folk school in brasstown

my friend lisa, who had been a long-term work study at the folk school years ago, hooked me up to stay with her friends linda and tom. the night i arrived they were out to a movie, and i showed up just before they left. i relaxed and had something to eat, then went up to the school to check it out and find my friend hannah, who's workstudy period had just ended. she is a friend i met through contra dancing on lopez island, near where i was living in washington before this trip. i had forgotten she would be at the folk school at this time, so i was pleasantly surprised when i heard from linda that she was here! i was a little bummed that i had not gotten there on the 5th to attend the contra dance, which was also her birthday. and this saturday there was no contra dance! but that is just how it happened. there were other pleasant experiences, and at least i still caught her before she left.

we had a nice fire out behind the blacksmith shop that first night, which i understand is a tradition of the workstudies there. linda and tom came out after their movie and there was much good conversation. the fireflies were more abundant than i have ever seen! magical sight. the locals said it is unusual and must have something to do with the unusual weather, which has been very wet.

i explored the herb garden and large vegetable garden on my own. they said they eat greens grown there every day, but there was still so much unharvested! maybe folks are not eating as much greens as i would, which is usually the case i find. they are getting chickens soon, and the excess greens can be fed to them! there is a grace about that kind of farm ecosystem.

greens are also great for compost! the large pallet bins were in pretty good order, but there were some improvements that could be made. one thing was that the materials were piled on haphazardly, forming a peak, which tends to shed water. was this purposeful since theere had be a lot of rain? normally you want to catch as much water as you can to keep the pile highly active. this is achieved by keeping the top of the pile flat or with a slight basin. another thing was that cover material had not been spread over the most recent deposit of kitchen scraps. flies were loving it! i thought i might use woodchips from the wood shop, but then found moldy hay near the bins, which seemed to be what was used normally. i spread out the layer of food scraps and weeds evenly, then put a nice, thick layer of hay over that. all tidy and clean! last, i gave the pile a good watering.

i was excited to see a variety of herbs growing all over the vegetable garden in addition to the designated herb and flower garden. i picked chocolate mint, lemon balm, thyme, and sage for tea, which i shared with the workstudies. these kinds of perenial plants are important bee forage as they bloom at different times throughout the growing season, sometimes on into the fall. there are four towers of bee boxes in the folkschool garden, which surely produce some wonderful honey.

during my stay i helped in linda's work by sweeping the floor of the class kitchen and walking the dogs with her one morning. when they went to harvest one of their humanure compost bins i helped a little in tearing free the wire cage from where it was bound by roots. the bin was a mass of roots and cover material that had not decomposed. there was no sign of the finished compost remaining, and it was rather dry. i think the bin could have used more moisture throughout it's two and a half year life, and that it would not have been overtaken by roots if it were located away from trees and shrubs. i also think the system could benefit from being combined with their food scraps and other plant materials, like joseph jenkins advocates.
i thought it was pretty awesome that i got to stay with these folks who do humanure composting! they use a little bucket toilet of very simple design.

linda is the coordinator of the community garden in brasstown and also of a tiny natural food store called 'vital vittles'. i would have liked to work with her in the garden, but time was short and i prioritized other activities. i went for a nice walk with hannah to town on the second day and took a peek at the garden and shop. i sensed a lot of vitality and potential for growth in these places.

tom is a woodworker with a little shop in their cozy home. he let me use his whet stones for sharpening my carving knives. now i can continue on the couple of carving projects i am carrying with me, a miniature Northwest Native style mask and a spoon i made at Winter Count that is almost finished.

one of my favorite things about staying with linda and tom was that incredible breakfasts where made on the woodstove both mornings! local eggs, sausage, greens, toasted sourdough, raw cheese...