A response just for Renee's blog. . .

So Renee was looking for pictures from our backyards and the fun things that are happening. It was a couple of days ago that she posted her request, but hey, i am slow!!

Here are some other fun pictures from the happenings around the pharm:

The "smallest" percentage of our flock

Purple flowers bring purple "green" beans (How does that work exactly?)



This corn is really much smaller than it may look

This is a snake gourd flower. . . Ah Mah is going to tell us how to eat them!

Sadly yes. . . we will eat them. . . and be thankful


Chickens and turkeys and corn, oh my! It has been an all too brief summer so far with August so quickly upon us, but it is shaping up to be an amazing autumn!!!

It's early harvest time!

Yes, the harvest is always an exciting time for the community (OK. . . so this is the first community harvest - but last year harvest was an exciting time for the families independently). Really, it's not even harvest time yet. The broccoli is up, and the summer squash has started. There is even okra!! The beans are still in flower and the corn is just starting to tassel.

On the dark side, i have discovered a "new" bug this year. Never before seen in the Weeman garden (at least no by us). i foolishly bought pre-started eggplant which brought with it our surprising new visitors, who seem to be enjoying the plants to no end. So eggplant is still up in the air.

Today at our adult meeting we continued talking about incorporating. It's really weird and a bit. . .well. . . unorganicy (yes i think that is a new word) feeling. There are some perks coming out of it though. One thing we lack is a common goal, or purpose. And true to Lorna's thoughts, "If we aren't growing then it's not worth it."
So it is helping us hone our myriad thoughts and dreams down to something tangible and attainable (Lord willing). In the meantime there is a slew of paperwork and "fakey" (yes another potentially new word) organizational stuff to go do.
For now though. . . i think i will just enjoy the veggies. Simpler, yummier, more organic!

Star Date. . .middle July and counting

It seemed just yesterday that there was snow piled above our roof line, and already it seems that only tomorrow we will again be covered under winters evil blanket.
In the meantime it is hot. It's funny to watch the people melting. Our dear brothers and sisters from Florida are even fussing about the heat, and this isn't even a Florida summer.

Slowly we are reclaiming the garden that we left neglected too many weeks in a row. ). Finding the veggies underneath the jungle of weeds is like an archaeological exploration worthy of Indiana Jones. Two days ago Lorna and Amy harvested the first of the ready Broccoli! How sweet and wonderful. We were enjoying it just as much raw as we were cooked. Today i excavated the rest of the dry beans while Lorna and Paul worked the corn rows. The corn is already shooting up fruiting bodies and it is only three feet tall. It seems early but i may be mistaken in my time frames. My sense of time has been all messed up this year. Jacob today plucked the first of the Ford Hook squash. The mesclun is ready so i think we are going to have our first garden salad tonight. i will have to check and see how the chanterelles are doing (they are drying in the green house - it's cheaper than buying a dehumidifier
The really "classic" early flowers have all gone by, but there is still a plethora of wildflowers and day lilies that are around and about our garden.
Next week the official replacement turkeys arrive. The five we have are ENORMOUS! These will be a bit more naturally sized. Hmmm. . . i wonder if we dye one of the big turkeys green if we can name it, The hulk.

All the extra projects and catch up have caused me to neglect the mandolin this week, which i dread, lest i drop that ball and lose interest. It is one of my favorite past times at the moment, but it just doesn't rank at the top of the important to do list.
At tomorrows adult meeting. . . to incorporate or not to incorporate. That is the question!

Saturday means things like Car Talk, and Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me. . .

i love NPR. Especially on Saturday mornings!

We went out to Buxton last night for a barbecue and to visit some friends. Our friends house is conveniently located right nearby one of my favorite hunting and mushroom hunting spots. The temptation being to great right in the middle of chanterelle season, we decided that we should take a walk.
So Chris and i grabbed our mushroom hunting basket and off we went. We saw wood frogs, fresh moose tracks, deer flies, mosquitoes, and best of all a happy and loaded blue berry patch. We were there detained for a bit as we battled flies and collected the delectable little treats. Then we were off again to the mushroom patch.
We found a few hidden morsels under the pine trees. . . but then, Paul, Jacob and i had already swept that spot earlier in the week!

Yum-yum!!

A note to Jesse and the world

Jessie Jackson recently made a comment about presidential candidate
Barak Obama. He assumed that he was not on microphone at the time of
the comment, but another microphone on the set of the interview picked
up his comment. The news then ran the comment.

To the media – i am not sure to what you have paraded the weakness of
one man before the nation. Jesse Jackson is a man. Which of you have
never made cruel or inappropriate statements in moments of
frustration?
Do you parade his comments because of his stature? Is he because of
his influence infallible? Do you air your dirty laundry, or have you
been deprived of your right to private thoughts?
His remarks were not appropriate, but your repeated airing of his
personal thoughts or his faults are no less wrong. His statements, his
personal beliefs are not news, and to broadcast that is nothing more
than gossip, worthy of Jerry Springer. The suffering of people that we
can help is news. News should be the struggles and sweat of people
helping people - of people loving people.

To Jesse – Growing up i was accustomed to hearing about the Reverend
Jesse Jackson. Reverend – a title that means nothing outside of an
organizational stand point, however carries a heavy weight in a
country where the lines of politics and the church are blurred. In
God's eyes you are no different from any man, but in the eyes of man
you are a voice for God, a teacher, a person of authority in God's
organizational structure. Why then do you sew the seeds of hate? Why
do you look at man in terms of color? Why propagate hatred under the
guise of overcoming hatred; leaving hatred in the spotlight while
neglecting love?
Have you forgotten that the one time that Jesus got mixed up in the
politics of man, they killed him. Do you not know that man's laws, and
traditions, and structures mean nothing to God?
i hope that this incident helps you to take off your blinders – now
that you are spew venom even against the "black" people. Jesus did not
look on man kind with hatred, anger, animosity, jealousy or any such
sentiment. He came to love, and taught his disciples to love, and to
be patient whether in high position or an oppressed position. He
taught us to love.
He also taught us to speak up for those who have no voice, but he did
not teach us to hatred, or dissention, or factionism as weapons –
these are the tools of man not God.
Instead perhaps you should try to act small. Loose the suit that
separates you from the "oppressed" people that you are trying to lift
up. Give your nice clothes to a homeless man. Promote peace, and love
through small acts rather than from a national soap box. It is quiet,
subtle acts of love that grow into unstoppable revolutions that make
change through peace. . .

To the "Black" people – There are no "black" people. There are just people.

To the "White" people – There are no "white" people. There are just people.

To the people – We are one people separated only by the things that we
allow to come between us – greed, lust, jealousy, selfishness. If we
continue to be a world focused on differences we will continue to
breed division. If we continue to counter hate with hate, we will
never be a society that fosters love. If we continue to perpetuate a
mentality that promotes self over others there will always be the
poor.
Jesus command was simple, "Love your neighbor as your self."
Loving others as ourselves leaves no room for us to see color, gender,
or handicap. It leaves no room for bias against appearances, or social
standing, or preference in music of eating habits. Loving our
neighbors as ourselves in the context of American society would
require us to promote others ahead of ourselves. To push the best
interests of our neighbor even if it is to our own detriment. If we
love our neighbors as ourselves we will not be afraid to take in
strangers. There would be no homeless, no cold, no fatherless (or
motherless). There would be no hungry or naked or poor.
We can not rely on the government to foster this mentality. We can not
rely on the government's concept of welfare and charity to solve these
problems. We must get hung up on national campaigns to fix these
problems. We need go no further than our own backyards; to the poor in
our neighborhoods, our cities. Start with small acts of love. Quite
acts of love that others are likely not to see. If we are doing our
acts of love with great pomp and circumstance we are not acting in
love but in selfishness, looking to be rewarded with praise. Love
happens quietly sometimes the recipient never knowing the identity of
the lover. Like the "pay it forward" idea, love will catch on and
spread like a California wildfire.
Don't rely on the government and the "superheroes" of society to solve
problems that we can solve ourselves. Don't put unrealistic
expectations on people thinking they are above reproach. Focus less on
the fall of heroes than you do on lifting up the invisible people and
you will see the world change.

Wisdom in the way of foolishness

It's mushroom season here in the northeast! The chanterelles are up
and yummy . . . but more on that later.

Each year the USAntiheroes celebrate buy nothing day the Friday after
Thanksgiving (which by the way is one of the most important and yet
under-celebrated holidays of the year). Over the past nine months or
so i have been challenged and inspired by stories that i have heard.
Mostly unusual things that people have done for no other reason than
to do something positive, or something to stretch their trust in God,
or to help other people.
Some friends of ours in New York a few years back sent out a number of
people from their communities in pairs with no money. The idea (at
least as far as i have interpreted it) was to grow their faith. There
are fellows in Philly who have won large settlements in court and then
given away the money in change and small bills, with a certain amount
of pomp on Wall Street – a mini Jubilee celebration. Then there is
this Dancing Matt guy on Youtube . . . yes i watched something on
Youtube – Amy made me do it (and i am glad i did). Something as simple
as doing a silly dance all over the world and posting it on the
internet so as to make people around the world smile!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY
We at the house have been talking about how we can get out of our rut
and make a difference, even if it is only a small one. It can be hard
to think outside of the box when you have responsibilities beyond
yourself, i.e. the kids. But maybe the real challenge is doing
something outside of the box with them. Still that dampens the idea of
being willing to give up a job or go to jail. . . (OK i was thinking
civil disobedience not grand theft auto or vandalism).
While we here are mulling over how we can effect change for the better
i want to challenge you poor saps who read this garble to come up with
and do something irrational in the name of positive change, loving
Jesus and loving others!!

Giving up your favorite spot on your favorite couch. . .

Can be tough.


The days have officially begun to get shorter. The days are hotter, the garden is relishing the recent rains and the warm weather. The children are drinking in the full joy of summer - climbing trees, overnighters, finding critters, a cool dip in the river.
We adults on the other hand. . . we are living. Chris and i talked not too long ago about being the old man who forgot what is was like to be a kid. Sometimes i think that i have become that grumpy ol' codger. Lamentably i am a byproduct of the Mcdonald's generation. i want it and i want it now. . . but nature dictates that good sustainable change comes slowly. Our little experiment in community is still very much in its infancy and we have so much yet to learn, and experience and struggle through, and grow from. It's funny really, how relationships are comparable to the life cycle in so many ways, and yet they really are very different. Our community is very much in it's infancy and yet we still have so much to learn from our youngest brother Benjamin who at 18 months (or so) has so much more of life figured out than we do. To him the world is this amazing place full of wonder and excitement. The boy is like tigger. . . he is on a perma-high! It's inspiring to watch and amazing just to sit and wonder at. No baggage, very little fear. . .
Our community has been founded on so many things that we hold to be true, one of the most important is relationships. Still it is hard when you are out numbered two to one by kids. We have been wonderfully blessed to invest in our children, and our marriages (which are in places they haven't been in forever), and yet we have neglected our friendships. Well, sort of. Like so many we are busy and our schedules frankly suck. We have been co-existing, but for us that just isn't enough. Lorna inspired me early on by saying, "If we aren't growing (spiritually, together and as disciples of Jesus), then it isn't worth it." She is dead on.
So today we had the first adult meeting that we have had in a long time. We followed that by meeting the church at Ah Kgong (sp?) and Ah Mah's house. What a fantastic time of honesty, tears, confessions, encouragement and of course food!! i am so very encouraged. The best things in life come with a little pain.

But now i am spent. i am sipping a bit of an adult beverage, candles around the house a little incense and some great folk music softly playing. My pillow is calling, but i think i will let it wait a minute longer. . .