May in Pictures Part 1

Bullocks Permaculture Summer Camp

for young adult misfits who love food and community.

Here is the first half of the May digest.

I want to give a special thanks to all the creatures that enrich our life on the homestead.

Unfortunately, those primitivists and won't be reading any blogs.

Waffle Wednesdays are back!

Nothin' like fresh hot waffles on a farm.

Right now we are using preserves and commercial maple syrup

but come fall, our waffles will be crowned with a melange of exquisite fruit.

We could also tap the nearby big leaf maple for some maple syrup too.

Canoeing to Yellow Island

We had a caravan of two canoes and two kayaks with 10 people total.

Its something I haven't experienced much,

but I really enjoy being on the water with a bunch of friends.

What a different experience from being on land.

Wild flowers on Yellow Island in the San Juans.

Buttercup (yellow), camis (blue), Indian paint brush (red).

What a spectacular sight!

I feel truly blessed that I live in a world with flowers.

Johanna and Timbah in the hoop house transplanting a North American native,

Hardy Maté (Ilex Vomitoria).

It related to Yerba maté, a plant used for tea in South America.

I read that Hardy Maté was used by Native Americans as a caffinated tea,

and the fruits are a good bird food.

A close up of Pernettya

King of the Compost Mound.

How fun it is to have ducks hanging out,

claiming compost piles.

They can do damage to the gardens though.

Sam preparing a planting spot on the edge of the chinampa causeway.

The plant will be sitting in a nest of prunings and branches right above the marsh water.

I find it extremely fascinating to not only construct chinampas,

but to also utilize the edge it creates, and plant in a naturally hydroponic enviroment.

Jane handles a garter snake as she plants out a perennial zone.

Snakes are celebrated here.

The rock work provides habitat,

and the snakes love the compost piles.

The Bullocks say that the garter snakes eat slugs,

who are the creatures that we have most difficulty with in the garden.

Thanks snakes!

Nursary day!

A huge group effort to pot up the bareroot fruit trees to prepare for the coming season. Its interesting to think about how many plants pass through our hands and minds.

Plants are so cool!

What a healthy way to live.

Wild duck posse.

Mama duck and her dozen ducklings.

Its a tough world out there though,

I think she is down to about 5 ducklings now.

Death is a daily event, and so is life.

Sundays are potluck day!

What a beautiful scene of community.

I love potlucks!

The two women in focus are the moms of the homestead.

Yuriko, the eldest on the farm, and Flo, the mother of the Bullocks.

The Bullocks were some crazy kids.

All hands on deck.

Potato planting.

Its a lot of fun to work with this many friends....fellow bliss rangers and co.

My homestead mates.

I think it would be overwhelming to do these tasks alone.

COMMUNITY makes all the difference.

Sam performing a careful removal of comfrey in our far far field.

The comfrey had been rototilled by previous tenants,

and spread all over the far far field.

After clearing the comfrey roots (every piece),

we planted our nut seedlings.

Diggin holes for a dense chestnut seedling planting to size them up.

This is the area we removed comfrey from.

Monday night meeting food order.

A very big event where we decide on what foods to buy as a community.

It can be full of excitement, laughter, frustration, and disappointment.

Generally, food seems to bring people together and at the same time it can be the stimulus for powerful conflict. What we eat, how we eat it, how much we eat, etc.

Luckily and with some skill, we get through the food orders relatively quickly and peacefully.

Water fowl congregation at Sam and Yuriko's pond.

The geese are protecting the wild ducklings while mama is away.

How cool is that!

The colourful ducks are Muscovy ducks that we introduced and take care of.

Looks like they are all happily getting along.

Nico the machinist.

Looks pretty bad ass to me.

Could be an ad for the lawn mower.

Wait....the Bullock's use lawn mowers?!!

Thats not permaculture...or something.

Yup, we use mowers and weed whackers.

We even use roundup with our Monsanto corn.......just kidding.

It'll make sense if you come here and see how it is used.

Considering the scale of the property, the need for mulch that is not slug-friendly,

and the impact grasses have if they grow freely on our mobility, it seems like an appropriate use of this "transitional technology."

Its not a necessity but it does make life "easier" here.

Lily and the Bullocks nursery sanctuary at the farmers market on Saturday.

A beautiful arrangement of tasty fruit trees and useful ornamental.

Its a nice space of refuge and knowledge.

Good place to talk plants....because we are plant nerds or nerds-in-training.

There was a mead and wine tasting event that day

so Lily brought fruit and berry trees that are good for making alcoholic delights.

How wily.

Lily has been making an effort to host free permaculture workshops/discussions at the market.

Anything from preserving food, guild planting, grafting, to Transition Towns will be explored.

Spreading the abundance.

Rainy day wheel barrel maintenance.

Sam is wrestling with a lawn mower as

he, Doug, and Dave discuss the upcoming Intro Course.

Its empowering to learn how to fix stuff you use regularly.

If I could only figure out how computers work......Simon!

Michael harvesting Fuki.

Looks like a scene in the tropics.

What a trippy plant to have around.

You can use it as an umbrella like in Totoro.

Fuki and Rhubarb harvest.

I think we made fuki cooked in dashi (Japanese broth), soy sauce, mirin, and sake.

It has a nice texture and flavor especially when picked early in the season.

In some ways it reminds me of celery.

The huge leaves are edible too.

With the rhubarb I made a sour cream rhubarb cake.

I really enjoy baking cake with rhubarb and sour cream or buttermilk.

Both of these plants can shade out quack grass,

and serve as a delicious and fun weed barrier.

Work at the top of the hill.

Doug in the metal shop welding a piece for the gate as interns finish up pruning.

The departure of the house bus.

It was a beauty of a bus with a comfy bed, wood-fired stove,

benches, dining table, and beautifully finished interior.

The downside is that there is no insulation,

and the metal exterior felt like it sucked out heat from my body on cold days.

Its fun to have a house bus around though.

.....and the evil witch cast a spell on Yuriko,

that if she swears or makes a reference to the butt,

she would shrink into a cute little dog.

Cuuuuute!

Hibaku Nation Japan 被爆国家ジャパン

I'm back!

ただいま！

I've been consumed by applying to the Graduate Program in Sustainability Sciences at University of Tokyo. Quite an interesting balance of keeping up with farm tasks, while sitting in front of a computer for long hours synthesising ideas. Its a hard choice between continuing an alternative lifestyle surrounded by nature and abundant with freedom, to living in Tokyo and studying in an rigid institution, not to mention the cost of just existing in Tokyo. But, I have a partner to get back to and I want to experiment with how alternative mainstream-Japan can go. What if mindfulness, non-violence, and ecological design became the cultural foundations of our country? Imagine how different life would be! More on that stuff as we go.

先週まで東京大学のサステナビリティー・サイエンス・プログラムのアプリケーションを準備していました。朝早くからパソコンと向き合い、朝ご飯から晩ご飯まではみんなと自然の中で働き、また夜遅くまでひたすらパソコンの画面を見つめる不思議な生活。自然のリズムに合わした自由な生活から人間が作り上げた複雑な東京社会システムへのトランジションは中々大変そうです。でも、相棒が東京で待っているし、日本が平和、エコロギー、そして心を土台とした文化に発展する可能性を探検してみたいと思っているので、どのように帰国するかを考えています。

In the meanwhile, the news continues sensational coverage of Libya's revolution, Chinese human rights violations, hacktivists messing with Sony and the CIA, the US presidential election campaign reality TV show, and occaisonally some not so exciting Fukushima crisis updates.

イギリスの新聞BBCでは、

リビア紛争やアメリカの下らないバラエティーショーみたいな大統領選挙ニュースの間に、

福島の残念な情報がたびたび現れます。

再び被爆国家となってしまった日本。

今や日本の話をすると必ず原発の話題に進んでしまう。

日本＝寿司と侍から

日本＝地震と福島原発

アメリカの西海岸では平均以上の放射能レベルが検出されているようです。

One of the four essays I had to write for the graduate proposal had an interesting prompt,

A huge earthquake and tsunami hit the east part of Japan on March 11, 2011, seriously damaging the Fukushima Daiichi (No.1) Nuclear Power Plant. Since then the safety of nuclear power generation in general has become more critically questioned. Many countries, however, have established nuclear power generation as the mainstay of their energy policies.

If you were a candidate for a national election arguing in favor of nuclear energy policy, what kind of pledge would you make? Describe your pledge and your rationale.

東大受験の小論文の一つは原子力についてのお題でした。

「もしあなたが原子力肯定派の政治候補ならば、

どのような制約をしますか。」
中々厳しいお題だと感じました。何年も非核運動をしてきて、
今回の地震を経験して、
このお題に本論せずに答えるのは感情的に厳しかったです。
でも物事を色んな視点から考える事は大切な事だし、
あまり自分の信念に執着するのも良くないと思います。
柔軟な心を育んでみたいです。
僕の答えは日本語に訳してみると、
民主的原子力過渡的エネルギー政策。
現在正常な原発のエネルギーを利用して、
再生可能なエネルギーシステムを開発しインフラを建てます。
原発の原料は石油と同じ有限資源なので、
何れは違うエネルギーシステムに変わる必要が現れるのです。
また、国民がしっかり自分たちのエネルギー管理ができるように、
エネルギーリテラシー政策を行います。
国民がエネルギー消費を減らさない限り、
何らかのリスクを負いながら様々な犠牲を覚悟に生きる事になります。
自分たちのエネリギーの現状をしっかり把握して、
ライフスタイルを決める事は民主主義に必要な要素です。
知識はパワーなのです。

What a question. It was hard not to argue with the question itself and unleash my anti-nuclear mindedness, but my dad encouraged me to widen my perspective and I though I would see how I could stay true to my values, be realistic, and answer the question as it was presented. I ended up proposing a democratic transitional nuclear energy policy, and focus on using existing nuclear power to develop renewable energy infrastructure (decentralised) while embarking on a public energy-literacy campaign. If the people don't choose to stop using massive amounts of energy, then we will make serious sacrifices for our energy extravagent lifestyles.

How would you answer that question for a graduate proposal to a sustainability program in 500 words?
While working on my applicaiton, I was sent several interesting articles about Fukushima and nuclear culture in Japan, so I thought I would share them. If we can really learn from the Fukushima, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Marshall Islands, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, etc., then maybe we won't go through this again. We can stop man-made disasters, if we really wanted to. Anyways, here are some articles to get more insight into the situation, your country may not be so different from Japan.

Huffington Post: Interview with Akira Tokuhiro, Nuclear Engineer: Fukushima and the Mass Media　原子工学者とくひろ・あきらさんとのインタビュー。「福島とマスコミ」
NY Times: In Japan, a Culture that Promotes Nuclear Dependency　原発依存症を促す日本文化
NY Times: 'Safety Myth' Left Japan Ripe for Nuclear Crisis 　安全神話が日本を惨事に導いた

It seems like large-scale protests have happened which is really exciting in a country where protests are uncommon.

上のリンクはここ数週間

僕に送られた原発関係の新聞記事です。

英語が読める人は是非参考にしてください。

Fun fact, I read that the peace sign that we are all familiar with comes from the British nuclear disarmament movement. The symbol is comprised of the semaphore signals for the letters "N" and "D," standing for "nuclear disarmament".

まめ知識。

ピースサインの由来を知っていますか？

イギリスの非核運動から来たそうです。

手旗信号のNとDを円でかこったものが

世界中で使われているピースサインだと聞きました。

Quotes on Love

Hello friends,

I just got back from the Village Building Convergence and I am super-charged!
Such an amazing experience of permaculture, community and cultural revolution.

City Repair is definitely worth seeking out.
I have tons of pictures and videos but it will take a while to sort through :(

At the moment, I am composing a graduate research proposal

for my University of Tokyo grad school application.
I've been reading from a book that has been extremely thought provoking,
and I just came across a few passages,

in a chapter titled Consumption: A Symptom of Addiction,

about LOVE:

Love is one of those "things" that Fromm claims

we now seek to have instead of to be.

Loving takes commitment and much more;

it is hard work, and the results do not often show up immediately.

(from Sustainability by Design - John R. Ehrenfeld)

and here is one he included in a chapter titled,

A Radical Notion of Sustainability.

Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness

-Zhuang Zhou

幸福とは、幸福を追求することがなくなることである。

荘子

6/3 Update announcement

I just posted an article about intergeneric/interspecies grafts,
but its filed under 5/18, when I started it.
See two articles below for some more awesome grafting ideas!