It's A Weird Spring

    It's been quite awhile since I've done an update on our place here at EarthSong Retreat. This is a pretty strange Spring season we're having this year. Temperatures swinging from near 90 degrees (F) to mid 30's and back again. We have had a few nice but light rains and I've been expanding the garden. 
    I've finally gotten another scythe from Ebay. I enjoyed my old one, but it was lost several moves ago. It works really well on the giant ragweed and other grasses that I need to cut here and there. We try not to mow at all, especially while we have wildflowers for the bees. 
    Speaking of the bees. We're looking forward to our first honey harvest.
    We also added some more chickens to our small flock. Six pullets were purchased a few weeks back, three Rhode Island Red and three Ameracauna. My personal favorite breed is the Rhode Islands, but we have some diversity. That will bring our flock to 18.
    The free-ranging chickens are a valuable part of pest control, as well as composting.
    The compost system is simple. I have a pair of bins made from pallets.
    We add kitchen scraps, garden and yard trimmings, to either bin. We also add newspaper from the macaws' cages and other compostable material. As you can see, the bins are open and accessible to our free-ranging chickens. They do an excellent job of further shredding the paper and mixing it all together. I rarely turn the piles, but do add water to help decompose the paper if needed. Before long, I have usable compost!
    I select a pile, it really doesn't matter much which one. I move the top layers over to the adjacent pile until I reach the good compost. It goes through a mesh screen into the wheelbarrow. Whatever doesn't go through the screen goes back on the pile.
   The compost goes straight to wherever it's needed. 
   I like this system!


I'll leave with a picture of Cooper the Wonder Dog and his footbaths. He likes our rainwater collection efforts.

Apocalypse Now

It's not too late for an Apocalypse!
I challenge you!
Today is the beginning.

In so many ways today begins a new year, a new age.
It is the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and the longest night.
For our ancestors this begins the time of promise. The days grow longer, the sun returns again. So many peoples and believers celebrated the end of the negative and the beginning of the growing positive at this time of year.

Change is coming, but what kind?
Positive or negative?
We decide.
You and I will create all positive change.
We are the growing edge!

Many have anticipated "The Age of Aquarius" and some even have said that current events signal the beginning. We decide if it is true.
So, let's make it so!

Let us, each and every one of us, build the Age of Aquarius as we would have it be built.
Not as some bureaucrat or so-called religious leader would plan it but as we ourselves would have it.
Right now, today, whatever time or day you read this, begin the new age.

Begin by refusing to give power to the negative forces among us. Don't watch, don't listen, don't pay it any attention whatsoever!
We are better than this. That can be our mantra for this new start.
When someone says it can't be done.
We are better than this.
When the news media is sensationalisticly bleak, We are better than this.

You and I can hew to a higher standard. We can insist that the highest priority is to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, protect the children, save the earth and it is not to add another shekel to the piles of those who covet more than they can possibly spend.

You and I, we are better than this.
Starting right now, we can celebrate the positive in life. Build something for all generations. Instead of waiting for someone to do something someday, today you and will do these simple things.

And they will grow. Simple as that.
We are better than this!

We are the True Apocalypse, You and I!

Heart of Texas Green Expo

I've been asked to give an Intro to Permaculture talk at Bastrop's First Heart of Texas Green Expo on June 8 and 9, 2012. Got to the website and check it out. My talk is currently scheduled for Saturday, June 9 at 11 A.M., but check the schedule and make sure. It should be a good weekend, lots of exhibitors and entertainment!  Cat Dancing and I will also be vending with our art, flutes, and bee hives.

First Spring at EarthSong Retreat!

Here we are, end of May, 2012. The aircard is renewed and it's time to post an update and some pictures of what's going on here at EarthSong Retreat. 


As you can see above, the wildflowers have been in full swing for some time now. Below is another shot of that field. The bees are loving it!

The stick you might see standing near the middle of this shot indicates the location of the new mulberry tree that is planted there. That field also has an escarpment black cherry, a paw-paw, and a couple of comfrey plants. This is a sort of narrow patch of land between a small tree belt and the larger field where our new orchard is located. 

Speaking of the orchard, above are two shots of the new hugelkulture swales in progress. Swales are berms or ridges made along a contour line. They slow down water flow and let it soak in to the soil gradually. Water in the soil is down where the plants need it, and doesn't evaporate so quickly. The swale above is near the high end of the orchard. A ditch is dug, limbs, sticks, logs are placed in the ditch. Dirt is thrown back onto the stack. The woody matter adds organic matter back to the soil. sequesters carbon, adds water retaining material, and allows you to make a somewhat higher berm with less soil. Plus, it gives us a nifty way to dispose of limbs and trees that died last year. The main idea, though, is to keep the water here where we can use it and not let it run off.

While we're on the orchard subject, the nearly ripe peach on the left is on one of our new trees we recently planted in the orchard. The picture on the right is a grafting experiment I am doing. A cutting from the tree on the left has been grafted to the tree on the right. As you can see, that tree also has a peach. 

This tree was a volunteer, arising from the roots of an old, dead tree on the property. Usually, that doesn't necessarily produce a very good tree. Root stock is most often a more "native" strain of fruit that is hardy but perhaps doesn't make the best fruit. However, we had a lot of these volunteers, so they were free. Regardless of the fruit, they will have blossoms, and that means it's good for the bees. Therefore, I separated a lot of the volunteers so they had more room to grow, replanting a few in different spots. Those transplants seem to be doing well. We'll see what happens in the fruit department. Like the one above, several have set fruit. Worst case scenario, I'll have sturdy trees to graft onto! The volunteers are scattered around the rest of the property, many near the beehives. 


The pecan, apple, peach, pear, and persimmon trees we've planted in the orchard area are doing well also.

At right is another addition. One of several fig transplants I rooted and set out. I'm not a huge fig fan myself, but several in my family are. They are also pretty easy to root from cuttings and grow.

At left is the array of bathtubs that will make up our greywater/wetland setup eventually. I'll post more pictures as that develops. I was set on getting three tubs and it seemed to take forever to obtain that last one!
Not too visible behind the tubs are new grape vines planted along the fence to the left, and berry vines along the fence across the back. This fence runs down the back yard. A long wicking bed garden will run there as well to make use of the treated greywater.

The same backyard hosts our solar clothes dryer, also known as a clothesline. This was constructed by Michael and Silas. 

I've mentioned our hens before. The adopted rooster that we had got nabbed by something one night. The hens are carrying on without him. One of the hens also died mysteriously on the nest one day. The other twelve are fine and doing their chicken thing. Here they are starting the day. I let them out of their coop (remember the coop?) into the pen as soon as I get up. Around noon I release them to roam the rest of the property.  I feel this minimizes their laying elsewhere since they seem to do the majority of their laying in the morning. We're averaging about 5 eggs a day from the twelve, so it's possible one or two are still sneaking off somewhere. Oh well, keeping them penned is NOT the agenda. 

One of the hens became broody and got argumentative when we came to collect the eggs. The rooster being gone, the eggs were no longer fertile. We got six fertile eggs from a friend for her to incubate. The required time for hatching passed and no chicks! We went to our nearby feed store and bought five baby chicks to place under her. Between that morning and dusk when we put the chicks in, three of the eggs hatched. So, we now have 8 baby chicks. Here is the brood all snug in the brood house. Since then, the mama got rambunctious and I put her back with the other hens. No more broody, and the chicks are doing well. The new chicks are a mixed bag including Rhode Island Red (my pick) and Americauna. We're figuring that at least one will be a rooster, too. I didn't intend to have a rooster, but that other one adopted us and we sort of missed him after he left. I named him Lord Popinjay. He'd walk me to the pen and we'd talk while I let the hens out.

The current manifestation of the garden is coming along as well. At left is one of the two 6x4 "square foot garden" raised beds. Visible are squash, broccoli and beans. The squash is HUGE after our rains! There is still room in the beds to add plants. The picture on the right shows a pair of "three sisters" tire gardens. They have sweet corn, beans, and squash planted in them. Looking good as well, although the corn in the farthest one hasn't come up. Re-planting that.

Here to the left is another tire garden, this one with strawberries. We've already picked a few from it. Sweet!


I'm still making beehives for sale, and planning to build a few top-bar hives as well.

Happy Earth Day 2012!

There are a lot of events scheduled everywhere for today. Hopeless for me to try and tell you about them all. Much easier for you to Google or otherwise search for the ones near you. If you can, take part!


However, if you can't or won't. Here's a list of 24 things to do for Earth Day that came from Fox News Florida. It's a good one!


1. Buy an e-reader
2. Walk around your town or city and pick up trash
3. Plant a tree
4. Start a compost pile
5. Prepare the ground to plant a garden so you can use your compost pile
6. Watch the sunrise or sunset
7. Take a walk on the beach
8. Take a hike in the woods
9. Ride your bike or walk to work
10. Pledge to start recycling
11. Go bird watching
12. Take a photo of nature
13. Eat one of your meals outside
14. Wear a flower in your hair
15. Attend a local Earth Day celebration
16. Buy some reusable shopping bags
17. Join your local Freecycle to pass along items instead of throwing them away
18. Swap out your light bulbs with energy efficient ones
19. Don't use any appliances for the day
20. Collect hazardous materials like paint and batteries and dispose of them properly
21. Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
22. Dance in the rain
23. Watch an environmental themed movie like "Avatar" or Discovery's series "Planet Earth"
24. Get involved with your local environmental group

My own addition, which also sort of includes #24, would be to learn about Permaculture. Permaculture is a design system with ethics and principles that will work anywhere from a city apartment to a hundred acres in the country. Find out where you can take a class near you, or at least find and listen to an introduction. 

Happy Earth Day!

Bottle and Food Trees

Both here and in my writing blog Criminal Mischief I've mentioned the Blue Bottle Tree, both the novel in progress, and the actual tree above, which is my own rendition of one. It was for looks only and, alas, it is no more. It is not a wise thing to use a dead peach tree for this, as they tend to rot just below the ground. I removed other dead peach trees on the property by simply pushing them over by hand and then it hit me. DUH! The blue bottle tree is in the same boat! I'm surprised it survived the high winds we've had lately. I removed the bottles and it only took the lightest of pushes to topple the tree. I'm glad I saved the bottles. I mean, the blue wine bottles are nice enough, but there are a few collector type bottles in the bunch. Traditionally the blue bottle trees I've known from childhood were on dead fig trees, which must be more durable at root level. Lately I've seen several manufactured steel pipe trees for the purpose. I don't know. I'll think about it. I have the picture, anyway.


Besides all that we've been planting live trees here at Earth Song Retreat. In the past month we've planted three pecan trees, three peach, two apple, one pear, all in the new orchard along the contours. Plus, along the back yard fence I've planted asparagus, artichoke, raspberry, blackberry, and grapes.

Last weekend the City of Bastrop, with Apache Nurseries, gave away free trees to residents in the area who lost trees last summer to either drought or fire. I was busy at Sherwood Forest Faire (opening weekend), but I broke away long enough to get in the looooooong line for free trees. It took about an hour and a half to finally get up to the site and they had cut back to two trees per household. There was a fair selection, mostly shade trees. Mindful of our food forest plan, I selected two Texas Persimmon trees. I don't really have much experience with these, but I do know they bear fruit and are drought tolerant, so they'll do! I haven't selected a site to plant them yet, but recent rains (YAY!) have the ground a bit muddy for planting anyway. In fact, a good bit of yesterday was spent unsticking the pickup from a muddy patch.


Part of today was spent pruning existing fruit trees.


Two of the three graywater tubs have been set in the ground. We are still looking for the third one. With a bit of drier digging conditions we can begin on the wicking beds. All of this is going on around the efforts out at Sherwood.


Never boring!

Use Those Limbs and Twigs!

(Today I'm re-posting something quite good from Paul Wheaton with his permission. Check out his great stuff at www.permies.com!)

Keep those branches, twigs, rotton logs and Christmas trees!

That stuff is gardener's gold!  Organic matter! 

Winter is the season for pruning trees.  Sometimes taking out dangerous trees.   I am mystified when people haul the wood away and in the sping they spend money for mulch.    And equally mystified by people that rent an obnoxious, loud, smelly chipper.

here is a quick list of a dozen things that can be done with that wood, keeping it on your property and not having to fool with a chipper.

1.  Make your own mulch:   A huge branch can be reduced to flat mulch in about two minutes with a pruner.  I usually clip at the bends in the tigs and branches.  A huge pile of branches and twigs will become about 30 times smaller in 15 minutes. 



2.  Cover it in soil to make hugelkultur.   This is best with the logs (green logs work too) and thick branches.   This makes for a richer soil that needs less watering.  Some people have built tall raised garden beds with this technique and they have a normal garden that doesn't need water all summer.   This is an excellent use for a stump - no need to pull it or grind it, just cover it with soil.



3.  In Finland they use small branches and twigs between muddy spots and the house.   You can make a muddy spot less muddy, or you can create a place near the house to wipe your feet.



4.  Put the wood in a dry place for a while and then use it for firewood.  Rocket stove technology can heat a home with 90% less wood than a conventional wood stove.   So little, that many homes are heated with nothing but tree trimmings that come out of a small yard.



5.  If you keep chickens, nothing makes better deep chicken bedding than pine, fir or spruce boughs. 



6.  Butterfly/bird/wildlife habitat:  Just make a big brushpile.  This provides habitat for butterflies to lay eggs, and a variety of beneficial insects and other critters.   Most permaculture practitioners keep a brushpile somewhere in their yard because they believe that it reduces pest damage for the rest of their garden.  

6.1.  Snag or stump for wildlife

7.  Criss-crossing branches in a compost pile helps to aerate it.

8.  With a bit of jute, it's a snap to make a twig trellis or arbor for your garden.  Usually in about ten minutes.  And when they get old, you can mulch the branches and the jute together.

9.  If you have some wood shop skills, you can make chairs, furniture, name tags, coasters, bird houses, benches, planter box, tool handles, coat racks and so much, much more.    And if the wood is living black locust wood, whatever you do with that will last about ten times longer outdoors than cedar without a drop of paint or stain.

10. garden stakes

11.  Throwing branches and logs into ponds will usually reduce algae problems and give fish and amphibians a place to hide from predators.



12. marshmallow/hotdog sticks! 

A lot of this stuff is effectively sequestering your own carbon!  It could be a massive step toward your own personal carbon neutrality.

Housing for the Livestock

On the left is my first constructed bee hive. Cat Dancing painted it with some help from Michael, now the ladies have moved in and made themselves at home. We got the bees a short time ago, after they weathered a fiercely hot summer. We already have plans to build more hives to sell, as well as working on a hive cooperative plan for area growers. I'll post more as it develops.

Previously I posted about our new chickens. They are all doing well, and the "rescues" I added to the flock have come along nicely as well. We've got daily eggs for breakfast and baking. 

This is the temporary coop that came with the chickens. It's barely adequate for the number of hens we have, plus, it is a bit reminiscent of the legendary "two story outhouse". Particularly for the hens on the bottom roost! Therefore, my current project is to build a new hen house!
For awhile I've been admiring pictures of what is called an "Amish" style hen house. It's a very compact and sensible design. I worked up my own plans for one and got to work.

The main frame verticals are tied directly to the skids. I used treated 4x4 lumber, notched and bolted at the base. So far this is the only purchased lumber to go into this project. Two skids are required.

The artisan at work. Ahem! 











Once the skids are done, the framing begins. Here the floor platform and the back wall is started. The footprint is essentially 5'x6'. The rest of the building is made from scavenged material. 

We had a nice piece of 3/4 plywood from an old bed frame we rescued from someone's trash. It was almost large enough for the floor. I added a pair of scavenged 1x12s to finish the floor out. 

Here the wall framing is nearly done. It is ready for the roof  joists. It is taking shape. You can perhaps make out the large doorway in the near end, and the chicken door at the far end. Also, the nest box area is visible. The sloping part on the right side will be the hinged lid to the nest boxes.


More to come!

How It Happens.

We hosted a bit of a party at EarthSong Retreat last night. It was our first since we moved here, and it was a bit of a house-warming as well. Friends brought goodies to swap, I gave a tour of the property and related our permaculture -type plans for it, we had a taco feast and a drum jam.


The friends who attended came from several diverse avenues of our interests; pagan, Tarot students, Avatar, Sherwood Forest friends, even a lady friend of mine from some time back.


At one point, after the tour and tacos, said friend pulled me aside and asked me, "How can you afford all this?"


You see, she knows a lot of my history, as well as the fact that monetary riches and my name do not normally go in the same sentence. However, here I am, living on a very pretty six acre property with a nice house, my own office trailer, a workshop/studio for Cat and myself, and plans for orchards, gray water systems, and so on.


She seemed to think we own the place. (Apparently she missed the part on the tour where I introduced our landlady!) I gave her a very shortened version of how it happened, she thought it a bit inspiring for her own reasons. I was thinking about writing her an email with the expanded version to clarify things.
And then I thought, hey, why not make it a blog? After all, I've posted several of the related issues here before, but I never really tied it all together in one post.


Flashback:
Cat Dancing and I met in 2007 and instantly knew we belong together. I moved in, and we immediately were dreaming of finding another place where we would have more freedom to make some of our mutual dreams come true. We hoped for enough space to have a retreat center, a place for making art and writing, for teaching classes, and to host our friends. A few things presented themselves, but didn't work out.


In 2009 I took my first Permaculture Design Course in Austin. I was blown away by it. All my life I've been interested in so many subjects that make up what we can now refer to as sustainable, even self-sufficient living. I was a long time believer in organic gardening, long time reader of The Mother Earth News, practicing what I had learned in various ways. Suddenly, here was Permaculture, tying it all together, showing me how all these things relate to each other. This became a model for how I wanted to support myself. We renewed our search for "our place" to carry out these principles.


At about the same time, Cat became interested in "Avatar", soon bringing me into it as well. Not the wonderful movie, but the wonderful self discovery course by Harry Palmer. We both became Masters, and Cat has gone on to become a Wizard.


It is not doing the course justice to simplify it in this way, but one of the many effects is to sharpen the will and focus the mind on what you need in your life and erasing negativity around those needs. (Take it from me, there is a lot more than that to it. All of Avatar is well worth looking into.) Anyway, we learned how to constructively desire our new place.


We also became active in bartering. Cat has long traded art and tarot readings for other goods and services at events and shows. We also joined the Austin Time Exchange, a clearing house for bartering time units. Really cool. If you are a webmaster, for instance, you can do a website for someone who gives you however many hours credit on the exchange you agree on, then you may exchange that credit for, say, an equivalent amount of work from a participating auto mechanic, or masseuse, or whatever.

Money is NOT the only economy out there! Barter is alive, as is time exchange and even gift economy! 
By the way, as I've posted before here, we are active Freecyclers. Our workshop and office trailer were freebies, free for the hauling, not really through Freecycle, but because I was paying attention and celebrating the concept. 

Freecycle would be an example, I believe, of the gift economy mentioned above. Instead of taking usable things to the dump, or even a thrift shop, I post online that I have it. Someone who wants it gets in touch. Likewise, if I need something, I post that need, someone else possibly has it and would like to get rid of it. "One man's trash is another's treasure", etc. No money changes hands, only usable goods.


All this goes to illustrate our mind-set when it finally happened! Another interest of ours has been "intentional communities". We learned of a meeting of one such, Vajra Azaya, taking place in Austin. While there, we fell into conversation with a new friend, who told us of her new property, six acres near Lake Bastrop. She had plans to retire there in five years and hoped to find a renter who would be able to make needed repairs, as well as someone who could carry out a Permaculture plan on the property.


We went to see the place and quickly volunteered! We offered to exchange my Permaculture services, as well as our "fix-it" know how for partial rent on the place. With that exchange in place, we pay no more rent than we did at our previous house, we have much more freedom to "do our thing", and it is much more convenient to everything we do in Austin and elsewhere. In actuality, since it is a "real" house and much more efficiently built, we pay less overall per month due to savings in utilities, etc. (The previous rental was an un-skirted, unshaded mobile home, although a nice one.)


Another factor that makes it work; the landlady and we are totally in agreement on plans for the space here. It's a win-win for us both.


I'm not sure any one of the above factors can be considered the major factor in this project. They all play a part. Avatar and barter for mind-set, Permaculture and skill set for inspiration, partnership and friends for opportunity, it was all there. 


On the other hand, there is a quote attributed to Seneca. “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

So that's how we "afford it". Now we just have to "do it!" Stick around and watch it happen!

Upcoming Permaculture Classes in Austin!

Classes are currently forming for two upcoming Permaculture Design Certificate courses in Spring of 2012. Sign up now, they fill fast!

2 Upcoming classes:

Spring Weekend Permaculture Design Course with Dick Pierce.

Held in Austin, Tx. Location to be announced. 10 Saturdays- Jan. 28 - Apr 7.

The cost of this Permaculture course is $600.

Reserve your space now with a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $120. The deposit can be paid to your registrar, William Seward,  (512) 468-7835 (raincrow_permaculture@yahoo.com ) or see the PayPal button in the sidebar. Be sure to indicate which class you are registering for, and include your name, email, and phone number.

The balance of $480 is to  be paid to Dick Pierce on or before the first day of class.

Winter/Spring 2012 Saturdays Course dates and topics:

Jan 28: Basics 1
Feb 4: Basics 2
Feb 11: Soil & Water
Feb 18: Building & Energy
Feb 25: Urban Permaculture; Gardens
Mar 3: Design Basics
Mar 17: Rural - Farm & Ranch NOTE: no class Mar 10)
Mar 24: Design Workshop
Mar 31: Design Workshop
Apr 7: Design Presentations/Wrap-Up

Date & Location TBD: Graduation Potluck & Celebration

This course includes classroom instruction, hands-on projects (including your site design project), presentations by guest instructors, and field trips. 

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Dick Pierce is a permaculture teacher and designer with many years of experience in central Texas and New England. He has studied permaculture design with Bill Mollison, Geoff Lawton, and Patricia Allison. Dick’s experience includes working on farms, working with Native American tribes across the US, and running a greenbuilding program for young people at American Youthworks, a nonprofit high school in Austin. He also helped launch the popular “Citizen Gardener” program, aimed at promoting food self-sufficiency in Austin through gardening. Dick was born and raised in New England but has called Central Texas home for over a decade.

Spring Intensive Permaculture Design Course with Kirby Fry.

This two week intensive course will begin at 9am, on Saturday, April 21, 2012 and conclude at 5pm, Friday, May 4, 2012.  It will be held about 40 miles east of Austin, at 1483 CR 311, McDade, Texas 78650.  There will be some camping/overnight space available (please let us know, in advance, so that we can make sure we are able to accommodate you).  Basic meals will be provided daily (bringing something extra to contribute to the group is encouraged, but not required).

The cost of this Permaculture Intensive is $600. Reserve your space now with a NON-REFUNDABLE deposit of $120. The deposit can be paid to William Seward,  (512) 468-7835. (raincrow_permaculture@yahoo.com ) Or, use the PayPal button on the sidebar of this blog. Be sure to indicate which class you are registering for, and include your name, email, and phone number.

The balance of $480 to be paid to Kirby Fry on the first day of class.

CURRICULUM As taught by Kirby Fry (see bio, below):

Day 1 (April 21, 2012): Introduction of teachers and students, definitions of Permaculture and sustainability, state of the world, ethics, principles, zones, sector analysis.

Day 2 (April 22, 2012/Earth Day): The function of design, methodologies of design, patterns, observation exercise, the soil food web, the function of forests, the function of prairies.

Day 3 (April 23, 2012): Annual gardening, perennial gardening, food forests.

Day 4 (April 24, 2012): The bio-regions of Texas, ecological restoration.

Day 5 (April 25, 2012): Grazing systems, introduction to design projects.

Day 6 (April 26, 2012): Earthworks, aquaculture, aquaponics.

Day 7 (April 27, 2012): Design strategies for Central Texas prairies.

Day 8 (April 28, 2012): Tour / Work Day.

Day 9 (April 29, 2012): Day of rest.

Day 10 (April 30, 2012): Green building, natural building.

Day 11 (May 1, 2012/May Day): Rain water harvesting, grey and black water harvesting.

Day 12 (May 2, 2012): Strategies for sustainable job creation and local activism, in class design project time

Day 13 (May 3, 2012): Invisible Structures, career opportunities, in class design project time.

Day 14 (May 4, 2012): Design presentations, Permaculture design course certificates awarded.

Teacher Bio: Kirby Fry studied conventional agriculture and forestry at Texas A&M and has nearly 20 years of expertise behind him in the fields of natural building, rainwater collection systems, and passive solar cooling systems, among other things.  He studied with Bill Mollison (co-founder of Permaculture) and Scott Pitman (founder of The Permaculture Institute in Santa Fe, New Mexico).

Citizen Gardener

Not a class by the Austin Permaculture Guild, but brought to you by the Sustanable Food Center and taught by Dick Pierce. (See above for bio.)

Austin Spring planting. Learn what you need to go home and DO IT- locate, build, plant, harvest.

Hands-on classes over two Saturday mornings and one Wednesday evening. Mid Jan - March.)

For details: sustainablefoodcenter.org

Here are the links for further information.

Austin Permaculture Guild website  (classes, news, other vital information, more links)

http://www.austinperm.com/

The Austin Permaculture Guild group on Yahoo!   (discussion, conversation, what's happening.)
austinperm-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Citizen Gardener  (great local class for Austin area gardeners.)
www.sustainablefoodcenter.org

"Oh behive!" News from EarthSong Retreat.

In a wonderful barter arrangement, we are getting chickens, a small chicken house, and bees from our friend India in exchange for two weeks of house and animal sitting. We were planning to add chickens to our place soon anyway, and we got this chance to get ten grown hens. I've got plans to build them a nice coop of what is popularly called the "Amish" style, but they are coming with their own coop that will work till I get the new one built.


I've had chickens several times over the years. The picture above is from a small setup I had when I lived in Round Rock in the '80's. It worked quite well for the time and place. I love those Rhode Island Reds! The new ones will be a mixed bunch, and we're happy to be getting them. 


We're also getting a hive of bees. Now, personally, I like bees. However, I'm a bit spooked by them. I seem to be a bit allergic to their stings. Over the years I've been stung several times, and each time has been worse. I'm not sure how much risk it will be to be stung again. However, we want bees here at EarthSong Retreat, and so this is a good thing. Cat Dancing has wanted bees also for some time, and she feels that she connects with these already. In a couple of weeks we'll be getting the hive. We've both been studying up on the art of beekeeping. I'm looking at the structural aspects of housing, etc. Cat has enlisted Michael to actually help with the hands-on bee working.


Both of us feel that adding bees will contribute to fighting the decrease in bee populations all over, as well as greatly aid in pollination of the various plant life here at EarthSong.  We've also seen that bees are in serious difficulties in this area already from the drought and heat. 

We've already delved into our first controversy concerning bees. Some of my Permaculturist friends introduced me to "Top Bar" hives as being very simple to build, natural, and beginner friendly. The "Langstroth Hive", however, is more common and more used commercially. Both designs have assets and drawbacks. The clincher, however, is that the season is late, and a Langstroth is what the bees are already established in. We've been looking at various designs to build our own, and we will see about trying different types as we divide the hive or add more bees later. I'll keep you posted. 

On a related note, Cat has been looking at the "space suits" for working with bees. She is considering just going with the head veil and gloves, knowing that many keepers work their bees with no extra covering at all. Not to be outdone, I've been looking at bee suits as well. I'm considering this model:
















On the other hand, perhaps she would appreciate me getting her another assistant:

Nothing is too good for my darling beekeeper!


To be honest, I showed her this suit, and she pointed out that it might not fit me. Sigh.





In other news, we are having our first work day for volunteers here at EarthSong in association with our partners at Vajra Azaya. I've designed a series of wicking bed garden beds to be hooked into our proposed gray-water system. We'll be building those this Sunday, Sept. 18, 2011. My back has been a bit out of whack, so I may be the geezer in the chair pointing others where to dig!


I'll end this with a lovely logo my friend Larry Santoyo has on his t-shirts.

See you!

Back From Eden

I just got back from the first Teacher Training Course at the Permaculture Institute site at Pojoaque, New Mexico. (Pronounced, I learned, as "Po-acky" according to the shuttle driver.) Close to Santa Fe, the trip requires flying in to Albuquerque and a 90 minute or so shuttle ride. Since I arrived at night, lugging my tent which I turned out not to need, I really didn't see my surroundings till the next morning. It was a delight to the senses! Just outside the property was arid desert land. Inside was a completely different story. Green everywhere! 
I came there from my home near Bastrop, Texas. When I made my trip the Austin/Bastrop area had been through 69 consecutive days of "above 100 degree" temperatures, as well as way too many months of drought. In short, everything at home was frying and drying out. Casa Las Barrancas, on the other hand, was verdant and blossoming.


The Permaculture Institute was founded in North America by Bill Mollison and Scott Pittman in 1997 to be a sister organization to the original Institute in Australia. Since then, Scott and Arina Pittman, Larry Santoyo and many others have worked to uphold the standards of Permaculture, teach Permaculture classes, show by example the Ethics and Principles that Bill Mollison and David Holmgren originally set forth.


The class surroundings were wonderful. So were the assembled classmates who came from New Mexico, Nevada, California, Colorado, Bermuda, Texas, and Venezuela.  They were quite an interesting group of 22 students. The teachers, Larry Santoyo and Scott Pittman, have an enormous amount of experience between them of teaching and using Permaculture. Arina Pittman, Scott's lovely wife, is another invaluable resource of knowledge of Permaculture, gardening, and life in general. 


Most of the members of the new Teacher Training class  were previous Permaculture Design Certificate (or PDC) students of Larry and Scott. I may have been the only exception. I came across the class by accident. I made a lot of great friends and contacts, though, as well as learning a lot about teaching and living Permaculture. I owe a lot of thanks to my friend Merry Henderson and my partner Cat Dancing for their support in my taking this class. 
Thanks!

Upcoming Permaculture Class in Austin!

The Austin Permaculture Guild is now accepting registrations for its Fall/Winter 2011 Permaculture Design Certificate Course, which starts September 24 and runs for 10 Saturdays. To register and reserve your space right now for the Fall course send me an email, or simply visit the Austin Permaculture Guild Website. The class will take place at 5604 Manor Rd., headquarters of Third Coast Activist. 
 

EarthSong Retreat

Our new place has a name! We're calling it EarthSong Retreat! This is in keeping with our plans, both ours and Merry's (the owner), to do workshops, retreats, classes, etc. out here. Plus, with my flutes, and her teaching music, and the Permaculture and Magickal elements, EarthSong seemed a natural! We are also in negotiation to become a cooperative project with the Vajra Azaya community. All to the good!


As for our moving here, we are almost done. The portable buildings are finally here, we have only cleanup to do at the old place. It is proceeding a bit slowly, as the heat has been a roadblock. For more than a month we've had temperatures of 107 degrees or so. Cat has begun doing some of her woodwork out of the carport until our studio is finally leveled and wired. That should happen soon. My office trailer is here and leveled, so I can get back to finishing out the interior. No more wasps to deal with! Finally we'll be able to put stuff back where it goes instead of stepping over it!


A bit of great news! I'm traveling again! I'm leaving August 19th to go to a Permaculture Teacher Training Course with Scott Pittman and Larry Santoyo with the Permaculture Institute. The class is being held near Santa Fe, NM. A friend paid for my tuition and Cat paid for my flight. I am so grateful to both! Another giant step toward my being able to teach Permaculture. 


There's a lot to do before I go, so, back to work!

On The Move

We're moving! Packing up our books, and books, and books, and oh yeah, other stuff. It's time. We've been in our current place for five years or so. It's fine, but I have a chance to do a Permaculture design on this six acres near Lake Bastrop.
It's a short move, eighteen miles or so. It has a very nice house on it already, and handy outbuildings. The owner is fine with us moving my (nearly rebuilt) office trailer, our workshop, hot tub and so on out there.
July 1 is the magic day!
Of course, I won't be there that day. I'm flying to Oregon to my daughter Melanie's wedding party the end of June.
Wouldn't it be nice if it all got done while I was gone? Looks more like we'll have to get it all done before I go, sigh.
In the midst of it all I'm starting the plans for the project, consulting with the owner on what she wants and adding in our own ideas. 
I'm excited!

Summertime Blues? White Hot is more like it!

Yeah, I post a picture in case any of us need a reminder, right? It's nearing the end of May, and the sun is reminding us here in central Texas that it's summertime. Forget that "summer starts June 22" stuff. Around here summer starts at least by early May and hangs around till mid October. 
It's hot, and dry. We had a couple of fair rains in the last week or so, and it was much appreciated. However........
It's hot, and dry. And, guess what, it's gonna keep on being that way for awhile!
I had a few tasks on tap today to accomplish before the lovely Cat Dancing and I head over to Round Rock for a meeting.
Yesterday I was going to take the Shadow on a run over toward Bastrop to do a couple of errands and do some more measurements, etc., over at the new 6 acre Permaculture project I'm involved in. As I was leaving, I discovered a leak in the back tire, so I parked the bike and took the car.
I thought the available working time for today would be good to fix the tire, maybe do a little work on the office re-build, stuff like that.
I got side-tracked. It happens much too easily. 
It was a little late when I finally got outside. I helped a bit with the laundry, spent a little too much time in the morning reading one of those "can't put it down" books. ("Rough Country", John Sandford.) When I finally got outside I discovered that the Shadow had fallen over after the tire flattened again. One of the side mirrors also broke off.
Dang!
I got it straightened up and on the center stand. Carried water to a few trees. Got stung by a red wasp on the shin. Discovered one of our full water barrels at the shop had fallen over and had drained both of them.
Decided it was just too darned hot to do anything outside.
So.
I'm inside. Enjoying the A/C and my email, and my blog.
I can handle the heat. 
Really.
I can handle driving around all summer without a car A/C. I've had to do it often.
For the most part, the secret is to drink plenty of water. Stay in the shade. Don't push it.
If you have to work outside, do it in the shade, better yet, rest inside during the hot part of the day and do your outside stuff early or late. 
Good advice. 
I just have issues with getting my bones out very early, usually.
It's been a few days since I've done anything on the office trailer. Saturday was spent on the job at the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market, and a meeting with the prospective Permaculture client.
Sunday was a day of work for us out at the Sherwood Forest booth. We're finishing up the walls finally.
Monday we had to head into Austin early for the monthly Tarot Class Cat is teaching, after spending the morning finalizing the class materials. (Cat designs the lesson, I help with details and do the layout and desktop publishing type stuff for the handouts. My expertise with AutoCad helps.)
Tuesday, yesterday, was as already mentioned, spent with project work. More cool down was needed when I got back late afternoon.
And there's today. Already getting close to "get ready to go" time. 
No, I don't really HAVE to accompany Cat for this meeting. I do prefer to.
It's together time for us, traveling to and from. Plus, hopefully some wi-fi time at the hotel while I'm waiting for her. 
All grist for the mill as they say.
And using someone else's A/C for awhile.
Did I mention it's hot?
Anyway, tomorrow is a home all day, day. 
I'll get to work early, I promise.
As for you..........
Stay cool, okay?
 

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!

 

Spiraling Inward, or is that Outward?

Flower Spiral at Sherwood Forest Faire: Cat Dancing Creations #309

The spiral garden shown here represents several principles of Permaculture. It is an efficient use of space and resources. It maximizes "edge" which is where the most diversity of life is located in any system. The spiral is one of the natural forms that life takes. It even approaches "vertical" gardening, albeit in a small way.

Think about edge. Most yards are examples of of monoculture. Usually it's grass, grass, shrubs, grass, and so on. Even open fields, while more diverse overall, have that diversity spread over a larger area. What happens at the edge? Along a fence row, a creek bed, the edge of a wooded area, or even a road? Usually you see much more diverse life compressed in a small area.


There are lots of reasons for this. Birds roost on fences and trees and spread seeds of all kinds. Mowing and cultivation are undertaken more randomly along the edges. There are also varying amounts of water, animals, and shade along those edges. We can find many, many explanations but the overall observation is valid, life is more diverse along the edges.


In many people's view, the most dynamic and growing segment of human life exists among those who are living "on the edge", whichever edge they are speaking of. Face it, that is where growth happens. Let's grow some today!