Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
I wrote this a couple weeks ago in Nelson. Sorry for the delay in getting it posted...
I have been having SUCH a good time in Winlaw. Peggy's farm and Peggy and her WWOOFers, Mike and Janet, are so much fun. Peggy has a story for every conversation topic, and she always tells it in a way that makes you laugh. She spent six years in northern California (Humboldt county) learning about natural building. She bought this farm in Winlaw a few years ago. She's so laid back, in a way I find to be very balanced. She also takes on a lot of projects and knows her stuff about straw-bale, cob and light-clay construction. We helped her build part of her sauna, which she hopes to have finished by winter. We've been doing lots of plastering and some straw-bale construction. I scythed her garden perimeter and built her a cold frame for her one sweet potato plant. There's tons to do at her place, and it keeps me pretty stimulated. There are also constantly things going wrong, but it's never really a big deal to Peggy. She quickly makes light of almost any disaster. At least, this has been my experience while staying on her farm, and it's probably one of the reasons I'd have no qualms staying there for a lot longer.I have many more pictures posted now. Enjoy.
I love it in Winlaw and Nelson. Well, I still don't know much about Nelson, save the 4 or so days I've spent here, but it seems like a pretty rocking town. There's definitely a large number of well-off, somewhat alternate-reality retired folks here, too, and unfortunately some completely differently-minded former Albertans and their townie skate-park kids. There is a Wal-Mart, too. But in general I think people are youthful and positive, artistic and thoughtful. There are also quite a few people obviously affected by hard drugs, but at least they're more interesting than most of the people you see in, say, Cobourg.
Winlaw is the place for me, though. At this point I could totally see myself becoming Peggy's long-term farm assistant, as Mike seems to have (he's been there since last fall). I felt so at home at Peggy's, and I think so did Janet (she's leaving the Kootenays at the same time as I am). Peggy's expecting Janet and me to come back before long. I'd really like to. Everyone here repeats how beautiful Winlaw is in the winter. They apparently turn the rails-to-trails path into a cross-country ski path during that time, so instead of biking to the health food store, you'd ski.
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| BC 2008 |
Friday, June 20, 2008
It is the evening before Soulstice, the biggest annual celebration of the Slocan Valley. I can hear drummers practicing a distance up the hill. Soulstice just happens to be hosted by Ricardo, my dear WWOOFing host. Danielle, a longtime Winlover ("Winlove" being this village's nickname) I recently met, pointed out to me how fortunate I am to have gotten the opportunity to WWOOF for the man she dubbed the "Wonderful Wizard of Winlaw". I'm probably getting the best possible first experience of Winlaw that this village has to offer.
Ricardo and I wandered through Nelson yesterday to do a few errands. It seemed as if almost every other person we passed knew Ricardo, offering anything from a friendly greeting to an ecstatic gabfest. From the various people he met, Ricardo gathered that Soulstice is the talk of the town. He didn't even advertise this event. I guess he is a wizard.
In preparation for the visiting masses, I've been helping Ricardo get the garden looking its most fab. One thing that I've been doing is scything his cooch grass, bracken ferns and thimbleberries surrounding the fruit trees, and I daresay I like the work. I think it does my body much good. Ricardo has quite the experience using a scythe. He used to have a job bushwhacking paths through the forest using a scythe. I found a file to sharpen the blade yesterday, which probably doubled my productivity. I will have a scythe on my farm.
I posted more photos...
Ricardo and I wandered through Nelson yesterday to do a few errands. It seemed as if almost every other person we passed knew Ricardo, offering anything from a friendly greeting to an ecstatic gabfest. From the various people he met, Ricardo gathered that Soulstice is the talk of the town. He didn't even advertise this event. I guess he is a wizard.
In preparation for the visiting masses, I've been helping Ricardo get the garden looking its most fab. One thing that I've been doing is scything his cooch grass, bracken ferns and thimbleberries surrounding the fruit trees, and I daresay I like the work. I think it does my body much good. Ricardo has quite the experience using a scythe. He used to have a job bushwhacking paths through the forest using a scythe. I found a file to sharpen the blade yesterday, which probably doubled my productivity. I will have a scythe on my farm.
I posted more photos...
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| BC 2008 |
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
I have some pictures from my trip. Click below to view.
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| BC 2008 |
Labels: bc, bike trip, permaculture, photos, winlaw
Sunday, August 19, 2007
das loft is now being repaired! Some of you may have noticed that photos in archived pages of my blog have been broken for quite some time. Well, you should be very excited to know they they are steadily coming back to life!
Archives from February, 2004 until April, 2005 are now picture-positive! (Though some of the interactive panoramas may or may not work – patience, people.)
Notable memories include...
And more!
Archives from February, 2004 until April, 2005 are now picture-positive! (Though some of the interactive panoramas may or may not work – patience, people.)
Notable memories include...
And more!
loft archives
