Barn Again!

The Barn Where the Magic Happens!

I got to sing in a barn this weekend; a lovely old barn that resides at the Christmas Tree farm in Carnation, WA. It is the home of Maren Van Nostrand and Byron Rick's brainchild, Soundfalls Music Institute. The mission behind Soundfalls is that of working on personal growth in tandem with building community by sharing music performance and dance. I was part of their quarterly radio / variety show on Saturday night. It was almost like stepping back in time. The feeling of community pulsed in the barn.  Several acts were featured, including a young artist, who couldn't have been more than 13. Though she sang just one song, I was both inspired and moved to see this youngster sing and play her heart out and look as relaxed as if she were doing it in her living room. I felt blessed to have been invited to perform within this wonderfully supportive community.

Maren and Byron are onto something with Soundfalls. They are helping us reclaim what so many of us have lost with our busy modern lives..... They are doing it with passion, love, and pure joy.

Growing a Child

Me...weeding the beds, back at the ranch...





Mom in her Garden

I decided to help my folks out today in their yard...they help me with so much, it is the least I can do. As a 41 year old woman I no longer resent being given a bucket, trowel and clippers and being told, "can you weed this row here...?" No longer does my Mom say, "do a good job or you will have to do it again..." No longer am I thinking who I can be out playing with and how horrible it is to be weeding a garden back at the ranch, when other kids are playing in the summer sun. I now enjoy gardening as it allows me to live in the moment and be part of a stillness and quiet.  I like to think the many jobs around the house that Mom gave us kids helped us grow into  hard working people. Maybe that is how you grow children...?  I will never work as hard and endlessly as my parents do. I think with each generation into modernity it just changes....

Folk Love.....Folk....Vashon Folk Festival

Alex, the Next Generation of Folk...!

One of the many reasons I love performing traditional folk music (which is an umbrella term, but will use this for brevity sake) so much is because it is for all people and audiences. There is nothing that pleases me more, as a performer and an audience member, than seeing young, old and all those in the middle enjoying the same music. This is community. Community abounds at little festivals like the Vashon Winery Folk Festival. We are starved for community in modern America. We need to grab it where and when we can,  participate, nurture and watch it grow, just like a garden.  Music and community will nourish our souls....

The Apple of the Earth, la Pomme de Terre...

Spuds!



 Mining for gold….yukon gold and fingerling potatoes, don’t you know. Did you know that if you plant one potato in the ground within a couple months you can harvest upwards of 20 potatoes from each plant? I was incredulous as I was digging with my hands at the Lanphear farm and finding gem after delicious gem ….I spent about one hour in the row of potatoes, harvesting.  

 A few days later, as I vacationed at EagleHeights cottage, where it is known as a B & V (Bed and Vegetables), my sister Debbie pointed out the crop of potatoes that was growing in one of the raised beds. I didn’t even notice they were there.  I had been boasting of the jewels that I had harvested at the farm but I didn’t even see the crop at the B & V that was staring me down each time I walked through the front gate.  Deb also showed me how to easily harvest the spuds with a pitchfork and voila.

I have a lot to learn.

My Poor Aching Back...post by: "Farmer Wanna-Be..."

Lambsquarter

My finished rows will sprout beets, turnips, and several variety of carrots!

I spent 4 lovely and challenging hours weeding, digging, cultivating and sowing on my favorite island in the world this past weekend....Vashon. (Vashon is a little island in Puget Sound, just a 15 minute ferry ride from West Seattle). Rebecca, the farm mistress wanted to give me a different experience from last time and had me prep two rows for planting: turnip, beets and several variety of carrots. I had to first weed the long beds and rid them of the lambsquarter (weed), which I learned is part of the quinoa family. Incidentally, it is a lovely weed that is easy to pull from the earth, not to mention, you can also eat the greens from this plant. I think I'll call it a friendly weed!  Next, I dug out compost from the pile and spread it along my rows.  Another important step is the spreading of organic fertilizer. And, yes, more tilling. Finally, it was time to carve out little trenches, plant the seed and sprinkle earth on top. Four hours later I was finished. My poor back was aching but I was proud of myself and my work. I loved every minute of working with the earth and treating it with respect with organic farming practices. I received gifts from nature that day... the gentle breeze from the wind, the heat and golden rays from the sun shining on my face....and music from the birds that sang their hearts out, seemingly just for me... filling the air with their beautiful song...

Je suis RADICAL?

Me and One of the Ladies...

Who knew that I would ever be "a radical"? I have always been, so, oh you know, "middle of the road". Who knew that watching the movie, "Food, Inc." would begin a FEEDING frenzy toward my desire to investigate the source of my food and turn into an obsession of epic proportions! Who knew it would lead to volunteer WWOOFing...milking goats, weeding rows of eggplant and peppers and communing with daddy long legs. I had been asking the universe for several months to be granted a new passion, to give my life that certain spark that I have felt for years on my journey as a traditional folk singer, and poof! Voila! Ask and ye shall receive...I'm writing this blog to share my adventures on folk , farming and freedom!