cumberland

when i went to help with silk screening my first day in portland i found a flyer with a schedule of events at a healing arts center called bhakti in motion. i was attracted to an event scheduled for july fifth called 're-wilding workshop', which would be followed by a 'community feast'. that sounded right up my alley. it was a good enough reason to stick around portland for another day. as i explored portland i noticed there were many more events on the horizon that could keep me even longer. i had to resist the temptation.

when i went to the yoga center to find out more details about the event(i had not noticed or thought to call the phone number on the card) i met kara, who was about to begin a massage on a client. she informed me that the event i was interested in had been postponed. i then told her i was looking for a place to stay the night and asked if she knew anyone who participates in couchsurfing.org. "well, i do." she said. and we decided to check in later after she had talked to her housemates.

i went for a ride out to South Portland, where i found a little, unkempt wilderness area on the water to eat lunch and then rode a little way on the recreational trail that heads out towards the lighthouses. one woman i talked to was working in her little garden cut out of the grass across the trail from her house. she said they had tried to compost a pile of leaves, but it had not decomposed much, perhaps due to not having enough grass in it. as i rode on i saw a gardener with a bunch of grass clippings in the back of his truck, and i thought, "maybe he would like to donate them to this woman for her compost pile!" but it turned out he takes the clippings to a recycling center in his home town of Cape Elizabeth, where they are composted by the good folks of 'Jordan's' farm and sold back to the gardeners who paid them to compost it! cool to hear about how this is happening. this nice gardener fellow told me some of the landscaping businesses are starting to 'do it themselves'. awesome.

i think i left the hula hoop, which i had been carrying since guilford, at a very stylish cafe in south portland called verbena. i stopped there on the way back to get water and see what it felt like inside. the energy of the place was really pleasant and i received great service. when i realized the hoop was lost was when i was explaining about my trip to a cycling woman who i met on the way to cumberland. i was bummed to have lost the hoop, but thought there must be some reason...

the first thing i noticed at the house when i arrived was a small pile of hula hoops near the front door. my hosts were extremely warm to me. i slept under 'the pyramid' and two of the housemates joined with me in meditation there in the morning. they use this simple wooden shape for energetic enhancement. i spent some of the next day playing and doing crafts with the kids. this was a very nourishing kind of family experience for me.
i asked if they would be willing to part with any of their hoops and the first one i was the one i would take. it was black with blue and white stripes, matching my general color scheme. guess i lost that other one so i could graduate to this one, which i can actually use! the other one was too light and small.