aliveness and newness moment by moment

kris sent me her album of photos taken at the free farm over our warm, dry, sunny winter. it’s really cool to see some of her photos due to the absence of people—somewhat rare to get these glimpses inside the free farm’s wired fence, as i just show up during our activity-filled volunteer days. but kris happens to be one of our volunteers in the neighborhood who has access anytime to care for the free farm.

though our wonderful and energetic volunteers make the free farm happen, sometimes it’s just nice to experience the incredible aliveness and tranquility of nature in solitude—away from the distraction of other breathing human beings. it’s like knowing how to be with “aliveness and newness moment by moment,” according to ancient taoists, if we can experience energetic balance (qi flow) and adaptation to our environment.

kris’ still life photos brought to mind this powerfully moving poem by e.e. cummings:

i thank You God for most this amazing
day: for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky; and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any-lifted from the no
of all nothing-human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axH9A28CTjw








kris also included these fun shots of our energetic volunteers who help make the free farm happen!

small world

it's a world of laughter, a world of tears
it’s a world of hopes, it’s a world of fears
there’s so much that we share
that it’s time we're aware
it’s a small world after all
“it’s a small world” lyrics by the Sherman Brothers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jiaU0xbOKs&feature

Peace on Earth: Another warm, dry, sunny winter day at The Free Farm. Is Kris performing a Rain Dance? Lovely greeters Pia and Joyce welcome visitors.

Think Global, Eat Local

Seeing our friendly greeters Pia and Joyce made me think of a recent article about the World’s Friendliest Countries because The Free Farm would certainly qualify if it were a country (http://travel.yahoo.com/ideas/world-s-friendliest-countries.html). Based on the largest global survey of expats, the top 5 friendliest countries were English-speaking: New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Canada and United States. Friendly criteria included “ability to befriend locals, success in learning the local language, capacity for integrating themselves into the community, and ease in which they fit into the new culture.” Building friendly community is natural when we’re growing and eating food together at The Free Farm. And it's so much fun hosting visitors from all over the world!

Corey waters thirsty plants. Page and workday leader Hannah sport cool sunglasses.Busy harvest weighing station with Ro, Terence, Hannah and Getup interns Andrew and Christina. Artist couple from Rhode Island return to The Free Farm! John adds greens to compost pile while Jordan and Ro discuss aquaponics. Alen harvests herbs in labyrinth area. Andrew and Terence weigh harvested greens for The Free Farm Stand. Terence, who recently moved to San Francisco from Baltimore, noticed The Free Farm while riding the UCSF shuttle along Gough Street and joined us today for some urban farming fun in the sun! Tree, Alen and Christina discuss cookies for upcoming volunteer party; by popular demand, Alen will bake ScharffenBerger chocolate chip cookies!
Permaculture gardener Toos from Amsterdam stopped by The Free Farm to volunteer during her vacation! She suggested that we plant onions/leeks with our strawberries as they're good companions. Wow, look at all the different plants that can be grown in containers! Margaret painted colorful container plant signs: lettuce mix, borage, calendula, comfrey, rosemary, chives, marigold, mint, nettles, etc.Totally awesome volunteers take well-deserved lunch break . . . while I head out to Our Daily Bread: Eat-in with Deep Waters Dance Theater at CounterPULSE in response to this irresistible invite: ”Eat -In! Call in Hungry! Take off of work and reclaim your right to have time to eat a home cooked meal! We will cook, eat and engage in conversation and dialogue about how to eat home cooked meals on a regular basis. Share your insights and wisdom along with invited Food activists and artists who will be sharing their knowledge and wisdom on these issues. Food, music, good conversation.” http://counterpulse.org/We began our feast with praise and thanks to earth, sea, sun and water, as well as homage to the wisdom, knowledge and experience of all ancestors who figured out how to grow and cook food. Amara, serving Brazilian chicken stew, says: "have reverence for your food and where and how it comes to your table…Let your reverence for your food and the earth it comes out of be more important than whether it is cheap, quick and convenient.”
Home-cooked lunch of cheese corn bread, dumplings, collard greens, black-eyed peas, raw greens, Brazilian chicken stew and rice.
Michael compiles monthly “Broke but not bored in SF” listing of free stuff to do (“peppered with harm reduction propaganda”) on behalf of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. If you’d like to be added to the distribution list, email tmorris@sfaf.org. (Yours truly will follow-up with Michael to get The Free Farm's volunteer days listed.)
Storytelling childhood food memories: mmm, good! Deep Waters Dance (http://deepwatersdance.wordpress.com/about/) perform "Gumbo Adobo." Then suddenly I remembered that they performed a selection from “Our Daily Bread” at last year’s People’s Grocery Harvesting Justice fundraiser (http://www.peoplesgrocery.org/article.php/20101215112935637). As I get more involved in food justice, I realize it's a small world after all.

Hope to see you soon in our small world at The Free Farm and our not-to-be-missed volunteer party on January 28 (see details below)!

Public Service Announcements:

Mon., Jan. 16, 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
Alcatraz, Lands End, Presidio, SF
Volunteer in the Golden Gate National Parks at our doorstep and help grow and restore these cherished national parklands. It’s fun, it’s healthy, and it makes a difference — the perfect way to pitch in on a momentous day. Bring the whole family and friends! For more info, please visit http://www.parkconservancy.org/

Beginning Tues., Jan. 17, 2012 Tai Chi for Health classes (noncredit)
Various times and locations in SF
Health 5018 Tai Chi Chuan is a stylized form of movement that promotes both mental and physical well-being. This course is an introduction to the Chinese style of exercises known as Tai Chi Chuan, and it will teach the student Yang style Tai Chi form.
http://www.ccsf.edu/Schedule/Spring/NC/health_education.shtml

Beginning Tues., Jan. 17, 2012 Consumer Ed/Health Nutrition classes (noncredit)
Various times and locations in SF (recommend http://www.ccsf.edu/Resources/Faculty/lyamashi/)
HOEC 6122 Practical information, effective strategies, and skills that teach the student how to practice good nutrition, manage personal health, and maintain an active, healthy lifestyle in the later years.
http://www.ccsf.edu/Schedule/Spring/NC/consumer_education.shtml

Tues., Jan. 24-.Feb. 28, 2012, 1-3:30 pm Healthier Living Workshop (6-week series)
Stonestown YMCA-Annex-Pracht Rm, 333 Eucalyptus Dr @ 19th Ave, SF 94132
Pre-Registration is required: Contact Elizabeth Bachrad (YMCA) at 415-242-7112 or Shelly Glazer (CCSF) at 415-452-5839
http://healthier-living-sf.eventbrite.com/

Tues., Jan. 24, 2012, 6-7:30 pm The Language of Flowers
Koret Auditorium, Main Library, 100 Larkin St., SF 94102
Reading and presentation by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, author of San Francisco Public Library’s January/February 2012 On the Same Page book selection.
Each year, nearly 20,000 young people “age out” of America’s foster care system, and many of them have nowhere to go. Writer Vanessa Diffenbaugh, who grew up in Northern California, has transformed this sad statistic into an extraordinary debut novel.
Set in San Francisco and the Napa Valley, The Language of Flowers tells the visceral and deeply touching story of Victoria, a teen who has been discharged from foster care, leaving her alone and emotionally barricaded. It’s also a compelling story about spiritual hunger and the power of nature—and human connection—to help heal hearts.
Ms. Diffenbaugh will read from her book and discuss her inspiration for the novel, as well as present a slide show about the Victorian language of flowers. She will be joined by Isis Keigwin, CEO of Camellia Network, a national non-profit co-founded by Ms. Diffenbaugh. The mission of Camellia Network is to activate networks of citizens in every community to provide the critical support young people need to transition from foster care to adulthood http://www.sfpl.org/index.php?pg=1009499001

Sat., Jan. 28, 2012, 6-10 pm The Free Farm Volunteer Celebration!
St. Mark’s Church, 1111 O’Farrell St. at Franklin, SF (http://www.stmarks-sf.org/index.php/about-st-marks/directions)
To volunteer/attend, please contact iamtree99@gmail.com.

Happy new year: We're back in action!

It was a warm, dry, sunny winter day – perhaps, An Inconvenient Truth, but just perfectly beautiful to be outdoors at The Free Farm!
After our two week winter break, Monisha and Stanley greet an early visitor to The Free Farm Stand.
Check-in with workday leader Tree. If I had a hammer: Ro, Sukhi and John install wood frame to vegetable bed. Pretty peppers: red ones ready for harvest! Beautiful people Monisha, Ro and Sukhi hold up beautiful, colorful harvest of broccoli, collard greens, purple lettuce, red and yellow peppers.

Goji berry in hothouse. According to Briahn Kelly-Brennan, L.Ac. who teaches Everyday Healing Foods and Herbs (http://www.ccsf.edu/Resources/Faculty/bkelly/): “young goji berry plant leaves are edible. Traditionally the spring prunings are stripped of leaves, and the stems/twigs are bundled and used to make soup stock, then the leaves are added to the stock (after the stems and stock material is strained out) to make a soup. When the leaves are older they get quite bitter, so tasting before using is a good idea.”Helping to build soil: Go compost team! Corey harvests lettuce where it grows best in the shady labyrinth area. John with Claire and Tree sampling bitter greens to increase their joy! Occupy tent outside The Free Farm along Gough Street? Actually, three homeless neighbors told me that they set-up shelter after another group of homeless moved into their former space. I invited them to join us for lunch and to help themselves to produce at our 1 pm stand. Tree holds up groovy greens. Groovy greens grown here.
Tree harvests yacon from sandy soil.
In response to http://thefreefarm.blogspot.com/2011/05/gombs-pasta.html, Anonymous commented that I missed Beans in Dr. Furhman’s anti-cancer prescription. I first learned about GOMBS from http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/health/dr-joel-fuhrman-cancer-prevention-diet-20110228 (which left out beans), but the related link http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/good_day_ny/medical_headlines/eat-to-live-diet-20110111 included beans. For today’s potluck lunch, I made this gluten-free, low-sodium, cooling GOMBBS salad:
1. Cook 1 lb. sweet potato noodles.
2. Place 1 lb. mung Bean sprouts + 7 oz. enoki Mushroom + 1 cup napa cabbage (Green) chiffonade in colander.
3. Pour cooked noodles with water over sprouts, mushrooms and cabbage in colander. Drain and place blanched ingredients in bowl.
4. Mix ¼ cup chopped Green Onions + ¼ cup chopped cilantro (Green) with blanched ingredients in bowl.
5. Mix ½ cup sesame oil + ½ cup Bragg’s liquid aminos + ¼ cup balsamic vinegar + 1 Tbsp raw honey in jar for dressing.
6. Pour dressing into rest of ingredients in bowl.
7. Garnish with ¼ cup sesame Seeds + ¼ cup goji Berries.
No One Left Hungry with lunch prepared by Stanley, Tree and Wandering Veggie. During lunch, Tree mentioned that The Free Farm turns three years old this month! Please save this date: Saturday, January 28 at 6 pm, for our volunteer appreciation party/dinner celebration! We are looking for musicians that can get people dancing, vegan menu planners and anyone who wants to be on a team to make this event a big success. If you can help, please contact iamtree99@gmail.com.

Tree chats with neighbors who wear cool headgear. Sander plants chives and cilantro, but what's John up to with the wheelbarrow? John takes Sander for a wheelbarrow ride around The Free Farm! Michele harvests strawberries in wintertime! Kat continued work on rainwater catchment system (see http://thefreefarm.blogspot.com/2011/11/ready-for-rainwater-harvesting.html). Here, she lines raised vegetable bed, intended to capture overflow of rainwater.

Tree and Stanley are all smiles :-) :-) :-) Evan's dog Princess Polly is our unofficial mascot. Escargot anyone? Just simmer in butter, garlic, shallots and white wine. Bon appetit! John points out his favorite tree collards while leading tour for this visiting family of four seeking inspiration for planning their own edible garden! Elegance Tree holds up heart-shaped yacon.4 + 4 = Page's work of art to right of rain barrels. Kat explains how raised vegetable bed will receive overflow in rainwater catchment system. Love the sunshine, but would love for rainwater to fill our barrels! Artist couple from Rhode Island came to check out The Free Farm!Truffula tree from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax?

Finally, Tree mentioned that John of Growing Your Greens made a video tour based on his visit to The Free Farm last month at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDSGQYN8l48. If you love armchair travel, sit back and enjoy this 30-minute virtual tour. To experience more, come outside and join us during our volunteer days!

Public Service Announcements:

Wed., Jan. 11, 2012, 6 pm, Jack Norris on Vegan for Life
Book Passage, 1 Ferry Building, #42, Embarcadero, SF
Are you considering going vegan, but you're not sure how to start? Are you already committed to an animal-free diet, but are unclear how to get the proper nutrients? Come hear Registered Dietician and Vegan for Life author Jack Norris talk about the keys to maintaining a healthy vegan diet.
http://www.bookpassage.com/event/jack-norris-vegan-life-everything-you-need-know-be-healthy-and-fit-plant-based-diet

Thurs., Jan. 12, 2012, 7:30-9 pm What is a Mushroom Anyway?
Randall Museum, 199 Museum Way, SF
J. R. Blair is a past President of the Mycological Society of San Francisco. He is also a Lecturer at San Francisco State University and Director of the Sierra Nevada Field Campus. J.R. will be discussing how mushrooms fit into the scheme of things: what exactly they are, how they fit into the life cycle of the organism, fungal ecology, and how fungi form relationships with other life forms.
http://www.sfns.org/

Mon., Jan. 16, 2012, 7-9 pm The Ecology of Leadership Intro Workshop
Madrone Studios, 1417 15th Street, SF
We live in a time of tremendous global change. And, many of us are feeling significant shifts in our personal lives and the communities in which we live and work. And as unsustainable eco-social paradigms and systems are challenged and composted, we are called to seed and cultivate new visions for our future. But how do we do that effectively? To address that question, we invite you to join one of the powerful circles of change-makers discovering how a practice rooted in deep nature connection, inner transformation, and leadership skill development can revolutionize your life and service in the world. Join our free introductory evening at Madrone Studios - SF. RSVP online http://www.regenerativedesign.org/courses-events/ecology-of-leadership.