A ramble on the environment.

For the past four days, I have been listening to the loggers next door. I am growing accustomed to the sound of the chainsaw, but every time I hear the creak and topple of a tree, I cry a little.

My heart breaks for humanity as we destroy ourselves. I know that the small time logging next door is barely a drop of water in the sea of degradation, and I know that if it were not for all the other things, this would not mater at all.

 I know that logging is important, and that without it I would not have the house I currently sit in, the tent I live in, the heat that warms me in the winter, or so many many other things. But here, today, it is a symbol of the wrongs of the world. It is a piece of the problem with no relation to a solution.

It makes me think about the way I live. I currently do no have a car. I get rides from friends, I walk, I borrow a car occasionally. I stay home far more then I want to. But do I really make that much of a difference? No. One person not driving is about as much a drop in he bucket of betterment as the loggers next door are to the sea of degradation.

I live without electricity in my own home, but I use the electricity in Allison's house* every day. That electricity currently comes primarily from a nuclear power plant (not coal, so could be worse). I drink well water, and use the same for all my water needs (our water cycle is fairly small so everything gets back into the ground fairly quickly). The only natural gas I use is for cooking (propane is not a great energy source, but it is sooo much better for cooking). and we all heat with wood.

So far, more pluses than minuses.

But all that means is that I am keeping myself fairly neutral. I am no actively doing harm. But I'm not helping.

I'm not sure how to help anymore. When I was in school, it all seemed so clear. I would graduate, I would find a job in consulting, I would soon start my own firm, and I would help people to live more environmentally friendly lives. It's still what I want to do, but I have no idea how to do it.

I want to try to start budgeting my environmental impact, like I budget my finances. If your interested, here is a link to a great calculator: http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx

good luck to us all

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*Allison is my land lady. She owns 11 acres in south-eastern Vermont. We currently have 6 people living on her land with 5 wood piles, 4 dwellings, 3 cats, 2 bathrooms, 2 dogs, and a pond. Her house is the primary building on the property, most of us eat most of our meals in it and use it as a living space for much of the year.

The Autumn Leaves

The autumn leaves are falling, many of the trees are now bare, and Halloween is in the air.

I love this time of year. I love the creative energy of change that is so present in this season. This is a season when I just have to create. I have been finishing a project almost every other day for the past two weeks, and it is amazing!

Here's the rundown:

Food:
Last weekend was Lynn's Birthday. There were a lot of discussions about how it would be best to celebrate, and in the end, we decided to have a Fondue Party.

If you have never done fondue, you are missing out! There are a ton of recipes online for cheese fondue, so I'm not going to worry about that, I am going to tell you the absolute MOST important thing about fondue, though. Have it with friends.

 They don't have to be friends that you know super well, just don't do it alone. It's really not as much fun!

Crafts:
Lynn has been really interested in my dread falls* but she has been concerned about how they would work in her rather short hair. She has tried mine on before and always found them rather heavy. Which is fair.

My green falls hanging indoors.

I generally make falls for long thick hair. I want the falls to take over!

A pair of falls can weigh up to 10oz, and sometimes they even feel like they are going to pull out of my hair. But with Lynn's Birthday coming up, I wanted to give her something special.

Earlier this month, I slaughtered a rooster. He was an interesting bird with white and ginger feathers. Perfect for Lynn's Phoenix costume. But how to make them work for a thin Bob? I started by deciding that I could use less yarn. I both used fewer layers of yarn, and made it slightly shorter.

Feathers in Lynn's Phoenix hair

To keep them from falling out of her hair, I made them lighter, only 3oz. This is my first attempt to put feathers into a set of falls. I decided that it would be best to sew them into place.

I have also been working on my own Halloween costume.

I started with a pair of dread falls for me. Halloween colors: Orange, black, grey, glittery gold. with some reds and maroons.

Then I had to figure out what went with this new AMAZING hair. I had a shape in mind - my first thought was a corset, (but I don't have one, and haven't figured out how to make them yet) and a puffy black skirt.

So, how do you make 5 yards of white tulle into a Halloween skirt? Black fabric paint of course!

Now I just need a character idea. A mask perhaps?

Enter the Halloween Troll

Gardening:
The changing season changes the garden as well. It is time to plant bulbs for next year.

This year I added snowdrops, black tulips, fritillaria, and irises.

It is also time to bring things indoors. All my little garden sprites came in for the winter. hey will live with me in the yome for the winter.

Stump fairy before she came in for the winter.

 ~Joy*



 *Dread Falls are hair accessories that give the look and feel of dreadlocks without the commitment or maintenance.

New Beginnings Part 2

Five days after Yom Kippur, the day after the Full Moon, is the Jewish celebration of Sukkot. In ancient Israel, this was the holiest of holidays. This is the holiday of the harvest. A time when we connect to the land and to the fruits of our labors. Traditionally, a community will build a Sukkah - an impermanent shelter reminiscent to those used by the nomadic early Hebrew people of Exodus and those used by agricultural workers during the harvest season.

Just before this, on the night of the Full Moon, Heathens celebrate WinterNights. In the Anglo-Saxon calendar, followed by many Heathens, there are only two seasons - Summer and Winter. The first Full Moon of Winterfylleth marks the beginning of Winter. A time to come inside, to be with the family, to celebrate the ancestors, and to reflect.

Sound familiar?

At WinterNights we celebrate the harvest and look to the coming Winter. At Sukkot we celebrate the harvest and commemorate the nomadic life of the ancient Hebrew people.

I find it interesting that these two holidays, from such dramatically different parts of the world have so much in common. This is not to say that they are the same, they very much are not. Jews do no generally practice ancestor worship. Many pagans and polytheists from Jewish heritage have found that their ancestors do not appreciate being worshiped. Heathens, on the other hand, have a deep spiritual bond to their ancestors which is notable practiced at Winter Nights.

Both do, however have an intrinsic connection to history. Both holidays ask us to remember hardships: the ancient hardships of a nomadic desert people, and the future hardships of a long cold winter. We give thanks for the year we have just completed, and begin to prepare for the year ahead. But both ask us o celebrate, to feast, to be with our loved ones. We are in a time of rejoicing!

Hail the Turning of the Year!

New Beginnings. Part 1:

A lot of things can happen in a month. September was a crazy one, too!

I tried to make Lambsquarters Spanakopita (I'll post pics of the process, but the result was not great), I spent a week preparing and setting up my best friends' wedding, I got my wood stacked for winter, and created two new sets of dread falls. Each of these should really be their own post, and they will be. With pictures.

 But that will come in time. For now, I'm going to write about the holidays of mid Autumn:

 Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year has always felt like it should be bigger in my life.

 Both of my religious calendars are based on the moon. The fist day after the New Moon is a new month. In the Jewish Calendar, this month is Tishrei, "To begin", in the Anglo-Saxon, it is Winterfylleth, "Winter's Full Moon". As we enter into October in the Gregorian calendar, I am thinking about new beginnings, an idea which both of these months reflect.

 The first day of Tishrei is also the first day of Rosh Hashanah. A day when Jews enjoy Apples and Honey to spread wishes of a sweet new year. We contimplate our wrongs over the past year, and apologize to those we have wronged, asking for forgiveness. The holiday last for a week, yet I know very few Jews who celebrate it for more than a day. Sometimes only for a few hours. Most years, I am in the later category. I want to connect to this holiday, but I don't know how. I enjoy my sweetened apples and try to make my mandatory apologies, but I don't really feel a connection. The holiday ends with Yom Kippur. A fast day.

Yom Kippur is the strictest fast day in he Jewish calendar. A day when you not only abstain from food, but also from drink.

 Even water.

Yom Kippur is a day about repentance to God. The fast is to create a pure self with which to start the new year. I have never fully participated in the fast before. This year, I will.