New Permaculture Design

My partner Cat Dancing and I recently attended a Meetup in Austin for a new intentional community. The group, Vajra Azaya, is seeking to obtain land in Williamson County to build a community that will serve as a teaching center for Permaculture, alternative building, alternative lifestyle, health, and so on. It seems to be a really exciting group.  I signed up for several of their committees, Permaculture, Sustainable Agriculture, and Alternative Building (I think.)

We also made a new friend at the meetup who has recently acquired six acres of land near Bastrop and would like to achieve a permaculture design for it. It's very promising. We're meeting with her this weekend to talk over what she wants to accomplish. 

In preparation for that, I visited the place last Monday and looked it over. It's an interesting L shaped piece of property near Lake Bastrop. It has a medium sized house and outbuildings, along with quite a few well established trees of many types. The long portion of the property is running north and south and borders on a wet-weather creek. Some research on the Bastrop Tax Office website netted me the "official" outline of the property as well as the legal description. With Google Earth and an add-on that shows contours, I got the topography of the property and the satellite picture of it. 

Inserting these different resources into my drafting program and accurately scaling them to useful overlays took part of an afternoon, but it gave me a really good overview of the property involved. 

This has generated several maps I can use when I talk to the owner this weekend.

I suppose we can call this Stage One of the design process. Next will be the interview with the owner, and more detailed inspection of the property to accurately lay out all the existing features. I'll take you along for the ride.

Also, if you haven't checked out Meetups, you should. It's a great way to find like minds in your area. There are groups for literally every possible interest. Check it out!

 

Labyrinthine Love

Labyrinths are cool! I walked my first one back in 2007 when I first went to Tejas Witch Camp in Central Texas. Since then I've found others and have even learned to lay out my own. There are several churches around Austin that have their own labyrinths and there is one laid out in bricks in the park near Palmer Auditorium near Downtown Austin. Each one is interesting.
Differing from mazes, a labyrinth has one path, you can't get lost. Most commonly, you start at a beginning, and wind up in the center after making several circuits around and back and forth in the pattern.
Two of the most often followed patterns are the "classical" and the "medieval, or Chartres Cathedral" styles.

Classical Labyrinth

Medieval Pattern

Either can be found in various places. The Classical is one of the most easy to lay out, and contains seven circuits. There are many, many, more patterns out there to explore. A friend of mine in East Austin has one in her yard that is in the shape of a hand, winding in and out of her garden and fruit orchard, outlined by colored wine bottles which she obtained from recyclers.
Labyrinths have many purposes, including fun and meditation. Kids and adults love to walk the pathways, winding back and forth, meeting and passing others again and again. It's a metaphor for life. It's been said, also, that the pathways of the labyrinth follow the paths of the mind. To walk the pattern in a meditative frame of mind, is to relax the mind, to explore the inner workings, to release tension and find meaning.
Many walkers find a peaceful, powerful connection at the center. From the first time I walked that first labyrinth, I sensed power at the turnings as well. In life, as in art, there is power inherent anywhere a change of direction is encountered. At the center is a stillpoint. All turnings have been made, all paths have been walked. Spirit and the sacred are within reach.
Labyrinth design is related to geomancy. The best labyrinths are laid out in relation to points of power located in the earth. In fact, labyrinth patterns can be found in many cultures around the world, dating back to antiquity before any of these cultures had contact with each other. Many of these are located on Ley lines, or points of psychic and/or earth energy.
The subject of Labyrinths is a very large one. They go back to antiquity, and have been adopted by many religions through the centuries.
Find one, walk it. Read more about them. Build one for yourself, or have someone like myself lay one out for you. Enjoy!