north branch to turner, maine

i tried to hitch to turner, where i was invited by someone on couchsurfing.org, in the evening on thursday. the folks living in the house on the corner where i was hitching came out to see if i needed any help. when they understood my situation they said i could sleep in the trailer in the back yard if i didn't get a ride. after i had sat there trying to thumb a ride for about forty minutes a motorcyclist stopped to talk to me and confirmed my suspicion, that hitching south to belfast first would be quicker, as fewer vehicles traveled this smaller highway west out of monroe.
i decided to go back to north branch farm for another night and asked paul, the man of this house, if they would like to do breakfast in the morning. bacon and eggs...? he said sure, and that he had to bring one of his dogs to the vet in the morning, so i could get a ride in to belfast after breakfast!

it was a wonderful dinner and evening with the whole north branch family, including relatives who live in the area. the meal was potluck style and one family brought fixings for spring rolls! it was a wonderful way to enjoy the roasted chicken and fresh vegetables. an especially wonderful ingredient was the wild leek, a crisp and mellow, and sweet allium.
two of the guests for dinner were also traveling around the u.s. kind of improvisationally like i am. their names were pete and lauren, and i hope to hear more about their story and run into them again father along, as they are also headed west at this point.
before bed i noticed the attractive poster of 2012 events at newforest institute and thought, 'what i pity i didn't know of this before!'. i would have liked to visit and help out there. when i looked on their website i noticed that their regular workparty day was friday. so now i was feeling like maybe i should not be in such a rush to get to turner and on to vermont, but should go see this place while i have the chance. so i slept on it.

in the morning i followed through with going to have breakfast with paul, but when i knocked on his door there was no answer. i waited there for about 45 minutes and then decided it was a sign that i was supposed to go to newforest. so i bicycled this wooded country road over to brooks. when i got there the first guy i met was also a visitor. he said it was a 'surprise day off' for everyone, but there were a couple people inside i could talk to before they left. i met lisa, one of the staff, who said there are big changes happening in the organization and a lot of potential for the 300acre property. it is primarily a permaculture demonstration site and training center.
the guy i met and his friend were just about to take off south, going through belfast, to meet up with another ride going to a permaculture conference in mass. so i somehow managed to squeeze in the back seat of their smallisch 4-door with all my bags and bicycle and got a ride to the highway i would take west. the first thing i asked in the car was, 'so... what do you guys think of the potential for human evolution in this time?' the response was giggles. i proceeded to tell them about the hoop tour and some of what i am excited about. when i told them i had just confirmed i would be visiting joseph jenkins, author of the humanure handbook, they told me they had just slapped together a bucket toilet of his design for lisa, as she needed one this weekend!

i got three more rides and did a little bicycling to arrive in auburn at axis natural food store, where my host sherwin works. he tok a break and gave me a ride up to his place in turner after i took a look around and purchased a few things for dinner.
i was invited to 'noise night', where sherwin was going in another town, but decided to have a relaxing evening and get to bed earlier. before making dinner i went for a dip in the river and paid a visit to nezinscot farm. this brilliant place of positive change is a mile and a half from the old farm house in turner where i was staying. i bought more amazing food, including goat yogurt and lamb kidney produced on the farm. one guy doing some painting there told me when i inquired that the owner, gloria, had asked him one day, 'are you as busy as you want to be?' and had proposed he come do some painting for her. he seemed really happy to be there.
the old issue of acres magazine that i picked up off the top of the stack had the 'focus' of compost. i read some of an old article by a man named newman turner in which he describes the process of composting at goosegreen farm back in the 40s-50s. i was allowed to take the magazine with me, and i finished the article back at the house. very enlightening!