Busy, busy, Maya bee

Life on a mountain = VA snow in May

Finally, for the first time in two weeks I have the opportunity to write another post! These past two weeks have really flown. We finally started spending more time in the garden. I learned how to direct seed, transplant, weed for long periods of time, thin some lettuce, embed rock steps into a landscape, make a hop cone, and more. I also learned about fixing washing machines, putting up high tunnels (like greenhouses), taking care of chickens, growing mushrooms, and even got to take a peek into the secret life of bees.

I think through all of this learning, what has stood out to me is how much of the world I have taken for granted until this point. When learning about cultivating mushrooms, our teacher Charlie told us, "always thank the mushroom." At first I thought this sounded silly. Then I thought, well, why does it sound silly? And it's because I have always considered food as something simply meant for me to eat.

Casually foraging for
mushrooms

Except food is much more than something to eat. It is a focal point that ties together every single person, animal, plant, and ecosystem. Each plant, animal, fungi, you name it, serves countless functions, some we know about, most we don't.

The bees, especially, amazed me. It's amazing how often I have heard the terms, "queen bee," "hive mentality," "worker bee," "beeswax," and given virtually no thought to why we use these terms. The interconnectedness of a hive of honey bees is astounding and I would encourage everyone to take the one hour it may take to familiarize yourself with these words and the lives of a bee.

View from my cabin in the mornings

Ok, so enough about all the things I've learned and the work I've done. Lets talk about the social life. First, Josh came to visit me which was pretty awesome. We spent four hours just talking to the people we ran into meandering across the small town of Monterey and then got a private tour and tasting of the town's micro-cidery (highly recommended). Then this weekend I also got  to go kayaking and bump across the rocky, beautiful, and under-travelled Greenbrier River.

With all these experiences, one thing I wonder is: how much of this pristine landscape is there? Is there enough for everyone to get the luxury of experiencing as much of it as I do? If so, how do we, as a society tackle the access problem? I hope I can continue coming up with better answers to these questions in future blog posts. But for now, I will keep expanding my mind through gardening, workshops, and outreach projects.