Home and finishing my Blog

I got home almost a week ago and things have been moving fast as usual. Back to work, farm and life. This past weekend all the family was here and we had a wonderful time catching up and went to the music festival in Monticello.This is the first time I have turned on my computer so please forgive me for not finishing my blog from my trip. The internet connections there were just so sketchy that it was difficult to complete my post. I
Hope you have enjoyed my ramblings...

Friday the 13th Communication, Oh My!

April 13, 2012
Friday the 13^th was all about Communication and a powerful day of awakening. We cast our morning circle with total silence, I must say I am totally impressed with this class and what they can do in a moment with total silence. The synergy was rocking at the moment. We started our class by making the bio-char and then worked in class with the many forms of communication in groups and what works and does not work. Lots of games and role playing as well as discussion. Then we geared up and went into the garden to build a Key Hole garden… oh my what a mess. Our affinity group completely fell apart. We were given roles to play, most did NOT fit our personalities and we completely fell apart in a big way. One student was crying the others nurturing, one anger then another. The leader (in an assigned role) was totally clueless as to what was going on and I was running around building a key hole bed, in the cold windy rain. Wow!
Then we sat in our affinity group. I suggested the ground rules since most had never processed in affinity groups before, we agreed on the rules. It took us a while but we worked through it until we huddled together for a part of the afternoon class. It was an emotional exercise and really proved we could create total chaos and resolve it with the tools we have been given to communicate. It felt really good when the other affinity groups checked in that they too had an emotional experience trying to build a Key Hole in a small space while we were role playing really difficult roles.

　
The evening class was all about ancestors. We invoked our blood ancestors by naming our families as far back as we could. Then we broke up into small groups and talked about where our families came from and what they did for a living. Later we talked about groups that define who we are. This work was so very powerful and in communication it gave us more information about who is in our groups. I loved it, but I love ancestor work any way.

Working with Power and trip to Golden Rabbit Ranch

April 12, 2012
Rain and cold! We snuggled into a large room for our first day of real class with a good nights sleep I was ready. We started off working the Elements of the Talisman in the "Empowerment manual". We went outside is a moment of sunshine and called to the Elements, I chose fire since I really have felt a call to the power and my place in life right now. Our morning session was about "Power" with-in, with and power-over, leadership in groups and roles we play in groups of both collaborative and hierarchical structures. It was a great start to this class and I felt a kinship with many in this class. I am so happy to be here doing this work. A student beside me made the comment that we all seem to be connected since we read the book and are practicing the group process. I said to her, "This is just the first day of class". This is the first class of this kind ever and I know there will be very challenging moments. And that is what this work is about. We played lots of games and role playing to experience other sides of group process and power.

Trip to Golden Rabbit Ranch
Even though the afternoon was rainy and wet we took a field trip to Starhawk’s ranch. I was so excited to see things I had read about in her books and talked to her about over the years. Her land is steep and on a mountain top, lot of vertical slopes. We saw her hydroelectric system, her solar power, her gardens and Belgium fence. Her olive trees and rosemary, we saw Charles’s yert. We even took an adventure around her land and concocted stories about what we saw and found in the woods. It was a cold and challenging day, but we picked flowers and admired the beauty of the land.

By evening class we were totally wiped out. The evening class continued in deep discussions and exercises in power and leadership roles. We actually were going to make Bio-Char but ended up charging the barrel with things we wanted to rid the world of on paper marked and drawn with bio-char markers and went off to bed . it was poring down rain and very cold. I woke up with a screaming headache at 5:30am.
There are only 20 students in this class and the personalities and dynamics is starting to play out. This will be interesting, once again there is a nice mix of ages, back grounds races and ages. I am enjoying my affinity group. We have one woman from Ireland and another from Belgium, but she has lived all over the world and grew up in Australia. Also a really nice gay man I just adore and a crone that has many power dynamics to deal with. My roommate is half Japanese and I really adore her too. We actually moved into a room by ourselves and enjoy wispering late in the evening.
I am having some real issues getting on the internet but I am gong to keep trying to keep updated.

First view of the Pacific and Seals!

April 11, 2012
I am having a really hard time getting on the WiFi network here, too much stress to do so and so little time. But I will try!
When I am on the road and in workshops, I usually run a day behind so please pardon me while I catch up. These workshops are very intense and it takes tons of processing to do the work. As we start at 7:30 am for breakfast and if we are lucky crash by 10:30 pm with little down time.
My trip to the Pacific Ocean was one of those winding scenic routes where I followed the Russian River through the mountains at 25 mile an hour curves, I enjoyed it and thoughts of how many mountain county roads look the same, but for the huge massive redwood trees. The redwoods were not as huge as I thought but I have been told where to go to see the really big ones you read about.
About 10:00 am my curvy scenic route through the mountains ended at Jenner, California, which is also where the Russian river ends and flows in to the sea. I found the perfect spot to stop. Oh My Goddess! The cliff was 100 feet high, below me was where the river ran into the sea…the banks were lines with seals! It just took my breath away to see such beauty and seals, which I love, right there sunning themselves.

　
I found a road that took me down near the water, Goat Rock Beach, now how perfect is that? The weather was rainy, cold and windy but I made my way to the beach. I was met by a huge lone Raven. She watched me as I watched her, we sorta developed an agreement that we were alone on this beach but could support each other for the moment. Her words were private to me but completely understood.
I walked for maybe a hour and a half, climbed rocks and took lots of photos. The rocks that just stood as statements of power and yet felt so natural to this place, I was the guest and tourist here. I felt honored to be there. The wild flowers once again have caught my eye on my travels and I was just fascinated by how many things were in bloom despite the cold. The beach was so different and I played in the surf and collected lots of rocks. I asked some surfers to take my photo.. yes I am really here!

I drove a little farther down the coast but knew my time was short and I needed to make my way to the Black Mountain Preserve. The drive up the mountain seemed for ever and the winding road just went on and on, what seemed straight up. Looking down and wondering how people could live here. I finally arrived, cold and wet and very tired. Found a room with a heater and it took me a long time to warm up. Dinner was incredible, the food by far is the best I have ever had at a workshop intensive and the room and facilities are very cozy and comfortable. It was so good to see Starhawk and Charles and catch up before our class started at 7:30. Our first class was more about information and forming affinity groups.

New Adventures and California!

April 10, 2012
Well… you can say I am a really bad blogger. I confess it has been months since I last posted on my blog, Southern Style Permaculture, but I have been really busy.
No Joke! I hit the ground running in the fall with a Spiral Fall garden and then I took on another job at Woodville Ace Hardware store, now working full time in the garden center. That consumes most all my free time. I am still working at Crystal Connection two days a week and doing lots of readings. We also have baby goats and a spring garden planted. The Café I sold in 2006 was finally paid off in December and I had to seek full time employment to pay the mortgage on the Cottage as well as keep up with the bills. My semi-retirement is over! Back into the full time workforce has been an adjustment for me but I am doing it, and loving it for the moment. I am where I need to be for this time in my life, the Center of things is always charged with energy and I am really charged. My physical, mental and spiritual energy is at a all time high. In some ways I am vibrating at higher level than ever before. And I am handling the stress pretty well as long as I can get 7-8 hours sleep, I eat very little and drink lots and lots of ice water between the time I go to bed and get up at 6:00 am to tend the farm. My dreams are as they have been for years, down loads of information that I will remember when it is needed. The few dreams I do remember are very vivid and clear, they usually have profound messages embedded.

Passion for Permaculture First
In February, I started teaching a Permaculture design class at the Leon County extension office with Will Shefal, Anna Lee and Wendi Bellows, another designer. Our class is the third county extension office in the United States to teach a Permaculture Design Course! And I must say I am loving this, even though I was totally taken by surprise at what this was going to be when we first discussed a class. This class has just wowed me, the students and teachers, the level and amount of information, is everything I could ever dream as for really taking Permaculture to another level. And you will soon learn my focus and position in this class is on Spiritualism and Community/ Social Permaculture. Yet, I am also doing hands on demonstrations and teaching. In February the class came to our farm and set in the second of the sheet mulched spirals. This one mirrors the one I built in the fall. Our year-long course is set up in four seasonal blocks and we have completed the first (Winter block) and started on the Spring Block a few weeks ago. We have between 25 and 27 students. Our students are mature, well educated, professional adults with a powerful amount of knowledge and experience to add to the class and the concepts, they are serious about the work. Some are and have been practicing Permaculture for years and most all have land and gardens already dedicated to the work. They have already started their designs and we (teachers) are all very impressed. I am IMPRESSED, I have said that?

Current update Trip 12:30 PM EST
I will check in a little on a personal level before I get to the current and present adventure. I am sitting in the Miami International Airport waiting for a flight to connect me to Los Angeles the to Santa Rosa, California!
Did you know that the Miami airport floor is painted with sea amebas and urchins? Just another observation of connections, water and microorganisms…

On a Personal and Spiritual level
Life is moving very fast. Every thing is speeding up. TIME has never felt like it does right now. There is a real urgency to work faster and harder to make the deadline. Even though we don’t really know what that is. As I move deeper into the spiritual work from my personal commitment and practice, to Faery Seership, to our Circle and working with Clients. Every day there are more signs from the Earth, to the Stars, to the energy of Spirit, to alignments of every sort that are screaming.. WAKE UP! It is 2012 and we are HERE!!!!
In my world I am dealing with things that are hard and difficult everyday. People that can be very difficult and others that don’t have a clue as to who I am and what I do (or can do) or why. I feel anger, hate and fear all around me. It has been many years since I have found myself in a position of such "Oppression". I have found that RESPECT is very important and even more so than ever before, even though I feel there are people in my world that don’t respect me, and yet others that totally respect me for who I am and the work I do. Please don’t think I am not truly grateful for those that give respect and love to me daily. At times I fall back on the wise words of my many teachers, when this power game gets to me. Here are a few ingrained words, Gary Harrington once told me, "Beware of the dream stealers, they will steal your dreams if you let them". Trinity, "Other become angry with you when they are afraid they can’t achieve what you can" and Libby Clark, " Your opinion of me, is none of my business!" For years people have come to me about finding their path in life, their purpose for being here on earth, at this time and place. I always tell them, "I can not tell you what your path is, but I can help you find it, if and when you are ready. This I do know, when you are on your path, your world opens up for you and life becomes joyful and beautiful. Things happen! You see and feel the threads that connect all things and things fall into place. You may not get what you want, but you will get what you need. This is where I am right now, more than ever before.


How the current adventure began
About 7weeks ago my friend Lisa Wyndance gave me Starhawk’s new book, "The Empowerment Manual" on a Monday night. On Tuesday I opened an e-mail about the first Advanced Social Permaculture course in California, taught by my teacher and mentor Starhawk and Charles Williams from EAT. I sent the e-mail to Will Shefal at the Leon County Extension office asking if this was possible and with in an hour the trip was being arranged. In lieu of being paid for teaching the class they gave me the funds to take this workshop. Wow, I have just been so blessed, it blows my mind. The support I have had from my family, friends and class has been powerful. A few months ago I just had this random thought that I was going to California, I have never wanted to go to California or had a real reason to go, but here I am.

The Trip Update 6:00 PM PST
The flight from Miami to Los Angeles was very difficult. About an hour before we landed I got very sick. I had a really bad headache and cold sweat and thought I was going to throw up, but just a good case of dry heaves. My seatmate was a really nice, woman about my age and she talked me to the bathroom when the flight attendants got me settled and gave me ginger ale. I have never gotten sick on a plane and this felt more like an energy hit. I grounded the best I could at 30,000 feet and called to my spirit guides to get me on the ground. It took me sometime to get some food and ibuprofen. And everything here in LA smells and taste awful, or maybe it is just me. But I just love the Alaska Airline desk attendant, he has made me laugh several time since I have been sitting here. I guess LA has it’s personalities. The more I think about when and where I got sick in the air, the map on the plane put us flying past Texas and New Mexico. I wonder about somethings I have heard about the crystal grids that have been activated and need to check into that when I get home.

On The Farm
Noah has had to take on more since I work every day and mostly into the evening. I had two days off in March and still planted a garden and set seeds in the green house. We had nine bay goats born starting on Valentines Day. Leslie took one to Panama City with her and is raising her with her dogs and has her house broke. We lost two, but the ones we have are so damn cute you just want to pick them but and hug them. We have two Saneen goats Noah is milking. I have made butter, mozzarella cheese and ricotta. The chickens are laying and fresh eggs every day are our staple food, or mine anyway. Noah has 44 eggs in our new incubator, these will be raised for meat and put into the freezer.
The horse situation is still the same or worse. The rescues have totally recovered and a few weeks ago we got two more. Noah is working harder than ever managing the horses but there has been none sold or given away. We are down on dogs since a few found new homes and no puppies this spring, thank you.
The garden is planted, tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, okra, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, egg plant, onions, garlic and beans so far. Last week I was upset that the rabbits had eating my beans. When the next day I saw evidence that the rabbit was eaten by a hawk, by the disturbed ground and the hair. So I planted more beans. I still have herbs and planted more. The green house was full of stuff when I left, one is sweet potatoes, I am excited about. Water is still an issue, even with the sheet mulch the garden seems to suck up more than we can provide. I know it is better than in the past but is still an issue.

Finally I arrived in Santa Rosa, California 9:30 PST
Cold rain slapped me in the face. I was not really expecting that. I was tired and grumpy when I found the rental car and baggage claim area with in the same small room. The rental car assistant waited since they closed at 9:00. Another woman besides me was renting a car. Then the exhaustion of the trip set in. I thought I had paid for the car, I only reserved it. I had the money but not $465 on my card to secure the car and deposit. I was standing there with no car and no place to stay for the night and the nearest room was $120, I was not going to pay. I finally came to an agreement to rent the car one day and come back in the morning to fix the problem. Which I did and I ended up sleeping in the back seat of an Eclipse. Not a pleasant experience and that is all I will say. I am a real trooper. But early Wednesday morning I washed my face, had my coffee, fixed my issue with the rental car and was on my way. It took me about an hour to get to the west coast. And as everything works out it was worth everything.
PLEASE check check out my next post!

Intro to Permaculture class

I just wanted to let those following my blog that I will be teaching a FREE short Into to Permaculture class at Ace Hardware in Woodville on November 17, 2011 from 6:30-8:00 PM. I will be showing Starhawk's DVD on The Growing Edge and hope to get some local people involved.

Yesterday I took a awesome Permaculture class with Paul and Rebecca at Just Fruits, there were a lot of people there that are wanting to know and do more. The networking has only begun...

My fall garden is pretty but not very productive. I made a big batch of Bio-Brew that is going  on today. It has been so dry and watering everyday is difficult, but as we say... try and try again!
Happy Gardening
Sissy

Fall Garden and Sheet Mulching

Sorry I have been having a hard time posting due to internet issues, my post is a few days late.
October 5, 2011
　
Whoo Hooo the fall garden is PLANTED!
In the Garden
And I have been a gardening fool! I had Noah smooth out my permaculture beds and then spent two days filling the sandy soil with old hay, manure and anything of organic matter I could rake up out of the horse and chicken pens. I collected and hauled two truck loads of cardboard and striped off all the tape and labels. To me this was boring and hard work as I stood at the bed of the truck for what seemed endless hours with a huge pile of tape and plastic that was not going into my garden. I took one afternoon and layered all the cardboard into my new sheet mulched garden and wet it down, careful not to walk on it as little as I could. The next morning was our first cool day, the temperature was in the low 50’s when Noah piled the first of two flat beds trailers full of compost and we started spreading it. The first we spread with the tractor, the rest I did by hand and a wheel barrow. The cardboard had started to dry and the wind picked up on Saturday morning. I chased around getting enough compost over the cardboard to keep it from flying away into the other side of the garden. He brought the next load and I waited until Monday morning to spread it wheel barrow after wheel barrow into a spiral. Then on Tuesday morning I hauled another load on the little trailer to finish the spiral. I was getting very excited as I finished off the beautiful spiral with mulch in between the rows on the walk way and raked down the bed. The moisture in the bed is really incredible, the compost is holding the rich black soil and it really is in contrast with the sand in the rest of the garden. I set up a sprinkler in the center and wet it down several times.
I also set up two wooden boxed for my salad table and one to plant carrots. I layered the bottoms of the boxes with leaves I raked from the yard and sand. Then I filled in the compost and worm castings. I topped it off with fine compost I screened to give the seeds a strong start. These boxes too are holding the rich compost moist.. I set the boxes on the south side of the green house to catch the sun, throughout the winter this spot will stay warm and protected. I hope they will not be too hot there because they are too heavy to move. We have raised tomatoes and peppers there in planters every year and it seems to be a good spot.
This morning on my run, I saw maybe 15 deer out playing and feeding. They came closer to me than ever before and some ran in the woods along the road beside me. It was a nice morning to be out and seeing all the deer made me feel nature was calling me to plant. I left the sprinkler run on the spiral while I ran and came back to do my morning chores and then started planting. In the boxes I planted heirloom carrots and mixed salad greens. In the spiral I planted, collard greens not my buy but Noah’s, hybrids I am sure. Then two kinds of heirloom mustards greens, two kinds of heirloom broccoli and two kinds of heirloom cauliflower, heirloom snow peas and plenty of rooms for cabbage and Brussels sprouts when I find what I want.
Now I need to search out mulch from whatever source I can find and start lining the walk ways into the spiral. When my young plants start coming in and the first thinning is done I will mulch the young plants from the mulch in the walkway. I actually located a place in Bradfordville that sells oat straw for bedding.
All this seems to be a lot of work and I have worked like a dog for more than a week and the cooler weather has inspired me. What I am doing is building and amending my soil with sheet mulching. This permaculture technique has been used in gardens all around the world that has poor sandy soil and this give the garden a strong foundation. It is a lot of work but in the end it will pay off, or so Noah says "time will tell if it works". The way I look at it is that everything we do to improve the soil will pay off in the long run. It is much better than planting in dead sandy soil that has very little to support vegetables. But each season until the soil has been totally amended the process will have to be repeated again and again. Hopefully after a few seasons the rich black compost and mulch will state to give more to feeding the soil and building a micro-organic base with fungi and worms that will be healthy again. The cardboard works two ways. It creates a moisture trap to change the microclimate of the spiral, it traps both air and water, instead of running through the the sand it slows it down and it breaks down in time feeding the soil too. It also prevents the weeds from creeping through if done right. The garden spiral pattered also serves several purposes. It is beautiful for one. Everyone knows I love the symbol of life and spirit. But the areas actually gives more space than rows when it is done right, just walk it a few times and you will see how much room there is in a spiral than if the same space were in rows. Several years ago I planted my corn in a spiral and the rest of the garden in rows. My family laughed at me. But even though I didn’t plan it out well enough to give some width for the corn to set out the storm roots, it was the only time I have ever been successful in growing corn and we had plenty to eat and in the freezer. The corn I grew with Ken this year in the experimental beds grew well, but it was field corn and even though we did eat some of it, it was more for the animals and not for the table. It grew tall and produced two ears per stalk but our experiment was for the double dig and heavy trenched rows of compost. Point is I love the spiral and I have plans to do the spring garden in front of the winter garden in the same pattern but turning in the other direction. The spiral also creates a microclimate, it catches the light and air as it spins through the bed. It creates a trap for moisture as well instead of the rain just pooling up in the rows, that is when it does rain. I just love it and it feel so good to see it done. Eventually I will set up my irrigation system but for now I am just looking at it and the sprinkler does it’s job.

　
　
On the Farm..
More excitement here too. Last week we brought in 4 rescue horses. It is so sad to see what can happen to incredibly beautiful horses when someone totally loses it and starves them almost to death. It is a long and sad story I will not go into. But for the past week we have been very careful to feed and care for these neglected animals. I can see some slow results already but it is going to be a long haul. Horses that have been starved so badly can colic and die if you give them too much feed to fast to bring them back around to a state of health. There are times where horses just start losing weight and then there are old horses that just get old and poor no matter what you do. Personally I blame the feed that we are forced to feed horses. The GMO corn has effects on them as well as us but we really have very few choices. These are all very good well bred paso fino blood lines and once were top show horses. Where we go from here I do not know, but we will see, for now we are just saving their lives.
Last week we had a new foal born. She.. yes she is so cute and mom will eat you up as she let me know a few hours after she was born, she walked up and nuzzled me, mom tried to eat me. I got out of there before I could tell if it was a filly or a colt but Noah identified her. We have one of our yearlings going to a new owner in West Palm Beach this weekend and had a wild ride to the vet on Monday to pull coggins test. We haven’t been to Tom Bevis’s clinic in several years and never pulled our big horse trailer in there. We got turned around and went down a few wrong drives, but we made it. Both horses we on their first trailer ride. Coggins test have to be pulled on horse to sell them and when they travel through inspection stations.
So there was even more excitement on Monday. I was tired after a day working with horses, shoveling compost and such and I had a meeting at 7pm. Noah was working with two young fillies, we had loaded them into the trailer, lead them around to eat grass. I had put one up and Noah took the other into the back yard while I took a shower. I came out of the shower and heard dogs barking and looked out the window to see Noah in real trouble. He has three huge American bull dogs in a pen near the house. One of the puppies weighs over 100 pounds and his mother and brother not quite as big, but big. They had broken out of the pen while Noah had the filly on the lead and were trying to catch her. That is what bull dogs do. Noah was having a time trying to hold her and catch the dogs before the bite her on the legs. She was whirling and dancing on their heads but it was more than any of them could handle. I did not stop of even hesitate. I ran for the door in nothing but a towel and it was on my head. But managed to get out in the yard with Noah, the filly and the dogs. I garbed one and he tried to bite me. We went round and a round. Noah tried to tie the filly up to the plum tree so he could catch a dog and I tackled one and then grabbed another. The one that had the collar on was not the problem. I drug one over and put it in the pen but before I got back to the filly it had gotten out again. I sat on one and garbed another by the tail. About this time we were getting a upper hand on the madness and Noah was able to calm the filly down and grab a dog at the same time. It seemed like it when on for 30 minutes but I am sure it wasn’t more that 30 seconds, but in the end no one got hurt and everyone was safe. It wasn’t until the next morning I realized I had jammed my thumb and it was swollen for a few days. But if I had not been there, it could have been a serious situation. Noah now has a huge chain on the gate and the bar secured. I had told the naked dog and horse fight story to my circle on Monday night and they were just rolling in laughter. Noah really wished he had it on video, me naked chasing the huge bull dogs and tackling them in the dirt to keep them off the dancing filly, with him flying around the plum tree trying to secure her. Well one thing for sure there is never a dull moment on our farm.
Happy Gardening, feel the shifts in the earth as we turn the seasons, fall is here and things are a changin".