Help! I'm Lost in Nature!

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...

Allegheny mountain range might be my new favorite Currently I am sitting atop a mountain in Highland County, Virginia watching snow fall into the red and green leaved rolling hills beyond me. So since moving here last week, I'd say life has been pretty good. The main event of the week was probably our Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) class. While I defined permaculture as "an intentional design to support and sustain the interconnectedness of life," its uses and applications in transforming land to edible, efficient landscapes spreads far and wide. So hopefully after a year my primitive definition will become much more inclusive. So stay tuned! Since the designs of permaculture permeate over all parts of life, we did many activities to understand ourselves and people around us. One thing I liked that we did was analyzing what we each give and get from each other, using the lenses of  head, hands, and heart. Now, coming straight from 4-H, where these are 3 of...