asheville

oh my, a lot happened during the week i was in asheville!

it turned out my host linda was driving to asheville on sunday and was able to give me and the bicycle a ride! once again my offer of gas money was kindly refused. thank you linda for your support!

asheville is nestled in lush forest green. the old downtown area has a vibrant atmosphere of human activity. i enjoyed the public art both commissioned and spontaneous. there is quite a bit of tasteful graffiti, especially in the river arts district.

i arrived on sunday, and for the first couple nights i stayed at the home of linda's son, able, and his girlfriend. they were in new york for the week, attending a family gathering with linda. when i was dropped off at their house they were already away, so i didn't get to meet them. i felt a little awkward staying in their house because of that, but since we also have a good mutual friend, and linda was so encouraging that it would be fine, i decided to enjoy having a place to myself for a couple nights. what a luxury! i'm so grateful for being given this time to just sort of flop. as a thank you to them i tidied up a bit, with extra care in the bathroom, leaving the place a little better than i'd found it. there was a plaque on the wall that said, 'i keep my home clean enough to be safe, but dirty enough to be happy', or something like that. so i didn't clean TOO much.

while in savannah, with the twelve tribes community there, i had decided i would visit gladheart farm in asheville. it is clear to anyone i stay with how much i care about composting and working with nature to produce our food. when i'm with people who claim they want to do these things but do not take action towards it, then conflict arises in me. for this reason i was sometimes uncomfortable with how things were done in the savannah community. they thought i would have an easier time, would fit in better, at the farm communities. i might feel more satisfied with the lifestyle.
so i went out to stay with them tuesday night. i did enjoy the place and people very much. i once again was offered great hospitality and included in their gatherings. the farm is very ordered, as is the way of these people generally, and many crops were well on their way, growing well. along with a couple of woofers i helped with competition control in long rows of young carrots. with another volunteer temporarily residing at the farm i weeded and pulled hay mulch away from well-established garlic. there had been so much moisture that mold was causing damage to this crop.

i also got the opportunity to build a compost pile! to take full advantage of this opportunity to be helpful, i got permission and had a little workshop with the two wooffers. HOW TO ASSEMBLE A THERMOPHILIC COMPOST PILE. we layered moldy hay with food scraps and green plant material, and ended up with a good start to the pile.
when i went back for another night on friday i checked in on the pile and saw that next to it a load of beautiful kale had been dumped. obviously the information about how to add a layer to the pile was not share with everyone who needed it. i really hope this works out for the benefit of the farm there. i have done what i could to make it possible, short of staying there to oversee the process myself.

this is a picture of me at the farm

the sacred embodiment center is another place i got involved throughout my time in asheville. monday morning i tried to attend 'vipassana style' meditation, but the facilitator was not there, so i meditated ouside the door in the alley. it was really nice, even with the presence of a dump truck at one point. i cooked for the 'come-unity time' on tuesday, attended an amazing song circle wednesday night, and a 'love in' on saturday night. i brought fresh herbs from the farm and made tea to share. from this community i got so much support and encouragement for the hoop tour and i really appreciated having a space i could express myself and feel relaxed with others.

the cooperative natural food store is where i bought food. it is a great example of a coop! it was very useful to me to have access to the internet through their courtesy computer. i found the staff there to be genuinely kind a friendly.

i stuck around 'til sunday partly because i wanted to attend a dance event, sometimes called 'dance church, which the asheville movement collective puts on. it was one of the most fun and enlivening exploratory experiences of my life. perhaps i will write more about this later...

also attended two contra dances while in asheville! one was on monday night and the other was thursday. when i arrived on monday and was locking up my bike i came face to face with an old friend from seattle! it was her first contra dance and i tutored her a little. there were so many very skilled dancers around my age that it make the dance all the more fun! the band, 'devanney's goat', was one of the most unique sounding i've ever heard at a contra dance. thursday it was the same band and caller, but this one was out at warren wilson college, at the 'old farmer's ball'. the caller wore these atrocious plaid pants and kept telling us how he loved us.

i learned of this composting operation near asheville that sounds pretty cool, but i was not able to visit them.

another highlight was that i was taken out to tea on two occasions at this tea house called dobra tea!