is up to you to contact the farms and work out the details.

W.W.O.O.F-ing together has been our dream for some time. We've just been held back for one reason or another. Either we wanted to be close to family, we were bitten by the travel bug, or felt we needed to earn money. Now, at last, it seems we could become professional wwoofers and travel the world living on farms. It also seems there are often ways to earn a little money with a little creativity. Much money isn't needed anyways. With room and board covered, no more student loans, no bills, a little bit goes a long ways. It's hard to complain when there is abundant organic food, clean spring water, and a remote country landscape. As David, another worker on the farm here said, “We might be poor, but we live like kings”. For me, it sure beats working a meaningless job and living in a toxic city. Besides, to end with another quote from Michael Franti, “Only a rat can win a rat race”.

On the Road Again

After another wonderful summer working at Breitenbush Hot Springs in Oregon, Aña and I are back on the road. We've made our way down to the bay Area for a second Thanksgiving with her brother and a wonderful Guatemalan family. Along the way we enjoyed the company of many friends in Oregon and California and some shared adventures. We've eaten some of the best food in our lives, had some incredible mushroom hunts, checked out a couple of wwoof farms (see link to wwoof site on the right), and even spent a night playing at a gymnastics gym.

Aña and I are hoping to end up wwoofing for up to a year. It seems to us imperative to gain homesteading skills. We have spent the last couple of weeks on a farm outside of Ukiah, CA with our friend, Briz. I was hoping it would be a farm we could spend a year on, but upon reflection we're deciding to move on. It is an amazing farm with a huge orchard, chickens, and a few ducks. The only drawback is that the main focus seems to still be on medical marijuana cultivation that funds the farm. We're hoping to find a farm with more animals and less prevalent cannabis consumption and more focus on animal husbandry. It's also hard to feel comfortable around the owner as his communications are vague and he doesn't seem too interested in getting to know us.

After searching out and contacting some more farms on the wwoof site we have now formulated a new plan. Currently we're set to move to a different farm by Santa Cruz in a week. We'll spend a month there, then head back to Oregon and fill in for a week at Breitenbush. It will be a great way to cover the cost of traveling and visiting friends there. After that we have another gig lined up outside of Crescent city in Northern Cali. A retired couple that owns a hobby farm we stayed at on our way south want us to caretake their huge house and animal collection for a few months. We spent only a night with them but enjoyed their company immensely and fell in love with the area. They're located 25 miles from the nearest city nestled in red wood hills. On an all too brief outing with them we were in mushroom heaven and harvested so many chanterelles we had to sell some. We'll be taking care of their Great Pyrenees dog, four pigs and some piglets, two cows, and a variety of chickens. Come march we're hoping to have another farm lined up that does a farmer's market and has about 60 goats. Given our love for goat cheese it will be great to be a part of the process of making it.

A Fun E-mail I wrote on 8/7/2007. What's changed?

Dear friends and comrades,

This is the first of what will hopefully be a continuing posting to a
truly amazing group of people. This will be a way of reaching out to
a group of individuals who have more in common than an interest in
sustainable living. United by morale, compassion, a desire to learn,
community spirit, and strong "work ethics", this group can share a
great deal. Be it over a digital medium or in person, we can offer
ideas and inspiration to one another.

This group exists because of a dream of mine. I hope to one day live
in an outstanding community while being as self sustainable as
possible. The dream arose out of moral questioning, an observation of
contemporary societies, and a desire to ease our parasitic
relationship with the earth. This dream has metamorphosed from a mere
ideal to become a way of survival and perseverance of quality of
life. Current squabbling and fighting over high-yield energy
resources points to a coming brake-down of contemporary lifestyle that
will leave many in the dark (pun intended).

There is great controversy and speculation to the timing of events to
come. However, many working models based on peak-oil curves suggest
severe blackouts will start occurring in "industrialized" societies
around 2012 (not suggesting any correlation with Mayan or other
eschatological prophecy). By examining the recent events of global
economics and militaristic action it becomes clear that the current
relationship between fuel production and its consumption cannot last
much longer. This will bring great change to our society's relation
to food production, transportation, and macroeconomics. Virtually
every aspect of the "civilized" way of life we have come to know is
dependent on cheap transportable fuel that is being quickly
exhausted. Outside the question of timing, it will eventually be
imperative to be more self-sustainable and sufficient.

There are many questions for pondering within this group. Two core
questions are where and with whom may a sustainable living community
be established.

It would be my greatest delight to draw upon people within this group
to eventually live with. It will thus be necessary to add members to
this group but some discretion is needed. Community living takes more
than a common goal or philosophy to succeed. Individuals must be
adaptive, productive, and open minded. If you are currently receiving
this post, you have my vote for containing these qualities and more!
Whether a new community is established or an existing one is joined,
we can stay in touch and benefit from each other. Now, please help
this group grow through your contacts and discretion!

The more daunting question is in regards to location. It seems
obvious that a general location should be remote from any large urban
area. Although trade or sale from cottage industries would benefit
from the proximity of a dense populous, it is my opinion that the cons
out weigh the pros. My opinion is based on visions of contamination
(air, water, etc.), and the inevitable collapse of suburban and urban
lifestyles. I had also held the belief that settling in my home
country would make more sense for its ease and proximity to family and
friends. However, with the continual stripping of civil liberties,
the blatant ability of government to violate law and constitution, and
my role in financing oil extraction, multi-country invasions, murder,
and other atrocities, a multi-country search commences.

It is my hope to send out a post every two weeks. In the next issue I
would like to include a brief analysis of other countries around the
world that may be viable for expatriation. I shall start with Central
America for economic and food production reasons. If you have any
suggestions or thoughts please post away! Please help the membership
of this group grow as well.

Stay tuned, or online I guess.

Much Love and Happiness,

Rob

A Response to a Friend in Wisconsin

Hey lovely!

Eva, how wonderful to know that there are beautiful people seeking community. I'm sorry that I have not responded sooner, but I have had much to think about in the way of communities. Once again, Aña and I have ended up at the community that runs Breitenbush Hot Springs. This place has so much of what I would desire in a long term community, but unfortunately falls far from the wants of sustainability and self sufficiency. Reading the news, crazy articles, and books about the peak oil theme, it seems self sufficiency will soon become a way of survival.

Aña and I have been fostering a great deal of conversation and some action here, but it's slow going. Part of the older generation is reluctant to change and processes are steeped in bureaucracy. For example: a proposal we submitted to raise rabbits for meat in a 90% omnivorous community won't be decided on until October. We might not be here to to benefit from the decision.

We're currently trying to decide if we want to try and stick around for a year or take off traveling to explore existing sustainable communities. Maybe in New Zealand? Maybe in Tennessee? If we stick around for a year we will be acquiring more skills while saving money. Then again, the value of the dollar is staged to collapse within a year or so. Crazy times we live in. So much human malice and destruction and so many quick changes on the horizon make it difficult to know what to do.

On thing is for certain though. Having a community is a viable way to survive and maintain sanity. The benefits always have outweighed the tribulations or me. For now I plan on continuing to acquire skills that will hopefully benefit a community I end up in. When and where that will be I'm not sure. In the maximum of five years time I hope to have an abundance of useful skills and assets to contribute to and help build an amazing community.

Much love and thanks for sharing your dreams,

Rob


On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 9:30 PM

----Forwarded Message----

Hi friends,

It has become more and more apparent (to me, and maybe to you too) that creating community makes me slightly giddy, simultaneously relaxed, nourished, inspired, and self-assured. I would like to start a conversation with you about the kind of vision that a community we make should have. I realize that I may not end up sharing land or a house, or even a city with some of you, but I also realize that the potential for any of those three things can and will be a reality, given the right intention and follow-through. It also seems possible that in a year (ok, 2), the opportunity to buy land for a cooperative-style community could come about. I would love to be deep in our conversation by then, and possibly ready to ease on into it. How do you feel about that?

What is realistic to achieve in creating a community? Producing our own food (or a large percentage of it)? Providing education for our children? Providing educational opportunities for others? Creating a retreat for ourselves and others? Producing a cash crop that we can earn a profit on? Rehabilitating a nature preserve? Other beautiful things you desire for your community?

Jack and I have been talking about putting some roots down in Madison, and feel like it would be nice to not 'rent'. It would also be nice to be in a close proximity to Madison, yet have legit wilderness around us. I recently came upon this property: http://madison.craigslist.org/reb/2295147453.html . I'm sure it won't be available by the time we are actually looking to establish something, but it give you an idea of the space, the beauty, the proximity that my brain has identified as ideal.

Thanks for taking time to read this. I appreciate just knowing that community is important to you, and that you are looking to fufill deep human needs through creating it. If you have time and inclination, it would be great to hear your ideas.

Love
Eva

Morning on the Farm

From 2011 New Mexico

I start my day by rolling myself into child's pose beneath a pile of blankets on my sleeping pad. I reach my arms forward towards a new day and consider the various aches that have taken up residence in my limbs since yesterday. The first warm sunny afternoon that found us clearing brush , leaves and grasses from a long stretch of irrigation ditch, with Chris's Father and son baling the piles as soon as we heaved them up. My arms and back aching from the quarter mile of raking and piling. I toss back the covers and clear them from the floor. Air mattresses rolled away I lay down a yoga mat and mold my back into cat and cow, upwards into downward dog and so on willing my muscles to release and prepare for the morning that lies ahead.

I come out of a back liberating plow pose and ask Rob if he has eaten yet. He looks up from the computer screen and says no, offering to make us oatmeal and matte. I get dressed and snuggle up next to him over a steaming bowl of oats with raisins and maple syrup. Together we watch Democracy Now and share through film the celebration that pounds in the hearts of thousands of Egyptions who after 19 days of protest ousted their unjust leader Mubarack. We place dishes beside the sink, feet into boots and bodies into layers of warm wool and step out into a brisk morning. Rob heads out to the hay barn to gather breakfast for everyone and I load milking pails, udder butter, clean rags and vinegar water onto the milking wagon. I push my load around the straw bale house and through the paths of chickens and ducks towards the milking parlor stopping en route to gather up a few handfuls of chicken food.

I open the North facing door of the milking parlor and wheel in my milking wagon, then close the door behind me. Grabbing the container of chicken feed mixed with grain I open the South facing door which leads to Reina's pen. Her warm chocolate eyes turn to meet mine as she peacefully chews the hay Rob brought for her. Then she sees the container I hold in my hand and immediately beelines for the parlor. I give her a small taste, then quickly urge her onto the milking platform. She hesitates before sliding her head between two 2x4's but the treats prove too strong a temptation and she passes her great brown head between them and I slide them together and lock them in place so her head can't be pulled back out if she changes her mind. Once she is secured on the milking platform I pour the remaining treats into a small trough along with a handful of hay, and open the North door again so Reina can look outside. Content for now she resumes her favorite hobby of eating and I run a brush through her cafe con leche colored coat to remove straw, hay, hair and any other debris that could fall into the milk pail.

Reina's beauty treatment continues, her udders being cleaned with rags I wet down with vinegar water. I rub the swollen curves of her heavy udders and freckled pink teats until the rags I use fade from white to dirty brown. Lathering my fingers with udder butter I place a plastic garbage pail lid beneath Reina to drain the first bit of milk from each teat and to drain completely her infected right rear udder. A steady stream flows from each one except for the infected udder which struggles between the passing of clumps of pus that are flushed out with each steady pull. We don't drink this milk, it will be used to soak grains which will be fed to the chickens. Chris tells me that in commercial dairies these precautions aren't heeded and because of industrial practices many cows carry these infections and much of commercially available milk has pus in it. (Don't worry, it's pasteurized!)

After I drain this udder completely I reserve the milk in a bucket for the chickens and replace the garbage lid with the milk pail. I nuzzle my head into the soft brown curve between hip and wide expanse of belly, wrap my fingers around two teats, and begin the slow steady process of filling my bucket stream by gentle stream. A steady rhythm lays its beats into my pail and for a while we are both lulled by it. Reina chews along placidly watching the chickens that peck their way past the open door, and I rest my head against the sounds of her gurgling belly and the splish splash of milk in my slowly filling pail. Just when I think it couldn't be going any more smoothly I hear Reina fart.

Cow farts. Funny? Yes. Worrisome? Tambien. Her tail goes up and I use this opportunity to remove the milk pail from beneath her udders and pour the milk I have accumulated so far through a filter into a milk urn, while behind me Reina plops a big green poop onto the parlor floor. I sigh, replace the pail and resume our milking rhythm, turning my head to gaze out the south door where I spot three chickens kicking and pecking in the straw, on the hunt for insects and spilled grains. Beyond their black and white speckled feathers I watch the goats grazing from their trough, which at one time served as a wheelbarrow. Rob is standing their reaching his arm through the fence and scratching Snowflake's cheek and neck, which she loves. I feel the streams of milk getting thinner and thinner as they pass through her udders. Gradually the milk stops flowing and I pass my fingers over each of her udders in turn to make sure she is milked down completely. Reina moos and shuffles her hooves signifying that she is getting antsy, I moo right back at her in a low song like way and once more lift the milk pail from beneath Reina's impatient curves to filter the last of the milk into the urn placing the filter into the empty milk pail and pushing the urn lid snuggly in place to keep this sweet warm cargo from spilling over.

My hand pulls the long bolt out of the secured 2x4 which falls to the side and Reina withdraws her eager head from between the brace. Her brown eyes fixed on me she cautiously steps her hooves backwards off the milking platform until she feels the give of straw beneath her, where she makes a wide turn and lightly steps her hulking form through the door into her paddock and the warm morning sun. I bring a bucket of grain and corn out to her and pour it over her hay which she promptly begins to eat with appreciation.

After some good neck scratches I return to the milking parlor closing the door to Reina's pen behind me. I check to ensure everything on the milking wagon is secure before lifting the handles and pushing it's one wheel over the threshold, and past curios hens who enter the parlor in my wake to scavenge for fallen grain. The milking wagon clangs and jostles over dirt, bumps, gravel and finally the ramp leading up to the house. Dirty udder rags are hung to dry, udder butter and empty vinegar bottle replaced on their shelf. Milk, still steaming in the cool shady side of the house, is poured through another filter into tall glass mason jars for us to enjoy. Empty urn, pail and filter are washed thoroughly before returning to their rack to dry and wait for the evening milking.

As for me, I carry the fresh warm milk to the 15 watt solar powered fridge, chug the last of my now cold tea forgotten on the table, and head back outside to face the next tasks of the day.

Aña Marjenka
February 2011
Albuquerque NM

Enjoying New Mexico despite Wisconsin Weather

Keeping ourselves busy in New Mexico has let three weeks slip by quickly. We entered NM right before Aña's golden birthday on the 28th of January. After checking out the Roswell alien scene we were able to make it to hot springs for her b-day. We had read about the hottest hot springs in northern NM just outside of Las Vegas (NM!). With a wonderful couch surfing host secured nearby, we soaked to our hearts content. There was a nice cluster of three tubs near a small river overlooking the campus of the Montezuma World School. The tubs ranged from 98°F to 108°F. The morning of her birthday we awoke super early and made it into the tubs a half hour before sunrise. A wonderful way to start the day.

We actually had great weather too; stripping down to t-shirts during the day. We spent our non-soaking time reading adventures of John Long and exploring Las Vegas. Several factors make the town quite charming. First, there are trees, which were absent in the barren lands around Roswell. Secondly, many buildings around town and especially around the town square still have a retro or colonial look. It was also pleasant to sense a general “laid-back” vibe to the people. Many locals speak Espanglish, which I found entertaining to listen to. It was common to hear sentences and even parts of sentences alternate between Spanish and English. A heavy local slang makes it a little tricky to understand. There is also 14th and 15th century Spanish spoken by some of the decedents from Spanish immigrants of the conquistador era.

After two nights by the Montezuma Hot Springs, it was onto Taos. The downtown area was shockingly touristy. We noticed as soon as we began entering Taos that all the buildings are made to look like Adobe, even the McDonald's. It wasn't long before Aña coined the term “faux-dobe”, or fake adobe, for this this facade based architecture. We explored to kill time hoping to hear from a couch surfing host. With darkness and the desert's cold night approaching we decide to make way for a nearby hostel. On our way we stopped by a natural food store and eyed up the bulletin board. We notice that a sweat lodge ceremony was scheduled for the very next morning. In need of some spiritual consoling and a good sweat we decided to make it our next day's activities.

After awaking in the congested hostel we did some cleaning as part of our lower price bargaining. Then we bought some fruit as an offering to share at the sweat lodge ceremony. We found the house on the outskirts of Taos where the ceremonies are held. We almost decided to abort after meeting the woman who would lead the ceremony and upon realizing we were the only ones attending. I am so very glad, however, that we decided to see it through. It was one of the most beautiful lodge ceremonies I've attended (out of five to date). Aña is working on a more detailed and poetically expressed account of the experience. That will be posted shortly!

With Couch Surfing hosts still not replying we were a little frantic trying to find a place to stay. We had contemplated camping before learning temperatures would be dropping to 1°F that night and snow was expected. Amazingly, word reached a friend, of a friend, of a friend who was happy to take us in. Kim and Kelly were a friendly hippy couple that put us up for three nights. We hadn't planned on staying that long, but we were snowed in! We received about 9” of snow and night-time temperatures plummeted to -25°F; below zero. Still, we managed to visit the Rio Grande Gorge and check out some Earth Ships. The Earth Ship structures are incredible, but require massive amounts of labour.

We fled south to Santa Fe only to find more sub-zero temperatures. Luckily we had warm company making friends with wonderful Couch Surfing hosts. We had some frigid hikes around the historic downtown, but relished our time conversing with our hosts. Great conversations about traveling and community building. Two nights in Santa Fe and it was time to head to Iron Wood Farm just South of Albuquerque.

Now, we've been at the farm for just over a week. We found the farm through W.W.O.O.F.; world wide opportunities on organic farms (see link on the right of this blog site). We've been staying very busy getting trained to preform the basic routine and help with miscellaneous projects. Twice daily we feed and water the goats, sheep, cows, ducks, chickens, and Aña has been milking the milk cow, Reina. We've also fixed frozen pipes, rebuilt a chicken coup, modified the green house, cleaned out ditches, put up fences, hauled scrap materials, and butchered a sheep. At night we've been spending our time hanging out with another wwoofer here, Phil. We became instant friends with Phil, a Poli-Sci, major, while ranting about global politics and doing some exploring.

Morning Rant

It has thus far been hard for me to find “direction” in this life. I'm talking about direction in terms of a stable career, acquiring a house, family planning, etc. The “direction” or lifestyle that seems to be the socially acceptable standard or goal. I have to guess that it's been hard for me because I accept a different framework of reality. To live a blissful life pursuing the “American Dream” standard of our society one must assume a lack of change. That our current social institutions will be fairly similar throughout our lives. That the sources for our education, our retirement, our energy, our food, and our income will always be there. Most people seem to blindly accept this and continue their socially standard lifestyle.

My rational framework, however, has been unable to accept that drastic change is not due. I can simply not rationalize that the foundations of our society and current lifestyle are going to continue much as they have. The life supports and fundamental needs of our industrialized lifestyles are coming to an end. The energy source that has become the backbone of our world is running out. This is a widely accepted fact, but with with an unknown date it is commonly brushed aside. It is common sense, at least to most fifth graders, that a non-renewable resource is non-renewable. It runs out! It's only a question of when. Well, this is a subject of endless debate. After reading many books, and viewing several documentaries on the theme, it seems we're already experiencing the affects of a diminished supply. Just keeping tabs on world news lends support to this train of thought.

Maybe you're thinking “no big deal”. Oil runs out, fine. Civilization flourished sporadically for thousands of years before we used oil. Well, maybe this would be fine if our current global population was that of 1-3 thousand years ago. The use of oil allowed our population to grow exponentially. Without listing the numerous ways oil is essential to our way of life, we only need consider food to realize an oil deficient impact. As is the subject of many books, articles, and documentaries, our food system is dependent upon a readily available supply of oil. The fertilizers, pesticides, machines for planting, machines for harvesting, trucks for shipping, machines for processing, refrigeration for storage, packaging production, trucks for distribution, and your car to pick it up at the supermarket are all dependent on easy access to oil.

So now, without massive changes to our infrastructure and lifestyles, the current populations will be non-renewable. Unfortunately we're not talking a small change here. If no miraculous technological super energy source is expeditiously invented, and if extraterrestrial beings with superior knowledge don't intervene, the implications are scary. To return to a stable population without the oil infrastructure, we're looking at a population reduction 10 times WWII every year for the next 75 years. For those of us who learned history in public schools, that's roughly 100 million a year, for the next 75 years. In other terms, that's a population reduction of almost three times the entire population of California (the most populous state in the U.S.) gone every year.

First, as they are right now, food costs will rise. Eventually the whole web of oil dependent food production will not be cost effective or even viable. If this happens suddenly, we'll really be screwed. Imagine no more food being produced and shipped to your local grocery store. The food in that store will generally only support its surrounding population for a matter of days or weeks. Are you prepared to grow your own food? Do you even live in a climate where you can grow your own food? Do you think you would be able to grow enough to support yourself, your family? What about those around you? What about surviving it things turn violent? These are the questions people in our society will be forced to ask, but should start asking themselves now.

For a nice clear explanation of Peak Oil and some of it's implications check out the first site that appeared from all knowing google! The search words were simply "Peak Oil, Population".