Goodbye for now, Mountain Home, Hello to Ashland!

My last post was almost a month ago. What happened did I fall off the face of the earth or something? I was just really busy. Life at the homestead has become my life. The work, the people, the place. I can't think right now of all that happened in the last month. The last two weeks was made extra busy by the food forest/permaculture workshop we had. I had already been working with some other homesteaders to clear an area of brush and trees and blackberry and poison oak, in preperation for the landscaping, path clearing, plumbing and planting of a food forest. The workshop brought ten new people for two weeks to the homestead, to help us with the food forst work and to hear lectures and take tours about permaculture design, water and drainage, ecoforestry, landforms and access, etc.

The workshop brought some really cool people. Some wwoofers form a intentional community called east wind in missouri, some RV travelers on a search for a community themselves, an older gentleman form remote, Oregon, who was definitely out of his element in a progressive place like the homestead. A nineteen year old kid from california who after a semester of college, realized that he was wasting his time and now wants to learn all this sustainable living hooplah. A really cute girl from Reno, who makes really cool bikes for burning man in her bike co-op and just all around creative.

It was such an amazing transformation, my backyard was a jungle just a few months ago and now i'ts cleared with great paths, plumbing, stand pipes for hoses and sprinklers. I feel so confident now in the ability to do the same thing practically anywhere. What a great feeling. Mountain Home has truly empowered me in a way i've never felt before.

Socially, thigns have been so much fun. Bonfires, a free susan tudeski concert in roseburg right by the river which we swam in, a bbq yesterday in town a the home of the local boot and saddle shop owner.

There si too much fruit at the homestead right now. People in and around town, friends of the homestead keep calling to let us know that they have so much fruit they dont know what to do with it, so we come and pick their trees. apples, peaches, pears, plums. Too much. If only we weren't so busy, if only we had a little time, we'd can them, preserve them, dehydrate them. All this week I started my day with a deliscious fruit shake. It makes the day so nice.

Anyway, I left the homestead this morning and hitched to Ashland, which is further south and east, close to the california line. I'm writing this at a bookstore/cafe in town, a town which is very yuppie/yuppie hippie, gourmet this, boutique that, very californian. I'm not saying that thats a bad thing. This place has culture, more than coquille, where the homestead is. It's definitely not boondocky like coquille is, and that's what I like about coquille, real people. I'm sure the people here are real too, but, it's hard to find the words to explain. I am looking forward to seeing some art and hearing some live music, just generally having a good time for the week that i'm here. I'll be staying at the Ashland Restoration Farm, a new Permaculture farm. I'm looking forward to seeing what's going on there, as well as visit some of the other farms and communties in the ashland area.