Meet Nibblet! One of our new LaMancha baby goats.

Our goats have begun to deliver their babies. We had 3 arrive yesterday alone. Sort of tiring! I have posted a Flickr slideshow below for your viewing pleasure.

To get rid of the tiny thumbnails along the bottom of that slideshow, just pass your cursor over the display.

If you can not see that, click here to go to that flickr set.

When kidding goes easily, its all fun and games. Problem is, there are always possibilities for things to go terribly wrong. If you have read this blog in the past you might have seen that we lost one of our does last year, see this post: RIP Wheatie, our sweet goat girl.

Well, this year, we had another trying time. You may remember Felicity, who we treated aggressively to save her life from a nasty illness. For details on that see: Listeriosis.

She healed well with a lingering twist to her head. That went away as she exercised and romped so that you cant tell from looking at her that she experienced these challenges.

She is a small doe, so is her sister Calliope. Calliope didnt get pregnant this year but Felicity did.

We could tell by the development of her udders that she was indeed pregnant.

One day I went out in the morning to check on the goats for babies and I find Felicity licking a baby that had been stillborn, definitely premature. It was very small and had almost no hair but was perfectly formed.

I took the baby away and all seemed well with Felicity other than her calling out and looking around. That maternal instinct is so strong!

The next morning my oldest daughter went to check and then flew back into the house telling me that Felicity has prolapsed.

Indeed, Felicity had suffered a prolapsed vagina and cervix. You can see what that looks like below.

I had read about how this could happen but I was worried that this mean that Felicity still had a baby inside, stuck.

As you might also know, we have been un- and under- employed for some time so we cant just call the vet, just not an option.

I do not recommend that you be the same way. You have to be really intrepid and have guts of steel to wing it. You have to always be ready to put the animal down if things go badly so that the animal does not suffer. I can not abide by suffering. We are all animals and I feel their pain like I do that of my human kids.

I knew that one can stitch the vaginal opening closed but I was worried about the possibility that:

• she could still have babies inside and stitches would be catastrophic if I wasnt there when she went to push them out
• i had not done this stitching before and I didnt have time to get trained by my goat mentor who was busy with her large herd and some 14 new babies being born A DAY

I also knew that sheep have a tendency to prolapse and that there was such a thing as a ewespoon – a device (shown below) that you use to reposition the vaginal tissues and then it is held in place until:

• the babies are born in which case the ewespoon is pushed out
• or the vaginal muscles retain the tissues well enough to remove this support

I thought it might be of use to show images of all this for those of you considering homesteading with dairy goats so that you can see the realities of these animals and the birthing process.

The following set of images might be disturbing to some. Please note that Felicity didnt seem to be in great pain (even tho it might look like it “should”). There are not many nerve endings in the vaginal canal and none in the cervix really. Same goes for us.

MOST importantly, Felicity healed and is quite back to her normal self now!

I thought I would share a little about this guy Jean Pain who completely and most effectively hacked the DIY energy thing some time back! Obviously, the world has NOT been paying attention (as old timers know well).

In a nut shell, Pain was a forester in France who noticed the mighty thermal output of microbial action on composting materials. He proceeded to harness this heat by rigging large mounds of shredded brush (from his management of the forests) with an internal methane producing biomass bioreactor and heat capture coils built into the mound structure.

Click through to the page to learn more!

Click here to explore Jean Pain and his awesome work!

[A winner was selected, congrats Genevieve! I wish I could send each of you a copy!]

I got to know the author of Grocery Gardening, Jean Ann Van Krevelen, a little bit via twitter (she is @jeanannvk). With a few 140 character strings and lots of other people also tweeting, she brought my awareness to this great book.

The premise of the book is to help people gain the knowledge they need to begin to grow their own food.

I think it takes a great viewpoint – approach people who want good food but who mainly know their food as things you buy at a store, not raise with your own two hands.

New gardeners can often feel overwhelmed. One might start gardening for the sake of securing safe wholesome food but very soon the truth emerges, gardening is not intention, it is action and observation and attention.

With this book, the entry level gardener can begin to make their segway gracefully from poking veggies in the store to growing their own.

The book is somewhat unusual in that there are several contributing authors who speak from experience: Jean Ann Van Krevelen, Amanda Thomsen, Robin Ripley, and Teresa O’Connor.

The photography is crisp and very inviting. The pages are packed with information on growing as well as recipes for using your bounty! The mixture of voices very much evokes the current trends in social media where one is bathed in a diverse community of knowledge, viewpoints, attitudes.

Chapters

• Gardening 101
• Organic disease and pest management
• Purchasing quality produce
• Edibles
• Herbs
• Fruit
• Vegetables
• Preserving your harvest

I am happy to recommend this lovely book to anyone who is interested in learning more about growing their own food and also how to enjoy their harvest throughout the year!

Ok, here are the details on this contest:

• Open to US residents only
• Prize is my review copy of this delightful book
• Enter by tweeting about this post and contest
• Leave a comment with your tweet
• You can enter a second time by blogging about this contest and then leaving a comment here with a link to the post
• Contest runs from Feb 10, 2010 as of this post until next Wednesday Feb 2/17/2010, 5 pm EST
• I will choose the winner with a random number generator

Suggested tweet that you can just cut and paste:
I entered 2 win a copy of “Grocery Gardening” by @jeanannvk at @nika7k ’s site, here! http://bit.ly/bZxUTo You can enter 2 win too! RT Pls

Product Details:

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Cool Springs Press (February 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591864631
• ISBN-13: 978-1591864639
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds

[If you would like to volunteer for this effort, please drop me an email at nika dot boyce at gmail dot com and I will get you into our PermaCorp volunteer database and keep you up to date]

Like you, I have been simply swept away by the brutal earthquake that has subsumed Haiti into a hell that gets worse by the day.

I have been mostly learning about it via CNN and on twitter. I have been pouring over the satellite images of the destruction as seen in Google Earth.

As I write, Reuters says that more than 200,000 people have died and as of this evening, they have buried 40,000 dead. MANY more bodies lay in the streets and under endless tons of ruined buildings.

Thank goodness for twitter and the permaculture people I have gotten to know there because that is the only thing that is keeping me from feeling utterly lost in desolation over this apocalypse.

It is through @gaiapunk, who is something of a one-man permaculture media empire, that I have begun to learn about and really love the idea of Permaculture First Responders.

He posted several links to projects already either training Permaculture First Responders or projects on the ground in Haiti and other disaster struck places.

Permaculture First Responder – Permie Disaster Relief Training Course

Cegrane Camp Permaculture Rehabilitation Project

Cuba-Australia Permaculture Exchange

I have been wondering how I might be able to help nurture this idea here, tucked away in my small part of the world without actually going to Haiti myself.

I have been chatting with Cory at Permaculture.org and am happy to share this link that is very constructive in terms of the next steps.

Help for Haiti from Permaculture

From that site you will see:

Some of the projects which permaculturists can design and implement are:

Short Term:

Building sewage systems, composting toilets, compost and recyclying centers, rocket and solar stoves, temporary shelters (perma-yurts), water catchment and filtering, and plant nurseries.

Rocket and solar stoves are key because the major ecological problem in Haiti which causes huge hardships from many angles is deforestation for fuel. Solar stoves use no wood and rocket stoves, which can be made out of old cans and pipes laying around, use almost no fuel and can cook with twigs.

Correct diversion of sewage, human waste, and water can substantially contribute to rebuilding farm land in the area – the idea is to create the conditions for long term self-sufficiency and abundance with even our short term handlings.

Long Term:

Permanent, low cost, earthquake resistant natural buildings, water storage, earth works, renewable energy, permaculture food forests, broad-scale reforestation, farms, aquaculture systems, and community buildings such as schools and health centers.

We are currently working via a worldwide network of permaculturists to bring resources to Haiti, and several permaculturists are interested in traveling to Haiti to help with the rescue and relief efforts, but need funding to do so. We are in contact with disaster handlers in the area who they can coordinate with for maximum effectiveness. There is a permaculture project existing in Haiti that we are working to connect with as well. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me – I am also willing to meet with potential funders to answer questions personally.

If you want to donate now, please use the “Haiti Donations – Donate” Paypal button on the right hand side of this web page. For past projects we’ve funded, please see the Pine Ridge Lakota reservation article under “Projects.” We will use initial funding to get people there on the ground and most needed resources such as equipment for building the short term items needed. Whenever possible, we use existing resources in the area that are free or very inexpensive – permaculture is very effective at getting the maximum return for energy invested, so you will know your money is going to a good cause.

I know that the idea of surviving this disaster is like a miracle and then the idea of Haiti being able to climb up from a place so dark seems too distant to contemplate.

To this end, I have been graphing out what the needs would be over time for people living through such overwhelming disasters.

I think its extremely important to do this now and for Haitians, now, because these same ideas and strategies will be needed again and again as climate change progresses.

In the graphic above, I try to illustrate the needs of a person immediately after surviving a catastrophe (earthquake, fire, flood, etc). The needs are pretty basic but inelastic in their being absolutely needed.

Once the person is out of immediate danger and is left standing with nothing, no assets, nothing but other survivors around them, they need to find a way to rebuild, regenerate, and boost their resilience so that they become embedded in a community that provides current and future needs.

In this next graphic, I extend on the specific needs outlined in the second graphic with permaculture and no/lo-carbon and low cost strategies for coping and rebuilding.

Please take some time and explore these graphics and tell me what you think, whats missing? What would you add?

Please consider becoming involved in helping the Haitians, using permaculture or by other means, as where the Haitians are right now, that hell, could easily be ours, any of us.

We are, in many ways, their community.

We are each other’s community and it is through us banding together that we build resilience in every place.

Enjoy a few shots in and around our humble homestead – silent raised beds, munching truculent goats and hesitant chickens as well as an aloof and rather disgusted llama.

Going out to feed the goats, chickens, and llama.

Snowy llama – her name is Misty but we are calling her Snowy right now.

Goats eating hay.

Maisy the goat, eating hay and saying hello to me.

The milking stanchion frozen over – so glad we are not milking right now.

Chickens and duck.

Old english game rooster, dozing his way through snow.

How is it where you are?!

This fall and this winter I have been thinking about a greenhouse I would love to build. It integrates the heat of slowly decomposing hay bales, chickens, and two 2 foot deep, 16 foot long raised beds. I have to admit that for now, its a dream as I do not have the financial means to put this together for now.

A greenhouse that integrates the heat produced by chickens is something much talked about in permaculture thought. If you google a bit, there seems to be some doubt that people are able to make this happen. As I have not built and tested my concept, I can not make any claims. I think, though, that a lot of the doubt comes from arm-chair gardener types who do not know much about gardening or chickens.

The hay bales are seen in the diagram, making up the north facing wall. There is a gap between the bale wall and the first raised bed. This gap, 16 feet long and 2 feet deep, 3 feet wide perhaps, will be covered by chicken wire, forming a chicken run between the two ends of the greenhouse.

On either end of the greenhouse will be housing for chickens (perches, areas to run, areas for feeding and watering) separated from growing areas by chicken wire. The growing area above two raised beds will be under the sloping roof of the green house. My vision is for this greenhouse to supply us with lettuces and nutritious greens through out the cold cold winter here.

I thought I would share some of what little is going on here, in the depths of winter. I have also been snuggling on the couch with seed catalogs and generally trying to stay warm without feeling too pouty that the garden is out of commission for the season.

We are also watching our 9 pregnant goats, some of them are quite large now with child. I continue to mentally prepare for labor and delivery.

I recently made an arrangement with a local grocery store (owned in MA but a BIG chain) to get some of their produce scraps for our chickens and goats.

The majority of their scraps go to pig farmers who drop off big oil barrels for the lettuce remnants that the pig food trader/merchant/dude picks them up later.

I love that we can take something considered waste and give it to our animals.

They LOVE these fresh greens!

I love it all because it fits in with the permacultural ethic by using a resource effectively and in a humane holistic way – Free inputs.

In the case of the goats – the yields are manure, growing babies (9 does are pregnant) and later fresh raw goats milk!

Witness the goat-silly feeding frenzy.

Chickens LOVE the greens a whole lot too.

In the case of the chickens, the yield is manure, bug-eating, meat and eggs! Free range and very yellow yolked eggs!

Another reason I like this is that it knits our food production tighter into the local fabric. It also brings vitamins to our animals that they would not usually get in the winter. During the summer our animals eat tremendous amounts of leaves and trees in the case of the goats and endless bugs and grasses and weeds (and MY GARDEN) in the case of the chickens.

]]> http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/12/13/tighter-knit-localfood/feed/ 6 http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/11/29/dairy-cow-collective-project/ http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/11/29/dairy-cow-collective-project/#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 23:44:55 +0000 Nika http://www.humblegarden.com/?p=364

[I have cross posted this to Peaknix]

As a proponent of the global Transition Initiative and having been “Trained for Transition” in November 2008 in Cambridge, MA I have a certain worldview. (see Food for Hope: DeGlobalizing – ReLocalizing)

Transition is really about bringing permacultural principles to bear on the current and coming crises around the decreasing natural resources that are in our future. This includes Peak Oil and pretty much peak everything as wealth and societal energies go towards the resource wars and skirmishes and agonies as governments jostle for position in the bread lines for energy, water, food, and diminishing rare materials.

This downward slope is called the energy descent and the Transition Initiative seeks to PLAN for rational energy descent in a way that flows power and resources back to localities where people LIVE (called relocalization).

Its a HUGE thing, deglobalizing. When I first learned about Transition Towns back in 2007 it was this amazing idea happening in real life but in far away England. Transition in England is profoundly different in terms of challenges to here but it took a while for me to be able to articulate why.

Social safety nets. Thats the key. In the US, we dont have much and those we have are failing now or will be failing as the full brunt of the baby boom aging bomb hits it.

Ok, thats a huge topic, huge. I bring it up for one reason today!

Relocalization of food and jobs is a primary concern to anyone serious about making headway during this financial crisis.

Obviously, we personally have relocalized a lot of food in our back yard. Lots of you have also.

This past year was not a good gardening year and it wasnt the year that I thought it would be in terms of working with local community gardening.

We live in a “sparsely” settled area (for this region) and as such have not gotten to know our neighbors well, yet.

I think its important to, once you have gotten your backyard homesteading rolling, you should begin to get the food vibe radiating out and use it to make connections with neighbors so that food resiliency is about more than your own food.

To these ends, I have started a project with our neighbors.

As you can see in the google map photo below, our land is on the right (see box) and then the neighbors across the street, who have lovely pasture (which we do not, we have lovely cliffs!).

I proposed to our amazing neighbors to share a dairy cow (am aiming for a jersey cow – high butter fat) where we put a cow and her baby on their pasture and we tend and milk her. Both families will share in the milk and cream!

This knits us together as a group, working in concert for relocalized food of extremely high quality (we will drink it raw, neighbors will do with it as they wish).
The neighbors thought on it and then said yes!

I am looking forward to this project, will mean work but its so worth it.

We will reskill ourselves and the neighbors will also, as is appropriate for them.

I hope, also, that the idea inspires others locally to do the same. They might start with communal chickens or goats or perhaps cows.

I am positive that most of us can learn these things, its not rocket science.

Helping to mentor others doing this would be an amazing yield!

]]> http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/11/29/dairy-cow-collective-project/feed/ 3 http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/11/29/elderberry-update/ http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/11/29/elderberry-update/#comments Sun, 29 Nov 2009 18:12:45 +0000 Nika http://www.humblegarden.com/?p=350

pneumoccocal vaccine (to stop the deadly 2nd half of H1N1 - bacterial pneumonia)

seasonal flu vaccine

and H1N1 vaccine. Its likely that some of the backbone of the H1N1 will be recognized by our immune systems. I also believe that we have been exposed to mild H1N1 now twice. We are JUST now recovering from a nasty virus from last week. I view each of these non-deadly exposures as further strengthening of our immune systems. Its important, though, to boost our baseline health as much as possible between these illnesses.]]>

This is an update from my post on Elderberry Elixir and Swine Flu.

As I am a scientist with some experience in genomics, I follow the evolution of the H1N1 virus. I do this because changes in the genetics of this novel flu are part of my risk equation with respect to vaccination. When I wrote this informative post on the use of Elderberry Elixir as a prophylaxis (Elderberry Elixir and Swine Flu) against all viral syndromes in the winter season here in the North East and in particular against H1N1 I felt that the genetic and phenotypic profiles were of a relatively mild though fast spreading flu.

Things have changed.

As is expected with a recently evolved RNA influenza virus, its genome (8 genes) is unstable and is probing its environment for the best means to improve it’s lot in life: namely, how to increase its’ transmissibility, resistance to our medications (like tamiflu) and its virulence (damage that it does to it’s host as a function of it’s replication or multiplication in host cells which leads to death of those cells).

These changes happen constantly in each infected host. The virus is like a little computer. It reproduces so fast the collective viral population can test many experimental changes.

In recent weeks, mutations (or successful collective viral population changes) seem to be switching more of the circulating second and third wave virus to a more virulent (damaging) and transmissible (infectious) population.

The hallmark of one of the more concerning changes (D225G) is the preference of the virus for deep lung tissue that leads to rapid full lung degradation, collapse, and bleed out – the same mutation and symptom found in the 1918/1919 virulent second wave of the Spanish Flu.

This ticked my risk equation in the direction of vaccination for my kids. They got the first half of their vaccination last week and we have to wait 21 days for the 2nd half. Then 21 days after that to achieve the immunity that it will confer.

I know that some of these mutations have also invalidated the vaccine on some levels (one isolate has been shown to be a “low reactor”).

What this means is that vaccination might not = full immunity but there is some scientific evidence that suggests that even seasonal flu vaccination provides some partial immunity.

My kids have now been vaccinated as follows:

• pneumococcal vaccine (to stop the deadly 2nd half of H1N1 – bacterial pneumonia)
• seasonal flu vaccine
• and H1N1 vaccine.

Its likely that some of the backbone of the H1N1 will be recognized by our immune systems. I also believe that we have been exposed to mild H1N1 now twice. We are JUST now recovering from a nasty virus from last week. I view each of these non-deadly exposures as further strengthening of our immune systems. Its important, though, to boost our baseline health as much as possible between these illnesses.

Your equation might be completely different than mine, thats fine. I am not telling you what to do! I just wanted to be clear about my change from the previous post.

NOTE: My husband and I are not vaccinated (not available) and we continue with the elderberry. We will not give elderberry to the kids during this time as their immune systems are mounting their primary and secondary immune reactions against H1N1. Do not want to supress natural function or to artificially boost reaction – just want normal function, supported by good nutrition (not supplements).

Learn more about our immune systems

]]> http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/11/29/elderberry-update/feed/ 3 http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/11/04/edible-forest/ http://www.humblegarden.com/2009/11/04/edible-forest/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:33:12 +0000 Nika http://www.humblegarden.com/?p=316 Eric Toensmeier's Edible Forest Gardening workshop in Holyoke, MA Oct 16 to Oct 18. Before I go any further let me just say that if you have a chance, please go to this workshop the next time they hold it. You will be very glad you did! I am not sure when the next one might be. I will certainly blog about it here when I find out. There are other workshops that look VERY interesting at Eric's "Event" page.]]>
(Eric and Jonathan teaching on first day of workshop)

Recently I had the great fortune of attending Eric Toensmeier’s Edible Forest Gardening workshop in Holyoke, MA Oct 16 to Oct 18. Before I go any further let me just say that if you have a chance, please go to this workshop the next time they hold it. You will be very glad you did! I am not sure when the next one might be. I will certainly blog about it here when I find out. There are other workshops that look VERY interesting at Eric’s “Event” page.

(Eric standing under a paw paw tree, freezing with the rest of us!)

As you may recall, Eric, along with Dave Jacke, wrote “Edible Forest Gardens (Vol.s 1 and 2)” and he also wrote “Perennial Vegetables“, a resource for those of you interested in learning about new perennial edibles suitable for your region.

There were three other people who made this event possible.

(Jonathan sharing these really cute little cucumber like fruitlets)

Jonathan Bates, of Food Forest Farm, who was a fantastic co-presenter and amazing resource for so many of the MILLIONS of questions that I had. Check out his site and learn more about what his farm can do for your budding perennial food garden.

(Steve answering our many questions while on a walk through some of his land)

Steve Breyer, Tree God Extraordinaire and moss evangelist of the Tripple Brook Farm, very generously hosted the workshop on two of the days. His farm / nursery is an amazing play land of edible plants and northern food bearing trees.

And finally, Marikler Toensmeier (Eric’s lovely wife) who did a ton of work putting together all the delicious and wholesome foods at this event. I dont have any photos of Marikler because it seemed intrusive!

The conference began on the evening of Friday October 16th at Holyoke Community College. We gathered in the conference room you see in the photo at the top of this page and Eric and Jonathan did a lovely job of immersing us into the world of edible forest gardening with an overview of the various aspects of forest and forest-like gardens as well as some permacultural principles.

This got us ready for the next day when we were going to be meeting at Eric and Jonathan’s homes and shared urban perennial garden for a tour and further discussions about edible forest garden design. If you have the book Perennial Vegetables, you will recognize his garden in some of the photos in the book.

Before we ended the night, we snacked on ripe paw paws!

(Paw paws)

The next morning, Saturday, bright and early and quite chilly, we met at Eric and Jonathan’s home to begin our tour. We started with the very sunny morning sun side of the house and learned about it’s microclimate and the sorts of plants that they are able to grow there. Mind you, back in my garden it had been snowing and the season was DEFINITELY over. It actually snowed at our home while it was nice in Holyoke.

We started the day off by tasting these cute super tiny wild cucumber like fruitlets. I can not remember the name of this plant, sorry!

(Jonathan with wild cucumber like plants)

They also grow non-edible bananas here.

(Banana tree)

(A hardy kale)

(Other hardy subtropicals)

We walked into the back and learned about how they went from a hardpack urban waste lot to a wonderful abundant perennial garden via a specific design process.

(Phil talking to Jonathan as he holds up plans that came out of their design process)

I want to take an aside and say just how glad I am to have gotten a chance to meet Phil and Tom, up from Brooklyn. They have been diligent campaigners for our world and transition. They have put together peak oil, permaculture, urban gardening, and many other sorts of events in the NYC area over the years. I look forward to getting to know them better in the future!

We then split up into groups and Eric and Jonathan took us through the garden, plant by plant, and explained pretty much everything about them from their polyculture setting, to their function in the larger design, to the types of fruits they bore (and we got many taste tests) as well as how they didnt fit in or might need to be or had been modified or moved to be a better part of the whole design.

Here are a few photos from the tour.

(Eric pointing out paw paw fruits)

(Marikler and I made sea kale quiches – REALLY delicious)

(More Sea Kale)

(Asparagus Berries)

(Jonathan holding forth over the comfreys)

(Comfrey in question)

(Comfrey close up)

(Sweet cicely and a weed that I have LOTS of [purple in photo] turns out it was used by native americans in region)

(Comfrey and sweet cicely)

(Eric and others chatting by tool shed and chicken house)

(Lunch! I made homemade bread for the occasion)

After lunch we took off for the Tripple Brook Farm to begin a look at a large scale of edible forest gardening.

As I mentioned before, Steve Breyer owns this amazing place. There is so much one can say but I am going to simply share images from the tour we took.

(Bamboo in the wild Massachusetts country side)

(A neat tree with fruits but I do not know the name. They look like yellow cherries)

(American Persimmons)

(Honeysuckle pods, I think)

(Steve discussing tree husbandry and planting strategies)

(Chestnut husks are PAINFUL to the touch)

Steve feels very strongly that mosses should be the preferred ground cover (versus grasses).

(Ground covers)

(Super tiny thyme ground cover)

(Black walnut tree with nuts in husks on tree)

(Black walnut tree with nuts in husks on tree)

These photos totally do not give you a sense for how raw and cold it was that day. At this point in the tour we sheltered in Steve’s work shed (with warm wood stove) where we got to taste pine nuts, chestnuts and hardy kiwis and american persimmons and dogwood tree fruits (Cornus kousa).

(Korean pine cones)

(Korean pine nut husks)

(Hardy kiwis, the taste was AMAZING)

(dogwood tree fruits (Cornus kousa))

(dogwood tree fruits (Cornus kousa))

(Black walnuts in their husks)

(American Persimmons – super delicious)

(American Persimmons – super delicious)

Steve had the chestnuts roasting on the woodstove all morning. We have nut allergies so I didnt taste them but I fell in love with the way they looked! I shot a series of photos of these crazy spiky chestnuts.

(Chestnuts in husks)

(Chestnuts in husks)

(Chestnuts in husks)

(Chestnuts in husks)

(Roasted chestnuts)

(Opening roasted chestnuts)

(Opening roasted chestnuts)

(Paw paw)

(Opened paw paw, hardy kiwis and dogwood tree fruits (Cornus kousa)

That evening we went back to Holyoke community college and delved deeper into polyculture design and learned quite a lot about grouping polycultural plantings that enhance and nurture each other and which build a more robust environment.

Some of what we learned that evening we used the next day in a practical way.

I went home just wiped out from that day. I was really worried that I would have no energy to get up and make the hour drive out early on Sunday, the third and last day. An odd thing happened though. I awoke really refreshed and ENJOYED driving at the crack of dawn out into the cold weather. I think there is something in these fruits that did me some good. Its also the fresh air and also, hugely more important, that I was doing something I found VERY exciting and engaging and with people who I really respected and admired.

This is quite a change from most of the jobs I have had in recent years – soul robbing activities. I can definitely see myself doing this for a living (I cant say how but it would be deeply satisfying).

The third day was intense. We assembled ourselves in Steve’s work shed and set to work on designing a new planting design for part of his nursery.

We did site assessment, analysis, and then in-depth design, as groups. It was an exercise in design as well as interpersonal communications.

While we didnt implement this particular design (there is only so much you can do in a few hours!) we pitched in and helped clean up the site and also put in some new plantings.

I have learned so much from this workshop. I would recommend it highly to anyone and I hope that some of you are able to attend future events like this. If you cant come out to tundra-like Massachusetts, you likely can find some near you!

Let me know if you do and how it goes!

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