Vision

To help transition Japan to a peace promoting post-carbon country while enjoying every step of the process.
僕のビジョンは、祖国日本で、平和文化を育みポストカーボン(Post-Carbon) 社会を促進してゆく事です。
化石燃料や原子力に頼らず、他国の資源を取らない、
自給自足な国へのトランジションを実現させてゆきたいです。

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Grafting 接ぎ木

*いつものごとく日本語訳は少々お待ちください。

Have you heard of grafting?
Do you know how to graft?
If you don't, this is an invitation to check it out.
Its so easy and enables you to do so much with fruit, nut, and all kinds of trees.

Imagine you have a volunteer tree in your backyard, and you want it to have fruits. You just might be able to transform it into a fruit producing tree. Even trees along roads in the city might be graft opportunities, like ornamental plum trees. Imagine that, walking back home on a hot summer day and picking a ripe juicy plum off a tree along the sidewalk (don't think about the car exhaust and other pollution, its irrelevant to my point). Fresh local free. Or buying an apple tree and grafting 3 more varieties on, so that you have different flavoured apples that ripen at different months for a longer harvest season. Maybe you don't like the variety you bought and want to replace it with a tastier fruit, you can do that!
You can even graft between certain species!
Yes you can!


Getting ready for a serious grafting session.
The foreground are potted rootstock and on the table are bunches of scion wood.
Since we have so many varieties to graft and we have so many grafters,we need a system to keep track of what we graft and how many.
A few people keep assign and keep track of the grafting,while the grafters perform plant surgery for several hours straight.
Productive and organised permies (not always the case).

The grafters hard at work.
We used a series of potted and bareroot plants as rootstock.
A few practiced on freshly pruned fruit tree wood.
If you are going to do a bunch,
having a good setup is crucial.
Since its easy to mix things up,
the rule is once you are done with any plant material,
throw it on the ground.

Here is the list of scion wood we have.
Varieties of European and Asian plums and pears, cherry, peach, apple, shipova, and seabuckthorn.
The potentials are so exciting!
What varieties does your mouth crave?
Conference pear, hosui asian pear, hakutou Japanese juicy white tender peach
are some of my favorite fruit.
I recommend checking out a fruit tree catalogue and reading the descriptions.
Its arousing and addictive.
Check out the Raintree catalogue for starters: http://www.raintreenursery.com/RT_2011.pdf

The set up:
Snips, double blade grafting knife, alcohol to sanitise tools,
rubber band to tighten rootstock-scion wood bond,
and grafting wax (we use bee's wax mixed with lin seed oil).

The pot contains the rootstock with the top snipped off for my cleft graft.
At the top center is the omega grafter.
I've never used it but its an easy way to graft,
and it looks really cool too.
I prefer the grafting knife though,
seems more reliable and flexible.

The left is the rootstock (see the roots) and the right is the scion wood.
Above the blade is where I grafted the scion wood onto the rootstock.
Doesn't it look like one piece?
Thats the idea.
Well, actually what's important is the cambium to cambium connection,
not necessarily trying to make it look like one piece.

Here Timbah is brushing bee's wax onto the graft union and any fresh cuts.
He top grafted pear onto a volunteer hawthorn.
What an awesome opportunity to graft onto something that has established roots in the soil.
The hawthorn, with its long spikes and tendency to bush out, is capable of keeping deer from munching the pear leaves.

There are a lot of resources for grafting which is why I didn't explain much about it.
A fellow bliss ranger James has a youtube up on how to graft:
*I recommend not using the ACE can of funkiness and instead using natural stuff

Here's a bark graft demo by a professional for nectarines.
At the end he tells you that its illegal to graft patented varieties if you have no license.
What a trippy world we live in.

Books that I've seen in our library, and that have been recommended by our teachers:



1.American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation: The Fully Illustrated Plant-by-Plant Manual of Practical Techniques (1999)

2.The Grafter's Handbook (2003)

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Spring Gardening: practice and perspective

Finally a few sunny warm days have poked through the chilly cold grey Spring.
Most of the garden beds are dry enough to be forked.
It was beautiful to see everyone outside waking the garden up after a long wet winter.

Spring gardening feels like a new beginning for me.
A commitment to learn and grow while intimately engage with life.
An opportunity to explore the depths of food growing philosophy and practice.
Accepting the challenge of choosing methods and responding to unexpected situations.

This year I decided to continue my exploration of shizeno (natural farming) in the far far garden (its really far), and improve my lazy organic gardening for the communal production focused beds.

Biointensive
Most of my experience has been with the Biointensive model I learned at the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Garden/Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS). As the name suggest Biointensive is intense! Its a lot of physical work and I feel like its too rough on the soil. Its an awesome method for Santa Cruz if you want to be a small-scale organic gardener pumping out tons of food and you are physically fit. They are some of the most bump'in gardens with beautiful veggies packed tight in a small amount of space. For more on this, check out How to Grow More Vegetables (Jeavons), or go to amazingly beautiful and educational sites like the UCSC gardens, the Homeless Garden Project, or Camp Joy (all in Santa Cruz).

Biodynamic
Recently, I've been increasingly exposed to more and more biodynamic practices and philosophy. Here at the Bullocks, Doug encouraged us to use, or at least look through, the biodynamic calendar with the moon cycles and other cosmic elements that illuminate what you should plant at what time during each day. My good friends at the Frey Biodynamic Vinyard in Mendocino, CA are the most serious anthroposophists I know and frequently teach me about the various dimensions of Steiner's teachings. What I appreciate about Biodynamic is the integration of various elements (agriculture, medicine and health care, education, architecture, etc) in to a spiritually rooted humanistic belief system. Really intriguing stuff that I hope to learn more about. I don't know enough to put much of it into practice at the moment. Definitely an important circle for the sustainability movement.

Natural Farming
Then there is shizeno, the method and philosophy I am most attracted to.
Whats the difference with organic gardening?
Well, the simple answer I give these days is,
no weeding, no tilling, and no fertilising (including compost).
But, its much more than that.
Those are merely the physical expressions of a way of life.

Shizeno to me is a path of reaching and maintaining ecological balance
through observation, understanding, and minimal intervention.
Like my tai chi teacher taught,
"what can we do less of,
what are we doing that we don't need to do."

Its a practice to transform our perspective
and respect those we struggle to get along with,
like weeds and pests (like our in-laws:)
Weeds, fungi, bacteria, bugs, other people, nature are not our enemies.
We share the earth with all living and non-living things.
Our minds discriminate and we often try to eliminate our problems before understanding why they have have come to be.
I see this as another practice to transcend the dualistic thinking of good and bad.
Its not easy, but its important.

I've been deeply moved by the humility of shizeno farmers,
and their understanding of the soil and local ecology.
They are patient, committed, and hard-working.
More exciting stuff to come about shizeno!

Bullocks 2011
For my assigned garden beds that are to feed the intern community,
I started with my lazy organic method.
We each have a total of about 6-8 garden beds in two different locations.
This year my goal is to use as little or no off island resources,
mainly pelletised chicken manure and crab meal.
I feel that is more inline with my values and I want to challenge myself to localize more.
Why not?


The Lazy Biointensive Method

I define the edges of the bed with a D handle fork, then I turn chunks of the garden bed with a four pronged cultivator. That way its less work and much less chopping of earthworms. I break the big chunks of soil with my hand or a fork and smooth the bed out with a rake and my hands. I really like touching soil so I try to use my hands as much as possible.

Its really important to touch the soil and be intimate with it. Bare hands is so pleasant.





The Bullocks M.O.

Here at the Bullocks we define out paths with stable litter. Then the following year we scoop the decomposed stable litter (free and from nearby) into our beds to add organic matter. This also serves as a weed barrier where we can easily pull any quack grass that migrates toward the beds. We often use freshly mowed grass clippings as a nitrogen rich mulch that also deters the large slug populations which devastate the sweet little sproutlings. It seems common at the Bullocks to add compost, pelletised chicken manure, and crab meal into the beds.




This year I'm in charge of asian greens, fava beans, chinese cabbage, onions, gailan, cucumbers. My companion plants are kale and several fragrant and delicious Japanese plants: shiso, nira, mitsuba, yomogi. The chinese cabbage transplants looked a bit nitrogen deficient and Yuriko suggested pelletised chicken manure but I'm going to see if I can address it with urine (the bucket). I found a bunch of cut grass so I just threw it on my bed as mulch.

*What I learned from several sources is that the key to utilising urine is DILUTION. 1:10 urine to water seems like what most people say. I'm hoping to get a copy of Liquid Gold (Steinfeld) so I can make use of this amazing resources that I am generating all the time!



Coming soon....
In the far far field shizeno beds,
my approach this year is to grow the easiest crops for the climate here.
Mainly brassicas, onion, and maybe some legumes.

I have a long way to go before I get a descent harvest through shizeno,
but I'm committed to get there.
It took Fukuoka and Kawaguchi a few years before they had harvests that
matched their previous chemical farming methods.
In fact I think they both had close to no harvest the first year or two.
I'm in no hurry and luckily I live in an area that i can experiment.

Final thoughts
Yuriko commented that I'm too caught up with philosophy.
I do feel like I'm experiencing the gardening version of the Omnivore's Dilemma sometimes.
There are so many styles to choose from.
And gardening is a very intimate element in my life.
I'm having fun though, and curiosity is driving my desire to explore and learn these different methods.
Life is about gardening the soil, the mind, and the soul.

I love gardening!!!!!!!!!
Especially when I start the day off with homemade waffles,
and take a tea ceremony break under the flowering plums and cherries,
accompanied by freshly made mochi balls.
Eat food grow food.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

You might be a bliss ranger if.......      ブリスレンジャーなら、

I've been thing of an easy way to share the culture of the Bullocks Bliss Rangers,
as I find it unique, interesting, and (mostly enjoyable).
In fact, I hope some of these practices permeate mainstream culture.
Anyway, here's a new approach....

You might be a bliss ranger if.....

ブリスレンジャーなら、

 you carry around garden tools,
 like a grafting knife, or snips, or pruning saw,
 (probably Felco)
 and if you are really bad ass,
 a kama.

 大抵どこへ行っても、
 ガーデニングの道具を持ち歩いています。
 フェルコーの接ぎ木ナイフ、剪定ばさみ、剪定用折りたたみのこぎり、
 または鎌!

 you walk around places thinking about what fruit trees
 you could be planting or grafting.

 どんな果樹を植えたり、
 どんな木を接ぎ木しようか、
 考えながら町を歩く。

 when you need to pee,
 you look for a fruit tree or nitrogen loving plant to fertilize.

 しょんべんをしたい時、
 一番近い果樹や窒素を好む植物を探してしまう。

BONUS
you might be a 2010 bliss ranger if.......

 you have a special relationship with tahini.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

パーマカルチャー・デザインコース2011

This is just a call out to people in Japan about joining the design course this year.
I heard that the course has a few spots left and I think it always sells out with a good size waiting list. Best structured education I ever experienced, dedicated awesome teachers, and a awesome community scene. For details click here.

一年に一度のブロックス・パーマカルチャー・デザインコースの空きが残り少なくなりました。
2011年の7/17から8/6までの144時間コースは後数人で満員だそうです。
僕はパーマカルチャーと出会ってから一年後、
このコースを受けてここで研修生になる事を決心しました。
一回目応募した年は落とされたので:(
とりあえずコースを受けてみました。
そのデザインコースは今まで受けた教育のなかでは、
一番情報の詰まった刺激的な経験でした。
またコミュニティー感も素敵です。
毎日のように9時から9時まで色々学び、
夜は楽しい豪華な食事と音楽や笑い満載の祭り。
パーマカルチャーオタクを引き寄せる不思議な世界。
美しい自然と素敵な人間の交わり。

このコースは英語で行われますが、
興味のある方が十分あれば、
ゆりこさんと僕で日本語のプログラムなりツアーなりしたいと思っています。
日本からは遠いアメリカですが、
世界中の中でここが一番お勧めの場所(先生、コミュニティー、土地)です。
色んな【答え】と感動が待っています。

去年のコースについて書いたエントリーを参照してみてください。
2010年のコーススケジュール
みんなの最終プロジェクトの発表会

チナンパ作りもします(以下参照)

コースのエネルギーツアー(日本語訳はまだしてません)

パーマカルチャー集会も参考となると思います。

興味がある人は

Dave Boehnlein
360-840-8483
info@permacultureportal.com

または僕に連絡ください。
一緒に遊んでビジョンを膨らませましょう!
待ってま〜す。

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Bullocks Yearbook 2010 去年の研修生生活

Well, per C8's (intern) suggestion I will add more pictures:)
I hope this shares a perspective into what we do and how we do it.
A sample of some of our activities from last year.
A snap shot into our lives.
Notice how many of them are food oriented.
We do love our food.
Enjoy!

The 2010 Interns

Not a bad looking bunch of permies.

(click pictures to enlarge)


怪しげな百姓団(パーミー)

2010年の研修生達でした。

写真にクリックすると拡大します


Ahhhhhhhhh!
The list of endless tasks.
Never an idle moment here.

ゲーーーー

やる事がいっぱい!

つまらない日はありません。


Tali facilitating the mental wonderers.
These 2 hour (sometimes 3!) meetings are filled with ideas, projects, updates, more projects, urgent needs, jokes, stories, laughter, and perhaps even some impatience.
Its a big event.
An interesting interaction between the need and increase in order while resisting it at the same time.
In the mean time, you can cuddle, stretch or give a massage while discussing important topics.
Imagine a corporate business meeting where business people shoulder rubs to each other.
Why not?
Maybe they do.

金曜日の朝一ミーティング

3時間続く事もあります!
冗談、余談、笑いを連発しながら 金曜日から月曜日のスケジュールを立ています。
途中でストレッチ、体操、マッサージなども行われます。
会社のミーティングでもマッサージし合えばいいのに

With this many trees, pruning is in abundance.
Look at Sam way up there with his chainsaw.
Badass.

剪定する必要な果樹が無数にあります。

この日サムはチェーンソーを片手に木を登っていました。

スーパーサム


Compost Tea.
C8 spraying the potted nursery plants and fruit trees around the property.
For a while we were spraying compost tea once every 2 weeks,
but we decided we need to do more research on its effectiveness.

コンポスト・ティー

去年の前半までは苗木やホームステッドのあらゆる植物に散布していました。

でも効果や散布方法などについてみんなの意見が一致しなかったので、

今年は一時停止しています。

日本ではやってるEMと同じ様な物なのでしょうか?


Yeah compost!
Thats a beautiful compost pile.
A staple for organic gardening.

Its so exciting!

I love the feeling of soft rich compost:)

Thats something i might miss when i commit to natural farming.


美しいコンポストの山
素敵ですね~
柔らかくてぽろぽろのコンポストが楽しみ!

Yuriko's magical garden in full bloom.

biointensive for sure.


ゆりこさんのガーデン満開。

バイオインテンシブですね~

Strawberry picking.
Thats always a fun task.
Usually you get quite full by the end of it.

数日に一回のイチゴ狩り。
人気の作業。
結構お腹がいっぱいになります。

Gooseberry picking.

Unfortunately, we were picking them because they all had maggots in them.

We made pies out of them anyway.

North West gooseberry maggot pie!

To the left are blueberries protected by netting.

To the right is a row of apples trees (tulip, daffodil, and comfrey guild) in the back.


グースベリー狩り。

残念ながら今回は熟す前に取る事になりました。

殆ど全部のベリーにウジ虫が育っていたのです。

もったいないからグースベリー虫パイを焼きました。

酸っぱかった!

熟したグースベリー幾つか生存しました。

ちょっとマスカットみたいな味と感触。


グースベリーの隣の列はネットに囲われたブルーベリー畑。

右奥はダグの一押し林檎、チューリップ、スイセン、とヒレハリソウのギルド。


Hole digging.

This guest who just came from Kauai dug holes twice as fast as the interns.

He also doesn't brush his teeth and has no cavities.

If I remember correctly, he rapped a Dr. Dre track while playing the ukelele for me.

We frequently have trippy guests stay and work with us.

Here we see a mix of apple, plum, peach, fig, cornelian cherry, and probably some other fruit trees.


穴堀。

穴を掘っているのはハワイからやって来た

歯を磨かないけど虫歯の無い大男。

ウクレレを弾きながらドクタードレイをラップしてくれました。

謎のゲストがよく訪れてきます。

僕は変な人が集まる所が好きですね。

このテラスには林檎、プラム、イチジク、セイヨウサンシュユ 、などの果樹が密集しています。

Making kimchee with our abundant cabbage harvest.

We love our ferments.

"wild fermentation" by Sandor Elliz Katz is a popular book around here.


菜っ葉とガーリックの花茎が大量に収穫できたので、

キムチ作りにとりかかりました。

ここでは発酵食が人気です。

Sandor Katzの発酵マニュアルを良くキッチンで見かけます。


Garden feedback.

The interns got feedback from the Bullocks and each other on their beds.

Here Yuriko enlightens us with her Japanese gardening wisdom.


ガーデニング・アドバイス。

ブロックス達がみんなのガーデンを評価してくれました。

ここではゆりこさんが

りりちゃんに感想を伝えています。

Willow Craft.

Sid pruning and weaving willow

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon style.

Below him is the tunnel that leads to the wikiup made of reeds on a chinampa.


柳の職人。

柳を門に編み合わせるイギリス人のシド。

その門をくぐるとチナンパの上の蒲ティーピーに行き着きます。

Mims gettin down on the comfrey.

She is in the process of making a mulch donut around a medlar tree.

In our comfrey-fruit tree guild,

comfrey functions as a weedbarrier, dynamic accumulator, medicinal, and mulching plant.

Behind you can see the solar panel next to the water pumps that pump marsh water up to the water tank which stores the water we use for most of our irrigation.


多年草のヒレハリソウを鎌で切って、

果樹の周りにドーナッツ型のマルチとして敷きます。

ヒレハリソウは雑草バリア、ダイナミック・アキュムレーター(必須微量元素蓄積植物)、薬草、マルチ植物等の役割を果たしています。

彼女の後ろに水ポンプを動かすソーラーパネルが見えるでしょうか?

乾燥した夏のオーカス島では灌漑がとっても大事な要素です。

私たちの場合は沼水をソーラーポンプで植物に与えています。


Garlic planting in the far far field garden.

Looks like the ladies are spreading steer manure over the beds.


一番遠いガーデンでニンニクを植えている様子。

ここでは馬糞が土の上に撒かれています。

Making an underground food storage space in Doug's living room.

Interns are pouring concrete and removing bubbles.


ダグのリビングで地下貯蔵室を作っている所。

コンクリートを流した後に気泡を抜く作業をします。

Chicken care.

We love our chickens and try to keep them moving around the property.

That way they can enjoy fresh grass and fertilize the land for us.


鶏の世話。

土地のあらゆる所に移動させる事によって、

鶏はいつも新鮮な草と虫を食べる事ができて、

その土地に肥料を落としていきます。


Harvesting potato.

I love harvesting!

Something like eight varieties.

German butterball were a delight on the tongue,

and the purple varieties were gorgeous.


みんなでポテトの収穫。

収穫最高!

今年は八種類のお芋を育てました。

ジャーマン・バターボールが一番美味しかったです。

紫色のお芋も好きです。


Garlic peeling and processing.

They were starting to go bad so we decided to chop 'em up and freeze them.

We roasted a bunch as we worked and enjoyed a warm creamy garlic snack on a cold day.


ガーリック剥きと保存。

前の年のニンニクが駄目になり始めたので、

みじん切りにしたりして、

冷凍庫に入れることにしました。

作業中ガーリックをフォイルに包んで火のなかでローストしては、

みんなで食べていました。


Hilling potatoes.

Garlic rows are in the foreground.


芋に土を盛り上げています。

手前はガーリックです。


Sprinkling pellitized chicken manure into our hardening off nursary.

You can spot some italian stone pines and prickly pear cacti.

Behind are crab apples grafted with more edible varieties and the grape arbor.


数週間に一回は鶏糞肥料を苗木に与えます。

パインナッツ(松の実)が穫れるイタリアカサマツの苗木と

中米で良く見かける食用のウチワサボテンの苗がベンチの上にあります。

奥には自生した林檎(接ぎ木済み)とブドウも写真に写っています。


Potting up plants in the front nursery for sale.
Man it feels good to be surrounded by so many plants.
The Bullocks and Dave give spontaneous plant info sessions that are really amazing.

入り口の苗木場で植物セールの準備している所です。

これだけ植物に囲まれると幸せですよね。

贅沢。

作業している間にデーブやブロックスが様々な植物について、

丁寧に教えてくれます。


Smoking the hide.
The deer was shot by the resident vegan,
then processed and consumed by the interns.

皮膚を鞣し始めるジェームズとあやめ。

鹿は不思議な事に

動物好きビーガンのダグが仕留めています。

食べるのは他のみんなです。


Ayame and James tanning deer hide.
Word on the street is that it turned into a wallet.

鞣す様子も芸術的ですね。


Winter squash planting.

The plastic tarp with holes works as a mulch/weed barrier and helps increase insulate for heat retention.

Behind on the left are old apple trees used for pruning practice.


カボチャ植え大会。

あまり暑くならない北西海岸では黒プラスチックのタープに穴をあけて、

コンポストや肥料を混ぜ、

苗を移植します。

プラスチックは好きではありませんが、

熱吸収、雑草バリア(マルチ)等の役割を果たしています。

左奥は昔植えられた林檎の木の集まりです。

剪定の練習に使っています。


When's the last time you saw 3 ladies chopping wood?
Badass.
Thats all I have to say.

薪を割る20代のレディー三人組。

現代社会ではあまり見ない光景ですよね。


Remaking the metal shop roof.
Yes folks, we don't just make food.
All part of the reskilling that so many of us are seeking.

メタルショップ(溶接、鍛冶工、エンジンリペアなどの作業場)の屋根を直しています。

農業だけではなく自給自足に必要なあらゆる技術を

ブロックスが教えてくれます。


Making dehydrator racks for the sauna.
We went into production mode.
We probably made 50 racks and more to come.

ハーブ、茸、果物などをサウナの余熱で乾燥するために、

乾燥用の棚を作っています。

五十個辺り作りました。


Power tools!
Using scrap wood to make more frames for dehydrator racks.
Although I prefer hand tools, its amazing how fast things go with power.

パワーツール!

乾燥棚の為に均一に木材を切っている最中です。

これもソーラーパワーでやっています。

手動具の方が好きですが、

電動は早いですね。


Planting perennials on a South facing dry slope.
The planting includes Yucca Bacata, wormwood, naked ladies, peach, lavendar, santolina, mugwort, etc.
This area is inbetween the highest ponds on the property.
There are six ponds on the property in addition to the marsh.

小池と小池の間にある、

南向きの乾燥している傾斜地。

地中海気候で良く育つ植物を中心に、

植え込みました。

ブロックスには小池が全部で六つあります。

(土地は6ヘクタールぐらいです)


Mushroom foraging with the Daver.

We picked a several bags of gold and white chantrelles and shrimp russula.

Unfortunately, no matsutakes were found on this trip.

Mmmmmmushroooooms


デーバーと茸狩り。

最高に美味しいシャントレル茸(黄と白)が

リュック二つをいっぱいにするほどとれました。

残念ながら松茸は見つかりませんでした。

Racoon meat.
Shot again by the resident vegan.
The racoons come to harvest the chickens and ducks.
They're good at it too.

アライグマ二匹。

ビーガンのダグが仕留めました。

ちょくちょくと鶏やアヒルを食べに来ます。

賢いやつらです。


Baby ducks with mama.
We lost 2 baches of baby ducks,
its a harsh world out there!

アヒルの親子。

かわいい!

二回ほど犬やアライグマに抹殺されました。

これは三回目。

もうすぐ大人になります。


A display of our winter squash harvest.

Thats a lot of food!

We probably planted at least six varieties.


カボチャの収穫。

結構な量ですね~。

六種類は植えたと思います。

Cleaning tools.
Gots to treat your tools right.
Especially our Felco snips.

道具のメンテナンス。

日本のプロには睨まれそうな道具の扱い方をする私たちでも、

たまにはメンテナンスをします。


Visitors cleaning the sauna.
Such a beautiful element in our cold outdoor climate.

ゲストがサウナを掃除しています。

ここに来るゲストは楽しそうに手伝ってくれます。


Cleaning rocks for the sauna.
Increases the thermalmass for longer heat storage.

サウナ用の石磨き。

石は熱を蓄え徐々に放射してくれます。


Winterising the nursery.
In the fall we huddle the pots together,
and surround them with sawdust for insulation.

ナーサリー(苗木場)での防寒作業。

苗を集め周囲を大鋸屑で囲います。


Separating seed garlic.
Its fun to work with friends.
And its spectacular that laughing is a regular part of our daily lives.
Highly recommended!

植える為のニンニクをバラバラにする作業。

友達と働くと楽しいですよね。

ここではゆりこさんが相変わらずのように爆笑しています。

笑う事は大切ですね。


Building a scaffold in our ferrocement water tank.
The Bullocks realised that the acidic pine needles were etching the concrete away.
So, we embarked on a heavy duty roof building project.

フェロセメント貯水タンクの屋根を作る為に

足場を建てています。

周りに並ぶ松葉(酸性)がセメントを腐食していた事から、

この大プロジェクトを行う事になりました。


Doug being a badass and welding the central support rod and the rafter tie-in
for the ferrocement tank roof.
More on this later.

溶接をするダグ。

かっこいいですね~。

スチール柱に特注の傘の骨組みの様な垂木つなぎをくっ付けています。


Tatton and I embarked on a quest to make serious croissants.
We reserved a whole day for making this decadent French pastry,
and inbetween foldings we made compost piles!
Nice flakey texture with a soft rich buttery filling,
full of comforting warmth.

去年テートンと僕は本物のクロワッサンを作る事を決意しました。
冷蔵庫で寝かしている間(三回)は、 コンポストを作っていました。
焼きたては格別ですね!
薄い皮はパリパリで 中は暖かいモッチリしたバター風味の生地。
恐るべしクロワッサン。

We chow down on freshly baked croissants accompanied by an apple tasting.
We had six varieties of apples and a lovely cup of milk tea.

クロワッサンと一緒に、

僕がハマっているルースリーフのヨークシャーティーと、

取り立て林檎を六つ試食をする事にしました。

最高のブランチ。


The apple and pair harvest.
I heard that at one point there were about 80 varieties of apples here.
There are probably 16 varieties pictured here.

林檎とナシの収穫。

一時期は80種類の林檎がここにあったとか。

これは収穫の一部で16種類写っていると思います。


Homebrew and fruit wines.
We had two interns pumping out dark beers,
and the ladies took charge on making a variety of fruit wines.

地ビールや果樹酒も作ったりします。

ビール好きの研修生二人が二、三回ダークビールを作っていました。

果樹酒は女性団が担当だったようです。


Weekly dinners at Yuriko's are experiences of culinary extravagance.

This is a temaki (handroll) sushi festival.

A good note to end on.


毎週招待されるゆりこさんのディナーパーティー。

さすが【日本人】と思ってしまいます。

食へのこだわりが違いますね。

この日は手巻き寿司パーティー。

ここで育った野菜と卵に、

漁船から直接買って来たアラスカサーモン。

因に日本で良く売られているアトランティック(大西洋)・サーモンは

レッドリスト(絶滅の危機)にのっています。

たべるなら北海道産かアラスカ産が良いですよ~。

美味しくても絶滅まで食べ尽くすのはいけませんよね。


.....


Now for an all new season of bliss life.


さて2011年ブロックス生活スタート!