calling in the new world

when i close my eyes and settle into the vision of life i am manifesting, i see myself waking up slowly in an earthen home, taking space to remember the "I/eye" that is awakening into the world of 3 dimensional forms...stretch, breathe deep. peek outside the bedroom window to see barefoot children already chasing the chickens around the garden and playing with pigmy goats. i step into garden and gather some herbs, veggies, and greens to juice up for a green drink. pee in the compost pile or on the fruit tree that needs it most. stroll around the garden to see what is calling to me for my day's energy and love, while gathering veggies and herbs to fry up with some eggs for second breakfast.

after second breakfast i take to the garden, building soil, and increasing biodiversity, tending to the established beings that need care, and fertilizing the hungriest plants. in the afternoon, break for yoga by the creek, a quick dip, and snacky vibes (maybe kimchi and raw cheese, on spinach, or dolmas made from sweet potato leaves...and always mushroom jerky...lots of pesto, hummus, and sprouted raw crackers too). in the evening i teach workshops (always open to all ages), or play around with natural building, energy production, or other random side projects (maybe work on some writing, or music making).

dinner is a nightly celebration, full of gratitude, abundance, and bliss. after dinner we improvise jams by the fire circle, which is conveniently located right next to the outdoor spring fed hot tub (epsom salt, and essential oils are a must...selected crystals too). after a good soak, we share massage, make love, study scriptures, recite poetry, dance in ecstasy, or do whatever else the flow may inspire us towards. all that we do is a celebration of life, and carries an undertone of reverence and gratitude for all beings.

this community of 30-300 people doesnt exist in just one place either...there is a grid of places like this, all throughout the world. they are in such close proximity that the longest walk from one to the next, is just a couple days, or a half day's bike or horse ride. as such, many people choose to migrate south in the winter, or north in summer. much of the world is covered in old growth forest, and as we travel, our paths meander through ancient trees. some people rarely travel, and others are always on the move, in any case, everyone is always home, wherever they choose to roam heart emoticon

lovin you family _()_

the life of a high grade hippy part 2

we love to build gardens which often involves moving lots of mulch and compost around. this is will sweeping off the last bits of a truckload of mulch with his tough guy broom ;) this was for a project we helped a friend with in hyattsville md a couple weeks ago.

we like to promote native perennial vegetables, and gardening in guilds...this is a picture of an experiment last year where we planted 2 groundnuts (apios americanna), and 3 sunchokes (helianthus tuberosa) in suburban clay soil. without any amendments, or fertilizers, and only a half day of direct sun, these generous beings produced well over 20 pounds of food, with the dainty purple flowering vines of the groundnut, climbing gently up the strong stalks of the sunchokes. the show of flowers was beautiful, the roots were delicious, and these are both native plants. talk about a win-win-win :D

in the evening we play around with processing our harvests...these are japanese knotweed (polygonum cuspidatum) shoots we harvested last week, pickling in apple cider vinegar with onions. knotweed is a good source of resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant that pairs well with quercitin which is very abundant in both raw and cooked onions. right we have mushroom jerky going, and next week will time for more pesto making/nettle harvesting ;)

here's what dinner might look like (depending on who we're cooking for :p) local grass fed, pasture raised burgers, on a bed of frissee' greens, topped with sauteed oyster mushrooms, asparagus, and onions, (in og sunflower oil), and seasoned with black pepper, tumeric, tamari, and bit of mustard, all local except the onion and spices...gotta get more onions living with us :p

on saturdays i lead workshops at chesapeake's bounty, and any day of the week we may take a stroll down to the beach to blaze up a fire, sing some jams and sit with the moon, or wander around the woods in search of mushrooms and other fine forages.

 when we part ways, we will often join in a big group hug and chant 3 oms together to deepen our feelings of connection and oneness, and go our separate ways with a sense of peace and communion. this picture was taken at a medicine for the people show we went to last year...easily one of my favorite bands of all time, if you dont know, click the hyperlink and get hip right now lol, this music truly is medicine <3

overall, the circles i gravitate towards are full of beautiful, creative, compassionate, loving souls, who are constantly learning, growing and nurturing each other in so many ways.

i offer this glimpse of hippy living in hopes that it may inspire us all to keep getting more hip, and to always follow our bliss.

loving you family _()_

the life of a high grade hippy part 1

a dear friend, asked me yesterday if i had any intention of adding pictures to my blog, and although i hadnt thought about it previously, upon hearing her suggestion i immediately loved the idea :D (thanks shelby <3)  as such, i decided this blog will be a series of photos that offer a glimpse into the day to day workings of hippy living.

these photos come from a variety of times and places, and though each day is different, these images highlight some of the more common happenings of my everyday life.

before we get started, i feel called to mention that when i say "hippy" and choose to identify myself with that culture, i am referring to the root of it, being "hip" to what's going on. to me, a hippy is someone who knows, and notices aspects of life that other people are either oblivious to, or choose to ignore.

a hippy, recognizes first and foremost, that life is all about bringing more love, bliss, and abundance into the experience of all beings, everywhere. real hippies are constantly deepening their relationship with the natural world, and encouraging others to the same. real hippies are slow to judge, quick to forgive, and do their best to let everyone walk their path without shame, or guilt.

so lets see what a typical day looks like in my world....

(handcrafted crystal mala made by talia ramey, founder of love drops jewelry)


my first priority upon waking is always to give thanks for another day above ground, breathing, perceiving and interacting, sharing in love with all life...
my practice changes depending on the circumstances, but there is always self inquiry, some japa (repetition of a certain prayer/mantra), and kriya yoga.

 after my prayers, i get breakfast going, usually local eggs, mushrooms veggies, sunflower oil, (all from the lovely folks at chesapeake's bounty in st leonard md), some foraged wild greens or shoots (mainly devil's walking stick/aralia spinosa, this time of year) and some grocery store spices, maybe an onion and some seaweed flakes, or a bit of tamari. im working on creating more habitat for tumeric, cayenne, and ginger this year, so hopefully come fall i wont need the grocery store spices ;)

a really right on brother named will, has been hosting me at his house, and giving me some room to play with various garden experiments at his farmstand in calvert county, during the spring season. so, sometime around noon (rainbow noon lol) each day i head over to chesapeake's bounty to play around in the garden.

here's a prime example of one my experiments!! the small tubers in my hand are from oca (oxalis tuberosa) a south american staple food that is highly praised by gourmet chefs. to the right, planted in the raised bed is another andean staple food called yacon (smallanthus sonchifolius, formerly polymnia edulis), that is loosely related to the sunchoke (helianthus tuberosa) and reputed to be extremely productive. at the top, planted near the edge of the raised bed is one of my favorite foods of all time, chayote!!(sechium edule) a cucumber family member from the hills of mexico that is very productive, versatile, and delicious, plus it is super drought tolerant ;) all of these plants are perennial in zone 8 so we set them up in the greenhouse to see if they'll over winter with a simple high tunnel.

Chayote spiderweb trellis!! :D

the asparagus beetles have been feasting and laying eggs on the fresh asparagus shoots, so i have been harvesting every tip, everyday, to see if we can avoid more neem oil applications...

we're also experimenting (quite successfully i might add!!) with cultivation of stropharia rugosa annuata, aka wine cap mushrooms...we've got a 100 gallon batch of wood chips completely run through in 3 weeks. in fact, todays job will be to spread this first batch and get a second larger batch prepped for inoculation. the mushroom in this picture was taken last year from the mother patch that started the culture we're working with now.

gotta stay hydrated ;) i use an old greenman growler for my water, so i can carry up to a half gallon of water, without having plasticides end up in my drinking water (many of them are endocrine disruptors that have not been thoroughly studied so their long term side effects are still largely unkown).



blogger isnt letting me post anymore pictures :p i guess this will be a 2 part entry ;)