Winter Gardening at the White House

Im sitting here all doe-eyed with my hand on
my heart wondering if I have to pinch myself.

Whats going on here?
I really want to be optimistic...I REALLY do.

Greening the Desert Part 2!!!

Greening the Desert II: Greening the Middle East from Craig Mackintosh on Vimeo.

This is about 40 min long, but I promise you that it is
very WELL worth your time. (if youre into permaculture I guess)
It shows what can be done in some of the most unforgiving climates,
and gave me some really hopeful and inspiring moments
about rebuilding the paradise that Earth once was.
Expand to full screen...the quality is pretty solid.

Im building swales with branches and logs around this little meadow
right now and it is COLD outside. But im sweating from all
the walking around and carrying stuff.

Anyways...I definitely recommend that video above.
Food forests are the future, likely thru sheer necessity...
but those that can jump on earlier will enjoy life MUCH
more in this upcoming decade.
What a decade we just went thru right?
Like...the best ever and the worst ever?
Well, the bad stuff is nothing new.

Here is to the new decade filled with food forests,
local organic produce, complete nonviolence,
and month-long adventures instead of the 40hr work- week
...why not 20...or 4?

Plan your decade, include some tree planting.

Madventures Ayahuasca

I know some of you will get a kick out of this.



These guys are originally from Finland if youre
wondering about the accent.

Those icaros that the Shamans are singing are SO beautiful.

*There's a decent amount of throwing up in this vid - just so you know*

Dolores Cannon on Coast to Coast

This is Golden. If the weather is bad,
spend a little time with these.













if youre still on it you know where to go for the rest.

AMAZING right??

I clipped brush from the forest garden
in fresh air for 6 hours....highly recommended!

Mice in the dome greenhouse! Who can blame them??

Meet the Natives

I watched this last night with my friend,
and if there was a show on TV right now
that I could recommend it is this.

This is the episode we watched: Montana.
If there is a better argument for raising animals
on grass and natural foods, please share.

I wonder if the makers of the show really
wanted to subversively show the insanity of factory
farms when they had the idea of bringing these guys there.

To see the reactions of the men about injecting the cows with
medicines and feeding them bad food is just priceless.

I would highly recommend watching this show.

If you want a preview from the Travel Channel site, click HERE.
I would actually watch that first, then watch the whole show below.











One native man tells the American farmer -
"Your cow would taste much better if it ate grass"

hahahahahahaha

This show gives us a pure perspective on the
screwed up nature of the American life...
I thank the travel channel for showing people
the insanity of factory farming,
even though not a negative word was said,
the reactions of the native men and the video really drives it home.

Music for YOU

I LOVE this song.
Great for walking, driving, dancing,
listening with your eyes closed with
a massive grin across your face.

Its even better with headphones.

ENJOY!

My Space of Love

Your first always has a special place in your heart.

I sometimes wonder if the forest garden I am building
in Minnesota will be the one that I will live in with my
family when Im older, or if I will build another with someone
and live there instead. I have such a strong connection to
this place in Minnesota though, and I am always thinking about being there.

I was originally going to build my garden in Woodstock NY.
I had the land purchased, I had the drawings made,
and had already started talking to excavators.

But then a massive wave of clarity washed over me -
"Why build a family food forest away from MY family?"
My parents live across the road from the garden,
and it really sank in that I not only need to do this for me
(and maybe my future family) but especially for my family NOW.

My parents choose to go to the grocery store to buy everything.
And when I say grocery store, I mean craptastic Wal-Mart.
And they live about 10 miles (15k) from town.
What will the world be like in 10 years?
Will quality food be available at grocery stores in rural america?
Is it even available now? Um...no, not really!
How much will gasoline cost in 10 years?
Or heating fuel? Will our whole neighborhood be empty
because people cant afford to stay warm in the winter anymore?

If you are thinking about planting your own forest garden,
you have tapped into the mentality of long-term thinking.
For starters..planting a Pine Nut tree that wont give you one tasty
kernel until 8-10 years after you lovingly plant it.
Or planting a hickory tree that will be only 50% its mature size when your
grandchildren are adults. Thats long-term, at least for humans.

So I had a shift in thinking. I have to do this for my parents too.
I want them to be able to save money on groceries and enjoy
the "fruits of thy labor" so to speak...we can't assume that things
will be peachy-keen in 10 years (as if they are peachy-keen now!).
And at least this way, they can use the saved money on food for travel
or saving up for a rainy day. Why spend so much on inferior food anyways?

After spending a week in the garden and eating food grown with love
& picked seconds before, the idea of going to whole foods (ahem...whole paycheck)
and spending hard-earned money on food shipped from California
and grown by strangers becomes WAAAAAY less appealing.

I still do it though, I have to. Because I didnt think about all these
issues until a few years ago, I still have a long ways before
I can be fed almost completely by my own space.

Speaking of that...here are some pics, and drawings for next year.

This was taken probably in early Spring 09.
Can you see the border? Click on the pic for more details.
I love that we are at a cul-de-sac. 1.8 acres, or .75 hectare.
That doesnt include the sides of the road, which I planted with
clover and wildflowers anyhow, so that counts of course.

So this is what Im hoping the place will look like in 20 years...LOL.
I have to dig a pond into the eastern slope next May,
and I have to plant all the big border trees next year as well.
KP= Korean Pine Nut Tree...ESSENTIAL.
SH= Shagbark Hickory
NP=Northern Pecan (im crossing my fingers that it will work here)
and W is for the good ol' Black Walnut.
You need nuts and seeds for long term sustainability thru the winter.

Im growing in a pretty cold place. It can get to -40 (F and C)
sometimes, but usually it will dip no lower than -20 or so.
Still, its cold, and it limits what I can grow outside.
But luckily there are great people out there pushing the envelope
with hardy species that make sustainable living in one place feasible.

There is no better time to start your own food forest.
All the online resources and online vendors like
Oikos Tree Crops, One Green World, and St Lawrence Nursery
make it totally possible to get whatever plants we need to make
our space of love thrive with food, life, and energy.

Im a little bummed that I have to cut down some poplars
(a pioneer tree that precedes oaks in a hardwood forest).
However, these trees will be replaced with very productive trees
that will feed wildlife and humans, and whatever I cut down
definitely goes right back into the soil so nothing is wasted.

I hate cutting down trees though, especially after learning that
they are each sentient beings. They are probably trembling right
now because they know Im thinking about them! Im serious!

Will I live here when Im 50? I dont know. At least its planted.
I will make sure that it stays in the family somehow,
and if I head to a warmer spot and build another, it is meant to be.

I LOVE this place though...words cant describe.
Who lays awake at night thinking about mulching and planting clover?

Im driving back there in 3 weeks so Ill be super excited to see how
everything is looking, and Ill be even more excited when I can see a
more updated satellite photo with more things done. Hopefully by next
summer there should be something new up.

An even older pic...but just imagine what this will look like
with everything planted and built.
See all those white trees? Those are poplars. Yikes.
I promise to only remove what I have to,
and will leave every oak and birch alone.

For the greater good....

Start drawing out your space of love...Like now. Like yesterday! NOW!

Leija's Sound Healing Experience

I just loved this recent video from Leija...
subscribe to her channel everyone!
I can't wait to do a sound healing ceremony -
I had the chance to do one in Bali but skipped out on it :(
I regret nothing...but I really should have done that.
Well...the time will come when its right.

Anyways...here is the info from the video.
Enjoy...and I hope you let the inspiration sink in.
At 4:18 I had chills run down my back.

From Leija:

Hello beautiful, brilliant & powerful being of love & light!
Pretty please, with cherries on top read ALL of the info below!
I always have so much more to share with you! :D

In this video, I share a beautiful, magical & very profound vision I experienced at a sound healing ceremony last night. I highly recommend attending a sound healing ceremony, buying a tibetan singing bowl, get into toning & mantras, and/ or doing things in your life that allow you to connect to the TIMELESS NOW. You'll know that you're in the NOW when you feel nothing but love, peace, gratitude & abundance in everyway. There is no fear because fear doesn't exist in this place. You realize from this place of NOW that fear is a really an illusion. Sure, in these physical bodies & in the EGO dominated world we live in, fear can seem very real. But when you get in touch with your heart, follow your bliss, enter the NOW, the fear is no longer there. You realize that you & every other living thing on this planet has a divine essence. From this place of knowingness, you're able to see the divine in them. When you observe the manifestations of fear, such as drama, criticisms, anger, depression, greed, war, poverty, disease, etc., you don't judge or criticize, you just KNOW that this darkness isn't real, even though it can sometimes feel real. So how do you know what's real and isn't real if both love & fear feel real to you? I feel that you'll know what's real is by going within- Push past the surface layers of fear as you go within. When you get to the core of your being, all that you feel is love & light! You then feel this overwhelming desire to share your love & shine this immensely powerful light to everyone and everything around you! When you do this, the darkness disappears in an instant. I feel that you are here to share your love & shine your light! So you better start shining brightly, baby, if you aren't already! I'll leave you with a poem from my favourite poet Rumi!

MOVING WATER
By the beautiful & oh so wise Rumi :D

"When you do things from your soul, you feel a river
moving in you, a joy.

When actions come from another section, the feeling
disappears.

Don't let others lead you. They may be blind or, worse, vultures.

Reach for the rope of God. And what is that? Putting aside self-will.

Because of willfulness people sit in jail, the trapped bird's wings are tied,
fish sizzle in the skillet.

The anger of police is willfulness. You've seen a magistrate
inflict visible punishment.

Now see the invisible. If you could leave your selfishness, you
would see how you've been torturing your soul. We are born and live inside black water in a well.

How could we know what an open field of sunlight is?

Don't insist on going where you think you want to go. Ask the way to the spring. Your living pieces will form a harmony.

There is a moving palace that floats in the air with balconies and clear water flowing through, infinity everywhere, yet contained under a single tent."

Reflect. :)

FYI, the music that's playing in the background is from Eckhart Tolle's "Music to Quiet the Mind"...ahhhh, isn't it beautiful? I highly recommend you buy the cd! TOTALLY WORTH the $17 or something like that. I bought it at the book (and music store) Indigo. The song you heard in the middle of this video is a mantra called "Om Hraum Mitraya" which is a fantastic mantra for attracting beautiful, positive, meaningful relationships into your life!
Everytime I hear this song/ mantra, it moves me deeply into a space of love.

I hope you enjoyed it! :)

If you haven't read Anastasia and The Ringing Cedar Series books,
I highly recommend you read them! The author is Vladimir Megre.
These books will surely uplift you & hopefully inspire you to create your own Space of Love!

I love you with all my heart & soul, regardless of the path you are on.
I see (and more importantly feel) the god/ goddess in you always! Namaste :)
And may the force be with you always (said with a Leija Yoda voice...teehee!)

Staying Young

Its about so much more than food.



I feel this while working (playing) in the garden,
even though I might be shoveling mulch (or horse-manure)
and hauling logs (and heavy rocks) around,
somehow I can (with pure joy) put in 12 hours a day
and not even think of breakfast many times until 2pm...
when the sun would go down at 9pm, Id eat (lunch?).

Whats with all the parentheses?


Thx Leija for putting this on your youtube favorites!

More Food Forest Vids

I cant get enough of these lately.



Truly absorb the idea of how casual it all becomes once
the system is established and productive.

Grab some berries...crack some pecans, go about your day.
Eat as you would breathe...Anastasia really has it right IMO.
I love making big meals and sitting down with friends,
but its become WAY too commonplace.
I love just picking and grazing in the garden while
actually doing something else. I enjoy it even more,
but its not distracting like other times can be.

Anyways, enjoy the video.
Food Forests covering the vast suburbs of the world
is a MUCH better choice than endless fields of monocultures.

Martin Crawford and New Shrub Ideas

From http://www.EatWeeds.co.uk -
Martin Crawford of the Agroforestry Research Trust talks about the Forest Garden he planted at Schumacher College, Dartington, South Devon, United Kingdom over 14 years ago.

Ive come up four nitrogen-fixing perennials that I want to add to
the Minnesota garden next year. These will all thrive on poor soil.

The Silver Buffaloberry
I envision a massive hedge of these across
the southern border of the garden.
Maybe alternating with serviceberries and hazelnuts.

The Sea Buckthorn or Seaberry (WHAT A FIND)
These will hold on to their berries throughout the winter and feed
local bird populations, and are just loaded in vitamin c.
And it will IMPROVE your soil..plant your fruits and nuts near these
for a perfect synergy, they will both do so well together.

The Siberian Pea Shrub
Id like to make a dense hedge around the future poultry area.
How perfect would that be? How intense would that soil be?

The Goumi Tree or Shrub, depends on pruning
Hardy at about -10F, so this would have to go in the greenhouse dome.
I should do paw paw, goumi, then paw paw again in a new greenhouse.
There might be room in there for some dwarf seaberries,
but otherwise its short groundcover and beneficial insect plants.
Lots of Nitrogen-fixers in that mix for sure.
Ive got kiwis WAY too close to each other so that will be interesting.

A 30 Yr Old Food Forest

Where will you be living in 30 years?



Continue to visualize yourself living in paradise with loved ones.