Refresh at The Free Farm!

It's a beautiful morning!

I think I'll go outside a while,

And just smile.

Just take in some clean fresh air, boy!

Ain't no sense in stayin' inside

If the weather's fine and you got the time.

It's your chance to wake up and plan another brand new day!

“It’s a Beautiful Morning” by Mike Love and Al Jardine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZldHDOCNgo

The Free Farm’s inaugural Refresh event was a groovy day full of smiles :-) :-) :-) and exclamation marks!!! Refresh at The Free Farm! What do you appreciate about the earth? “I appreciate its beauty and no matter what, it will always be there if we need it.” Yes!Pancho leads morning meditation workshop! Harvesting fava! Turning compost pile! Pancho’s shirt reads “Be the change you wish to see in the world”! Getup grads Stanley (holding leeks) & Sophie! Finn leads herbs talk & walk while Tree plants in background! Finn is author of The Mental Health Cookbook, published by Source Press, about “creating a connection to the natural world through an engagement with plants, nutrients and microorganisms”!Passing along calendula, which can be made into a salve to treat skin conditions! Kevin & Charlie with Santiago & Rafael visiting from Seattle!Page & Kellen harvest favas!Ilyse’s Toolshed Mural Project! Check out http://ilyseirismagy.com/home.html! Tree taps gong to signal lunch time! Loata, Nathalia, Jeanette & Eden of Girls, Inc. covered the toolshed with their words in less than an hour! And, they managed to keep paint off their white shirts! Harvest set aside for Sunday’s Free Farm Stand! Tree & Amanda set-up lunch spread! Ilyse at far right is covered in paint from mural project! Gratitude circle participants state their names! Pancho led us in breathing exercises before eating! Beautiful blue sky! Joy holds up all-organic spork & lunch plate! Tree, John & Emily serve up lunch on plates brought by Finn, Hannah & Stanley! Monique with Girls, Inc.! We forgive you letters project: write letters about what our life would look like if we forgave ourselves and others! Then we’ll transform letters into pots for seedlings that will be planted into the earth and eventually compost into the soil! Details at http://weforgiveyoupapers.blogspot.com/2011/03/call-for-letters-april-16th-event.html. The purpose is for us to physically put our intention into the world and have the experience of seeing it physically transform! Linda leads yoga for kids: dog pose & spontaneous piggyback! Kellen carts off fava-filled wheelbarrow! Pia explains rutabaga comes from Swedish rotabagge, or root bag, known as Swedish turnip! First-time visitors to The Free Farm say they’ll be back! Harvesting strawberries! 3 Getup sisters: Susan, Stanley & Sophie! Rev Megan & more smile-y faces! Michael leads nichiren shu meditation! Do you know the way to The Free Farm?! “I totally forgive you for missing that exit. I should have planned ahead and mentioned it earlier. Thanks for your forgiveness.” Appreciation & forgiveness flags blowin’ in the wind!

Public Service Announcement:

Solidarity for Food Sovereignty and Food Justice!

Sunday, April 17, 2011, 12:00 pm – 6:00 pm

San Francisco Art Institute 800 Chestnut St., San Francisco, CA THE EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC – LOCAL, ORGANIC AND VEGETARIAN FOOD WILL BE PROVIDED! Keynote speakers: Dr. Miguel Altieri – Professor of Agroecology at the University of California, Berkeley Dr. Eric Holt-Giménez – Executive Director of The Institute for Food and Development Policy, FOOD FIRST. Sponsored by the Bay Area Friends of the MST, La Via Campesina, and the Urban Studies program of the San Francisco Art Institute. Details at http://cafoodjustice.org/2011/04/11/event-417-san-francisco-celebrate-the-international-day-of-peasant-struggle/