Gasshō,
Of course, we must begin with an update on the Farm. I promise there are other topics to cover as well, so please bear with.
We had what we hope is our final frost of the season a few days ago. Everything at the Farm, including us, is leaping to the possibility. I just read that Big Leaf Maples, of whom we have many, are able to grow nine feet in a year. Ours seem so inclined!
My one “regret” as I write this is that in our enthusiasm for what we’re attending to we’ve become negligent in our photography. That’s probably okay as photos really don’t capture the magnitude of what’s happening. So, for those who wish to keep up we’ll just go with some of the highlights and enough pictures to assist in maintaining a sense of what’s developing.
The water barrels are in the Greenhouse, doubling as temperature control and table supports. Filled with water, the barrels assist in keeping the temperatures inside the structure more stable.
Still waiting transplantation are 200 lettuces, 36 spinaches, 50 additional willows, three red flowering currants, 30 haskaps, 30-ish snowberries, a couple of cuttings from an ancient pear we found in a field that might make it, 50 or so hablitzia, five to 10 good king henrys (asparagus/perennial goosefoot), and a couple of Japanese wild parsley.
Good King Henry |
Hablitzia |
Mitsuba
(Japanese Wild Parsley)
Lettuce is ready to pick!
The hard cuttings from various willows have been stuck in the ground (literally!) and are thriving.
The “clods” from the drainage ditches are creating the beds for the tomatoes. Ditches have been dug through some of the boggiest areas of the property to assist in allowing trapped water to flow. The clumps of dirt removed to create the ditches are being piled into four-foot-wide beds in which tomatoes will be planted. This approach is called “dry farming” because the plants, instead of being watered, will grow down until they find the water table, which is very high in these boggy areas, and water themselves. This is very much an experiment.
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Cardboard used to suppress weeds and grass is being placed around the pine trees and will be covered with mulch. |
We’ve relocated the primary compost pile to an area out to the west end of the property. This will be the permanent site, away from the house, and screened from us and the neighbors. We’re very excited to have reached a point where we can take on yet more food scrap donations. Thus far we’ve had scraps from local Sangha, the Food Bank, volunteers from the Food Bank, the Ramen Shop and now we’re going to take on…wait for it…McDonalds! Yes. This will be a major contribution to keeping food waste out of the landfill and a huge step toward fulfilling our goal of cutting down on methane emissions released into the environment. This, as well as expanding the improved soil we can provide for our own growing endeavors and making some much needed clean compost for the community. Down the road we will need a skid steer, but not until there’s an affordable, reliable electric model. Until then it will be the old-fashioned turn it with a pitch fork, upper body strength, and willingness. There’s a bit of a “jockeying for position” going on with getting to turn the compost pile because it’s such a phenomenal upper body workout!
A big part of feeding the compost pile happens with sources other than food scraps. We’ve been cutting back dried grasses from the fences and bringing over the grass clippings from FAZC. We brought mountains of grass over and failed to immortalize it in photos.
100+ tiny giant Sequoias
One chestnut so far. We picked up the chestnuts at exactly the wrong time of year so weren’t terribly hopeful that any would come up. Here’s the lone brave soldier. In the fall we will do a better job of getting viable candidates and hope to have a bumper crop to send off all over the community.
I’m not sure if I’ve been clear about what this Farm is, very likely not as I haven’t been clear myself! What we’re creating here, under the guidance of our visionary Farm Manager, is a perennial forest of edible fruit and harvestable stock. The other day I referred to it as a “breeding farm.” Nearly all the plants, from trees to bushes and vines, can be harvested via cuttings to be propagated. Those are the items we will sell (by donation) rather than the traditional carrots, peas, squash, etc. Yes, we’re growing those, primarily for ourselves and any we can supply the Food Bank, but over the long haul it’s to become a garden of perennial sources that will supply fresh food all year round.
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The way the Farm will support itself and us is through items such as willow trees, giant sequoias, fruit trees, and such that can be purchased (for a donation) in a small container at a reasonable price, a price that will allow anyone who wants to, to grow a tree, or many, and isn’t in a big hurry to have them reach maturity. This will be the case with all the berries, roses, currants, etc., as well as fruit trees and conifers. And, of course, the linden trees are perfect examples of a tree that will feed folks with those lettuce-like leaves well into seasons during which lettuce is still seeds.
I cannot leave the Farm report without a shout out to some of our biggest supporters in this endeavor—the lovely, humble Mole. What we’re making here with the wood chips and the compost pile is soil. 
The soil we already have, especially in the nursery, is quite good; the abundance of worms will attest to this. However, it can be a bit “intense” for tiny plants just making their way in the world. What makes the native soil delicious? Moles! They have a bad reputation with lots of people because 1) they do make mounds of dirt across any space they’re traveling through, and 2) people confuse them with gophers, thinking the moles will harm their plants. Moles don’t harm the plants and the dirt they sift through, aerate, and push to the surface is premier planting soil. They are providing the essential, first contact earth for each plant that goes into the ground. We celebrate them and thank them daily. Why daily? Because that’s how often they come through and leave their contributions. Busy, hardworking folk!
Although we are no longer accepting resident applications, Sangha are still welcome to come to Sequim and participate in farm activities through the Non-resident Farm Steward Program.
On an un-Farm-related topic: A year or so ago when we were contemplating, as a Sangha, buying a motel downtown, there was also talk of creating a tiny-house community here in Sequim. The conversation about the tiny-houses faded away when it became clear the motel was not a direction we were going to pursue. The question now is: Is there interest in a tiny home community in Sequim, and the request is for you to let us know if you have an interest. It would be extremely helpful if we were to hear only from people really interested. (email information@livingcompasssion.org) In fact, the biggest help would be to hear from people who would choose such an option and have thought about it enough to know a price range that would make such a thing an option.
I’ve been looking a lot at how privileged and grateful I feel for the lifestyle I’m able to live. Outdoors, surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty, in environments prioritizing Awareness Practice, lots of spaciousness and silence. Not the silence that’s a lack of noise (as discussed on the most recent Open Air), but the silence of an Awareness Practice environment. The silence of the space between the thoughts.
Egocentric karmic conditioning/self-hate is not a fan of silence. We can know that by what can seem like a cultural obsession with filling any open space with as much noise, not just mechanical noise, but human-generated noise, as humanly possible. With so many noise-producing devices available, one needn’t face quiet at any time, day or night. No wonder people struggle with a silent sitting practice. No wonder being alone-with-nothing-to-do can send a person scrambling for some kind of distraction. Keep busy. Keep on the move. Don’t let the devil catch you. Takes a while to realize it’s the “devil/ego/illusion of a separate self” that is urging us on, driving us, creating the fear and stress we’re attempting to get away from.
An Awareness Practice such as ours is aimed at insight from which understanding grows. We see how things work, we see through stuff, what it’s made of, how the illusions are created and maintained, and those false beliefs no longer hold us prisoner. It can seem very “thoughty.” Almost as if we’re trying to figure it out, though we’re constantly reminded that figuring it out is how we stay stuck. We’re breaking it down. Examining each of the components, the concepts, the beliefs and assumptions that hold the confusion in place. We learn to see the lies we’ve been taught to believe are truth for what they are. We’re using looking as a means of getting to seeing.
The process reminded me of one of my favorite quotes from Wei Wu Wei on the subject of silence and the “how” of getting to it. “Those who were qualified to teach, those few, (such as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi) said that silence was more efficacious, but in early stages teaching can only be given by a series of untruths diminishing in inveracity in ratio to the pupil’s apprehension of the falsity of what s/he is being taught.” And here we are. Go happy!
In gasshō,
ch