Alone at the Harn

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dreaming

With a big weekend of water project work planned and only 2 days on the schedule at the store the following week, I traded off my days so I could arrange to spend a week at the Harn alone.  Dan would be up on the two weekends sandwiching this week and Mom and Tom would be up Sunday of the first weekend to see how the Harn work is progressing and to take Dan home for his work week.

This idea of being alone had me a bit concerned about how I would deal with any fear that arose.  I’ve a long-held fear of the dark which has gotten better since my time at Dancing Rabbit but still does a number on me.  I quit watching horror movies years ago… I don’t even watch the trailers anymore, but I still struggle with a very active imagination.  So I figured, all alone, I’d conjure the worst.  I had no idea I’d be facing something really frightening that was not a figment of my imagination or that I would face it and the aftermath as well as I did.

Dan and I prepped a temporary gutter into the southeast roof section to fill our garden cistern while Mom filmed and assisted and Tom “supervised” from the porch.  Supervision included the requirement of a glass of red wine. 😉  We got it all in place and all we needed was some rain to fill the tank.

I was in bed early Sunday night and up early Monday to start some kind of project…  I ended up installing a dishwashing system that I have had in my head for years.  It turned out to work about as I imagined.  We’ll see how it holds up over time.  I also fixed some more open areas of the pallet floor and trimmed inside the large window – not an easy solo job.

I had a Skype meeting for Rec Lab Activities Monday and ended up at the Mississippi Headwaters Hostel for Wi-Fi when the Visitor Center closed at 5 PM.  I was able to get a call into son Tom to check on the job situation.  He’s making good progress.  Sara came in after my meeting and it was so good to catch up with her after not seeing her for so long.  We watched their farm in February but we didn’t actually see them then since we arrived after they left for vacation and headed home just before they returned.  I chatted with her a bit too long as the drive home was at dusk and I had a near miss of two deer at the North entrance to the park and three more just after crossing 200.

The next day I piddled about and awaited the delivery of our trusses, steel and lumber for our shed project.  Nathan from Hillside Lumber came by with our load and I got it squared away and covered in case of rain.  But Wednesday was a fun day of picking wild blueberries

and raspberries with the Parthuns and taking my first plunge into Lake Itasca with Sara.  What lovely refreshment!  I am in love with this cool water.  I headed to the Hostel to take a shower and Sara got me squared away to welcome in a visitor Thursday evening as she had a trip planned with the kids.  Working out great that I’m here this week!  Dinner that evening was cabbage, beets and squash from the CSA share, all cooked in foil on the grill to prevent a lot of dishwashing.
Yummy veggies with just a bit of Organic Valley butter and some light seasonings. I was in bed by 11 and, with no radio that day, had no idea what was heading my way.  But then I’m not sure even those with a radio had any idea either.

I was awakened just after midnight by thunder and lightning.  There was violent wind and I rushed to the light on the porch and ducked outside to see the storm.  My sunflower was on its side on the stoop outside and rain was really heavy.  Even though we just passed the full moon, it was pitch black.  I ducked back inside just as the power went out at 12:15 AM.  It came right back but flickered.  I thought to grab the flashlight before going to get the clock to reset the microwave, now showing “ P F ”.  Thank goodness because in seconds, it was black again.  I listened to slamming sounds outside but couldn’t tell the source.  It sounded like a slamming screen door on the west end of the Harn but we have no screen doors there.  The back screen door opened and slammed of its own accord several times and I sat on the bed thinking how insane this idea of living in a steel box in the forest just might be.  I chastised myself for being such a baby.  “It’s just a thunderstorm!  Pull it together!”  But it sounded outside like the roof might just rip free.  I huddled down sitting just inside the enormous three pane glass window, listening to what made me think of a tornado but not thinking of going to a more sheltered place.  I finally calmed down and tried to go back to sleep.  I decided against going out in the rain with my little flashlight figuring there wasn’t much I could do about anything anyway.

The next morning I awoke at 6:15 and headed outside to check for damage.  There was debris everywhere… sticks, branches, leaves strewn about the yard.  I could see two large pieces of insulation which had blown against the tree line from their place as a barrier we’d placed over the newly dug root cellar on the North side of the Harn.  I dreaded looking inside as the rain from the previous day had added 3-4 inches, so I didn’t.  Instead, I looked north into the woods astonished by the number of trees I could see fallen and leaning.  There were dozens of trees just in my 135° line of vision.  I looked south and could see a tree behind the garden cistern on its side, root ball sticking up like the toes of a mummy at its base.  Looking further, a larger Aspen was leaning backward into the woods, root ball barely holding in place in our clearing.  Good news for the light in the garden, bad news for the tree that was protecting my little Kinya’s grave.  This is a photo from a tree out front along CR 2.  It seems to indicate twisting winds to me…

More debris was found all through the clearing.  As I rounded the corner to the hightop, I saw the compost bin on its side in the garden area and then the gray cabinet in pieces on the ground.  The truck was unharmed but there were large branches strewn about.  I saw two aspens down over the trailer and then looked South down the drive.  Large pines blocked my way out.  It was like a hedge was planted across the drive.  I was trapped.

I texted Sara to let her know I was stuck but would try to dig out so I could make it to the Hostel that evening and then I went in to get dressed for some chainsaw work.  This daunting task would just have to be tackled one branch at a time.  I would cut branches and then clear, cut a bit of the tree out and then stack firewood in a newly created woodpile.  I finally got to a place where I could get through to check the rest of the drive to the road and there found a third large pine across the drive.  Argghhh!

Life in the woods, I guess.  If we’re not working jobs off the homestead, such an event is not such a big deal; just a day of stocking up some firewood for the coming winters.  But today, I had a place to be so I got to it.  As I was assessing the third tree, my neighbor from down the road came driving in to the drive and up to the blockage.  I could see the giant smile on her face and I was just as happy to see her.  Char had brought me a lovely glass centerpiece.  She said she’d seen it and thought it unusual.  And she thinks me a bit unusual, so it was perfect.  I agree!  She was glad I was OK and I was glad she and Wyatt were as well.  They lost a bunch of trees at their place – a few across the cow fencing – so they will be cleaning out tonight.  Told her I’d head down to check on her later this afternoon.  I am just so happy to have found this woman with so many skills, who I believe can teach me such a great deal, and to have found that she’s so happy to share with me.  She is a wonderful gift to my life this year.

Had a second friend come by for a visit too.  Megan’s all alone this week as her husband is out west doing a Permaculture Certification course so she brought her babies by to see me.  Ike and Coda ran through the yard, peeing and pooping and doing what dogs do, as we assessed the damage and chatted about our storm experiences.  She’s only about 15 miles pretty much due east of us but the storm didn’t hit her until 1 AM.  It just hung and hung over Bemidji which received a lot of damage.  When I spoke with Dan later, he said there was damage all across MN, from ND-WI, with major power outages from Bemidji to Duluth. There were a couple deaths in the Boundary Waters area.  I can’t imagine weathering that storm in a tent!

Later that afternoon, I headed to Char’s to see her damage.  It was amazing to see how the trees fell, especially seeing no damage from a major tree fall in her yard between the porch and her rabbit hutches… they couldn’t have gotten luckier.  The tips of the branches brushed her garden fence but didn’t take it out.  I could be crazy, but I believe our talking to our trees gives us an advantage.  I think they take care of us because they know we love them.  That flower laying on its back below the still-standing flag was mounted on #4 rebar – yes, bent to a 90° angle.

We walked her place and ended up at the raspberry patch where we ended up picking beautiful, large, luscious berries for about 20-30 minutes while we talked.  Got two pints which she wanted me to take but I insisted she keep.  I knew I didn’t have power and was hopeful she could put them in her freezer and save them.  Dan showed up just as I was prepping to head to the Hostel.  He decided to head to the Harn and see if he could get the generator started.  There was a major line down a half mile south of us with trees across the line so we’re figuring it may be tomorrow before we get power.  And he brought ice cream to celebrate my tough week…

Ran into the Park Rangers (kids) and they said Itasca Park has no power and may not until Tuesday… Got my Hostel guest settled in and turned him onto Harmony Co-op for some good food once he rides into Bemidji.  He is on a cross-country journey from Seattle to Bar Harbor and he said he’s had no good café food for over 500 miles.  All the little places in ND are closing down.  He weathered the storm last night in Two Inlets, in a tent.  Said it was pretty hairy.  Even without power, he’ll be fine here tonight!

I headed back up to the Harn. Dan still had no power and we were wondering if we just wanted to head back south.  Decided to sit on the porch and have ice cream soup for dinner while we thought about it.  I gave Dan the most solid parts and then took the foamy liquid and added my fresh-picked berries.  It was yummy berries and cream!  We ate ice cream soup until we were sick!

We then walked the property assessing damage and headed out to the road.  We saw the high line guys arrive at the neighbors and were happy.
Still, we were not counting on power for a day or more.  We checked at the next door neighbors as we saw folks there.  LOTS of tree damage here as well.  Multiple large pines snapped off at their middles.

Power came on about 9:15 – 21 hours from losing it… then went out after about 2 minutes.  Power came on for good at 11:15.  Whoo-hoo!!  We now had fans, dehumidifier, and fridge once again.  It’s amazing how dependent we still are on electricity.  Decided we might just get some work done after all.

We got up early to start framing for our water shed.  While we are first-time builders for this sort of thing, we’d watched some YouTube videos and thought it through from Dan’s experience watching/helping Gary build our porch addition three years earlier.  Our first post took us about 4 hours to get set.  It was the hardest one being out in space as the West end of the shed addition/extension.  We ate a little something then worked on the next post which took about 3 hours.  Our third one was about 2 hours and we were beat after this one.  We were 9 hours into the project on the hottest day of the year and we were out of gas.  We needed a swim.  After a dip in Lake Itasca, we were refreshed.  We stopped for a quick candy refuel at Rock Creek Store at the North Entrance and were able to finish up the remaining three posts once we got back to the Harn.  Only about three more hours of work so we definitely had improved our techniques.

We kept finding a cute little snake in the woodpile.  He was adorable.  I kept watch to assure we didn’t crush him as we picked up each consecutive post.  We finished up as day was ending and darkness approaching.  By 9:30 we had cleaned up the area and headed inside to take cover from the skeeters.  We each took quick showers to wash off the stink and sweat and headed to the porch to relax for the evening.  It’s hard to believe we got this job done on our own.  I’m amazed at what we’ve accomplished.  We had some other little project work that is helping the Harn start to look like Home.

I sit this afternoon, watching the rain come down for the third time this week.  It is filling our garden cistern which was at about 80 gallons before this latest downpour.  As I write up this blog post, the weather goes from dark and threatening, to windy and rainy, to sunny with blue skies.  The yard will again dry in the sun.  And I will continue to contemplate all we’re in for as we make this transition.

It seems that every day brings new surprises.  We get some work completed, we run into obstacles, we find time to rest, we cook, we poop, and we wash dishes and shower with as little water as possible.  It is still hard to imagine how it will be once we have our water system in place.  I’m thinking a gallon of water to do dishes will be a huge bounty compared to my current practices.

I’m starting to think about this transition as a grand 3-5 year experiment in alternative living.  We’ll try it and find out how we like it.  We’ll work to grow our food forest, to become more sustainable living with a smaller carbon footprint, to find a way of life that we hope will be more peaceful and relaxing, while it will also require more resiliency and diligence.  It’s hard to comprehend what a “typical” week in the woods will entail.  But I’m getting more and more excited to see our adventure unfold.

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A Life of Simplicity?

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conservation, Finding Fulfillment, Freedom, How to Retire Early, living local, simplicity, sustainability

I am at the Harn for a week of solitude.  Dan is heading back to work after our weekend of major projects and I’m staying until he returns next weekend.  It should be an interesting experience and a chance for me to get a taste of what Harn Life will be.  As we make progress on final systems for our place and draw closer to being at the Harn full-time, some are asking what this will mean.  And I’m still trying to figure that out myself.

I know it seems sometimes to me, and I’m sure to many, that I’m expecting Utopia. While I am hopeful for a lot of good to come (otherwise, why would I be doing it!), I do have some realistic ideas of what this will mean… working to grow food and living more lightly on the land is going to take some adjustment.  It won’t be an easy transition but it’s one I want to try to make.  If it is completely unworkable, I can always go back to the rat race!  But we have some basic goals: using less fossil fuel, spending more time being cognizant of our use of resources, working to live more sustainably, having less impact on Mother Earth, and living more simply than we have been most of our lives.

Before I left for this week at the Harn, I watched a documentary sent by Keith Johnson, a Permaculture friend from Indiana.  It’s called A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity and you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=4&v=XUwLAvfBCzw

This film is set Down Under but it remains pertinent to the U.S. as we all share one globe and there are many similarities between their culture and ours. I found it to be inspiring and was excited by the project these people undertook.  I was not surprised that there was struggle.  I believe any worthy endeavor will have its share of struggle.  And though I am ignorant today of all the struggle we will face as we make our own transition, I am ready for the challenge.  I think it will come in unexpected ways, as it usually does!  But some of the things I expect I believe will turn out better than I hoped.  For example, we recently cleaned out some humi-buckets (buckets full of poop for the uninitiated) and it was MUCH easier than I expected it to be.  Very easy cleanup and truly a vast improvement on the current system most people use today of pooping in potable water and flushing it away.  One of the worst jobs in housekeeping is cleaning the toilet.  With a humanure system it’s actually much easier to clean and maintain, not to mention a HUGE savings on potable water usage!!  So simplicity has its advantages.

There are sure to be disadvantages or at least what appear to be disadvantages from my current perspective.

• We will not be eating out at restaurants like we do these days.  We won’t be in town for one thing and we will want to live on a much smaller budget for another.  But will this be a downside? I am hoping it will mean a more healthy diet, a more sustainable diet and one that may even result in becoming more fit!  That is one expectation I hope is fulfilled… becoming more fit.
• We will have less social interactions and opportunities for entertainment.  While we can head to Bemidji for some culture, we plan to not head to town at every whim which will mean more limited access to people and amusement.  But, will this be a downside?  I am hoping to find more time to play the flute I made at Rec Lab last year and to entertain myself making crafts and upcycling.  I’m wondering if this will be an even more fulfilling life than buying or observing entertainment has been to date.  And I’m wondering if the social things might just come to us.  We have friends a couple miles down the road and I’m hopeful we will cultivate visitors that will bring serendipity and whimsy to our days as we settle in the new neighborhood.
• We will have less income.  The goal eventually is for neither of us to be working full-time jobs outside the home and so, this will mean less monetary resources.  But perhaps the time we have will allow us to create income or barter opportunities that are preferable to giving the lion’s share of our weeks to an employer.  And surely living more simply will require much less income.  It seems to be a rule of salary that, as it grows, so do your expenditures.  And as it shrinks, so should our expenditures!  But I believe we will have everything that’s important and one of the goals of living a more simple life is to determine what those things are.

As you can see, I’m optimistic.  Those of you who know me expect no less than this!  I am always trying to see the bright side and find the positive.  I am hopeful that will help as I look to making this transition.  From the film I watched, I found a wonderful resource on ideas about this new way of life.  I plan to spend some time reading what they have to share. [And yes, Dan and I are hopeful for plenty of time for reading in this new way of life.]  http://simplicityinstitute.org/  This is a terrific article explaining The Simpler Way http://theconversation.com/the-simple-life-manifesto-and-how-it-could-save-us-33081

I encourage you to consider whether some simpler ways of life could bring not deprivation or hardship but real enjoyment, peace and happiness.  I’ll keep you posted on my journey!!

Can America Heal from its Racist Roots?

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American Dream, communication, cooperation, Rule of 3

This country was built on the genocide of one race and the enslavement of another.  Genocide and Slavery are not just the American Way.  This is the way of much of the colonization and empire building throughout the centuries.  And yes, there are still outposts of slavery, there is still a slave trade in human trafficking that many pretend doesn’t exist, and there is oppression of all kinds around the globe.  But America seems unique in our propagation of practices which unequally affect people of color.  And the events of last week in three days are seeming to bring us to the brink of comprehension that we absolutely must address this issue. FINALLY.  But what is the root of issue?  It is VERY complex. However, I am in hopes that we are beginning to awaken and will start working toward resolution.

The problem we see resulting in the murder of black men by police (that’s the way I see it) has many roots.  Of course slavery… but more recently, economic segregation, scapegoating and inequality.  Power seems to be at the root of it to me.  Those in power do not want to share it and thus find ways to subjugate [bring under domination or control, especially by conquest] others, those with the least power being the most affected, in keeping said power and wealth.  As a white woman I have seen injustice in pay scales, working with men making more money than me for doing the same or lesser work.  But I know that my privilege [a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group of people] and entitlement [the fact of having a right to something] blind me to the plight of those who are inexorably disadvantaged.

As it is coming more and more to light in many places in this nation, I am having my own awakening to racism.  At Northland Rec Lab this year, I had the amazing experience of being with Dasha Kelly (http://dashakelly.com/) and Kima Hamilton (https://www.facebook.com/kimahamilton?fref=ts).  Dasha walked us through several exercises related to writing but also to addressing our own perceptions, including our racist tendencies.  She helped us look at expressing ourselves in new ways.  And Kima did this presentation for us and I sat with tears, barely containing sobs.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4AntFF9M7s  (His piece starts at 0:45 seconds.  The sound on this recording is not perfect; seeing this in person was so much more intense.  Standing 20’ from me, Kima’s presence was palpable as he spoke these words.)  So relevant.  So powerful.  But as big as his impact with this performance was, his impact on me with a few simple words is what I keep close in mind from our interactions.  With five simple words from Kima, I was dumbfounded into silence and immobility. I was shocked into a profound humility and a deeper understanding.

I’d approached Dasha and Kima with a simple question that had been running around my mind.  I realized of late that I am often forgetful of the fact that I am fat when interacting with others.  Though the America population is increasingly growing in individual size, I know that my weight calls me out as different. But I often forget and feel like I am skinny.  I actually joke that I’m a reverse anorexic because I feel skinnier than I truly am.  And I realized that sometimes I feel just like a human, not a fat human among average body type humans, not different… but the same.  And I had been wondering if it was in any way similar in being black.  Was there ever a time when you felt like you were just a human, not a black human?  Because Dasha and Kima had opened themselves to these discussions as the only two black people among a huge group of whites (and one Asian), I explained this idea to them and then asked as we walked toward the Dining Hall, “Is there anything similar for you? Do you ever forget you’re black?”

Dasha seems like a sister from another mother to me.  I just LOVE her vivacious, bold, funny, flamboyant personality.  Her amazing way with words and her open, loving, welcoming style make you feel like you’ve known her forever.  And she and I engaged in a quick conversation about this idea.  We thought about possibilities and examined the idea commenting back and forth as Kima walked along with us in silence.  When we arrived at the building, she turned to him and said, “What do you think, Kima?”  And he looked at me, at least it felt like he looked directly at me, through me even, and said almost in an off-hand way as if it should have been obvious, “I never forget I’m black.”

It should have been obvious.  I realized it immediately.  Kima is a big man. A big, black man.  A man with dreads.  A man with physical strength and size.  And that is what many see.  That and only that.  Forget his beautiful and friendly smile.  Forget his loving heart that shines through his encouraging and considerate words.  Forget his gentle touch on your shoulder as he walks past or his quiet, open face that listens intently to you… or watches, like a child seeing it for the first time, as Laura demonstrates methods in clay during her workshop.  Forget that he’s human.  It’s easy to do in this programmed place where we reside.

We see it nightly on our screens. Black man = Criminal.  Black man = Danger.  Black man = Scary.  Even my friend here in Alexandria recently said that her black daughters were exclaiming concern over a “black man” outside their home.  We are ALL being programmed to fear black men.

After that question to Dasha and Kima, I realized how crucial it is that I continue talking with People of Color to try to comprehend a bigger perspective.  To expand my understanding and hopefully contribute to doing something toward reducing racism, my own and that of others.  As I walked to the next workshop moments later, I had an emotional breakdown.  I began to relive my past relationships with black people like an end-of-life, flash-before-my-eyes video.  I began crying as I walked in the rain and by the time I got to the building, I was sobbing aloud.  I remembered Bobby Whitehead. My mother occasionally likes to tell the story of how I came home from elementary school one day to let her know, “I’m going to marry Bobby Whitehead.”  I remember Ivy Green, my best friend in 1st grade.  We were fast friends.  I remember Lavesa Peterson, my best friend in 6th grade.  She lived in the projects behind the Kroger.  I didn’t know what projects were but I remember seeing the difference in her home and mine.  Not that it was a big impact then.  I just wanted to hang out with my friend, I wasn’t evaluating her environment. But I remember being the one who was different in this world of black people.  Lavesa got pregnant soon after and disappeared from my life. I thought back to that one time I went to the Society of Black Engineers meeting, again being the one person who was different.  Why didn’t I go back?  Was I afraid?  Intimidated?  Or just indifferent?  I remember Deb Hudson and Wendell Harris, co-workers at Inland Steel who would challenge me and converse with me in open ways.  It seems my whole life I’d been given opportunities but squandered them.  I sat in that bathroom letting all this emotion wash over me, feeling the regret of so many years.  As my sobs subsided, I thought to myself, “I don’t want to do that anymore.  From this point forward, I want to work to find space in my life to interact with people of color.  I have to work on this when I get an opportunity.”

I don’t know if I had any idea of what this would mean. But I committed to engaging with a new friend for whom I have a lot of respect based on the couple interactions we’d had of late.  She’s a black woman who speaks her mind boldly, often surprising me with her comments.  Her honesty and openness is refreshing.  On several occasions, we’d talked briefly, both seeing a comrade I believe.  A few weeks after Rec Lab, I found an opportunity to meet with her.  I spent time listening to her story and was amazed by it.  I was thrilled by the loving connection I felt to this woman and was happy to have found a friend, a sister, a woman with whom I can share and listen with both of us finding fulfillment.  And I am hopeful that there will be from our friendship some progress on race relations. Every interaction brings us closer to breaking down those barriers that exist when people of difference do not collaborate.

Why is it that America seems to continue to struggle?  I think part of it is due to the fact that we have never made amends for past transgressions.  “History is written by the victors” says Howard Zinn.  And his literary work was based on rectifying this by writing history from the perspective of the vanquished.  His People’s History of the United States is worth a read.  Here’s a *.pdf if you care to pursue it… http://www.thegoyslife.com/Documents/Books/A%20People’s%20History%20of%20the%20United%20States-%20Howard%20Zinn.pdf  This work shows how, over and over in America, those in power have continued to quell the masses with small indulgences while maintaining and growing their power and status.  The current state of American politics is that we will likely have the choice of voting for one of two millionaires, one beholden only to himself and one beholden to many wealthy donors and corporations.  Where is the candidate truly representing the people?  Not on the ballot in most cases.  Some of us may take the opportunity to vote for another woman, Jill Stein of the Green Party, as a way of rebelling against the limitations brought by two parties very much aligned in continuing our capitalist, imperialist, militarized, and corporatized future.  One owned by the few and supported by the poor, umempowered masses. One that is rapidly depleting and destroying our planet.  And People of Color lose disproportionately in Climate Change too.

[Sorry, I just needed a bit of humor to keep from screaming.  Get your bumper sticker here: http://www.northernsun.com/Destroy-Planet-Before-Jesus-Bumper-Sticker-(7280) ]

There are many roots to the problems causing the issues associated with race in this country.  And I’m not sure where to begin but making amends for past transgressions would be a good start.  Paying a $15 minimum wage to assure all workers get a reasonable chance at living without intense poverty.  Giving People of Color more opportunities to do ANY job they want, get ANY education they want, live ANYWHERE they want.  I know that politicians like to keep us divided, fighting amongst ourselves while they run away with all the spoils.  They keep us in fear of each other, typically pitting Whites again People of Color, making them the scapegoats.  This way, we’re not watching while they make more rules to benefit those who own our political system.

The Non-Fiction Book Club at Cherry Street Books is currently reading The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson about the migration of Blacks from the South to the North.  The story follows three individuals but also speaks of the migration at large, the reasons behind it, and the ramifications for those participating.  It addresses the misconceptions held by many, that Southern Blacks were more likely to be on welfare, caused more crime, had more children, thus making things worse when they moved North.  None of these perceptions of the migrants was based in fact, but only on prejudice. Data showed that Southern Blacks were often smarter than Northern Blacks and even many Northern Whites.  They were typically very productive citizens, even against all odds of finding equal employment, fair wages and affordable housing.  And they paved the way for their kids to do better by giving them the advantage of growing up with more education, freedom and opportunity than they’d had in the South.

In the book, the South was often depicted as more easy to deal with than the North.  In the South, the laws were written to legitimize the unequal treatment of Blacks.  In the North, there were no laws but the practices were in place nonetheless.  The mirage of freedom and equality in the North was much harder to dispel than Southern laws which could be changed with the swipe of a pen.

While we’re no longer lynching Blacks in public displays, the inherent racism in our present society creates a system that still stifles the ability of Blacks to progress, limits their access to success, and impedes their experience of justice.  I know things are better for Blacks in many ways but we’re progressing much too slowly and of late we’re seeming to regress.

It is much more complex than simply Loving Your Neighbor Regardless of Color but this is a good place for many of us to start.  To not “Love your neighbor” based simply on the color of her skin is truly ridiculous.  There is no sense in it. Some say Racism is a mental illness and I must say this makes sense to me.  Our current society is a culture of fear and in it, skin color is a marker for many negative concepts.  But this is programmed perception and thus it can be changed.  Prejudice is taught.  And acceptance and fairness can be taught in its place.  We can find ways to overcome ignorance, indifference, and inexperience.  We can consider our own thoughts and ideas and find the irrationality.  We can find opportunities to open our minds and create interactions that bring new ideas and perceptions.  We can do this together.

The answers are complex but I encourage you to consider what you can do.  If you are black, begin a conversation with a white person in your world and see what comes of it.  If you’re white, invite a black person to coffee and see where you find common ground.  At the very least, we all want…

• love and acceptance
• happiness
• a better world for our children
• to have enough
• to BE enough.

Find a way today to give these things to someone else and goodness will surely come to you. What you reap, you sow.  Sow some oats of Redemption.  I hope for many conversations in the coming days and I hope even more for real progress on race relations in this country.

 

Indoor Ter-let!

Tags

sustainability

Harn updates for June included finishing up more in the kitchen and bathroom.

We were able to get the Humanure bin constructed for our indoor bathroom, which will be nice for using when it’s raining or in the middle of the night.  I will still continue to jump out of the truck and squat to pee… I’m like a little boy now with this new freedom to urinate in the outdoors!  I still love going out to the porch for a poop too.  Something about doing your business in the outdoors really appeals to me.  I just love it.  This is another reason to honk when you arrive – it’s not something you want to observe if you can avoid it.  I was also walking through the woods topless this weekend for the first time so, fair warning, you really want to honk.  We are working on getting a driveway alarm installed so we have a warning when guests arrive.

Right now, we’re getting our quotes on the work for our water system and hope to have that in place by the end of the month.  We’ll see.  Getting all the parties in place to have us on their calendars is a bit daunting.  We’re hoping to get things set this weekend for mid-July if we can.  Once the water is in, we’ll have all the utilities.  Just need to button up the Rocket Mass Heater with more Mass later this summer. There will probably be some clay digging in the next few visits.

Here are some photos of the humanure bin build.

I think we put as much into this bathroom as we can fit.  But it’s still a pretty nice space – not too claustrophobic – for the potty area.  [We absolutely planned the Infinite Black Blend Coffee Bean bag above the humi-bin.]

We were able to get some more projects done over the 4^th of July weekend.  Here’s a couple videos…

• Bathroom Video including info on an Off-Grid Hot Shower option for you: https://youtu.be/A_tAAoYCMMw
• Outside Tour of our lawn ornaments: https://youtu.be/KHYkWonkjM0

Here’s a list of our accomplishments:

• Add Marine Vinyl above Shower and Silicone Caulk the Joint with the Shower Enclosure
• Polyurethane the HumiBox
• Meet with Darren to Review the Excavation Plan for the Cistern Area
• Have Don Push Stumps and Excavate the Yard to Flatten (and Prep Pad for Water Tank)
• Hang Welcome Sign on Porch
• Kilz the Bathroom Cabinets
• Spread Clover Seed on New Dirt Yard
• Mow (now we need to also fix the mower blade…)
• Meet Gary to Review the Shed Addition Plan for over the Cistern Area
• Dig out the Pad area for the Water Tank to prep for Insulation Board
• Replace the Front Entry Light Fixture with Motion Detector LED fixture
• Prep Fan Boxes for Garage Fans
• Install Shower
• Move Items to the Bathroom (only a bit of trim work remains!)
• Drop Trees to allow for Boom Crane to place Cistern Tanks
• Prep new Firewood Location and Process Trees to Wood for Fire
• Bury Three Buckets of Humanure
• Put Insulation and Garden Water Tank in Place, Covering Insulation with Dirt
• Cut in Outlets in Garage and Hang 2 Ceiling Fans
• Train Jami as an Apprentice Electrician (bit of a learning curve but she did OK)
• Cover Insulation at Garden Tank with Dirt
• Relax Sunday Night with a Fire!

We also made a three pots of French Press Coffee, cooked hot dogs in corn tortilla wraps, killed a couple ticks (really, three or so), took many breaks, and slept in Monday (until almost 10! But we were up until after 1 or so…).  It’s looking good for probably getting our cisterns set the 15^th so we can prep the shed for Gary to come in August… or whenever that hard working guy can break free for us to hang rafters and steel!  He’s in high demand for a reason and we are finding that we’ve learned a lot from him so it’s like an Apprentice Workshop every time he does a job with us.

It feels good to have made more progress.  It’s getting more and more like a house and feeling more and more like home.  But we’ve still got a ways to go…