Here we have snippets of some of our projects and everyday tasks that instilled quiet minds, healthy bodies, and simple satisfaction -- continuing on in the spirit of those last two lines of Mowing by Robert Frost (in full in the last post),:
The fact is the sweetest dream that labor knows.
My long scythe whispered and left the hay to make.
It is incredibly important to us to cultivate more of this. This. This mindset, this approach, this method, this quiet - literally and figuratively. It is easy to lose track of it - or at least put it on a back burner and convince ourselves that we've kept it present. It is work to keep it front and center. This is not to say that these actions themselves are the ticket and must be part of our everyday --- but it is to say that we learned from them and they can inform each step forward that we take, and each moment forward. What in our daily lives carries on the spirit of this? What everyday action or interaction are we learning from? What might we pass on to our circles in the same way that it was passed to us?
Slow-drying corn on the porch
Hand-grinding is much more fun on a beautiful, vintage mill.
Shelling and separating beans - great meditation.
Hulls are a great compost addition.
Duck sounds at dinnertime. Simple entertainment:
A Humanure Series:
Where the compost begins it's curing journey.
And where it ends!
Toilet and adorable lid - solid waste goes into a trash bin bucket, pre-loaded with Vermicomposting worms (the red ones). Liquid waste is filtered off into the grey water system.
The outdoor view of the toilet - easy access to switch from a full to an empty bin. Smart design is so lovely.
As mentioned above - the bins sit for months at a time. This old tub is where they transfer last for one final cure (approx. 3 months at minimum). Then you've got rich compost, ready to go - as pictured in the wheelbarrow above.
While Wolf, Samuel, Eli and neighbor "AB" machine split the wood, Casey and Michelle stacked the day away.
It wasn't all tasky-town - Wolf taught us some simple bookbinding techniques, we had a show-and-tell night with the neighbors and took plenty of long walks. Here's Eli in full concentration, awl-happy.
This is no manifesto or checkbox of how to live - not for us, nor anyone reading. Each amazing person we know would have a different version. This is only one iota of the foundation of our present and future moments. We keep working on it, adding and subtracting everyday -- as Jhalak, our awesome Mardi Himal guide would say: "Bistarai, bistarai". Slowly, slowly.