Go West

Corn Nightmare
From Vermont we headed west, and you know what we saw?

CORN!! Mile after bloody mile of CORN!! From New York to Pennsylvania to Ohio to Indiana to Illinois to Iowa to South Dakota is a vast sea of corn. Throw in a few million hectares of soy beans and you have described the entire grain belt.

When you walk into a grocery store they often have you start in the produce section. This is a psychological ploy, since the mind interprets stacked fruits and vegetables as bounty. The mind becomes confused by all the other aisles of cans and jars. Is this bounty?

It turns out that CORN (and increasingly soy) makes the modern grocery store possible as it is a part of nearly every box, can, and jar you find there. It feeds every animal, it is used as an ingredient in almost everything, even in drinks. And now, through our rigged political process we are being forced to put ethanol into our cars in order to benefit the corn industry, a singularly stupid idea. (But just add it to the list of stupid things we are forced to do to make even more profits for big business.)

This explains why every possible square inch is now planted in corn, a dreary, dead landscape of unsightly monoculture far into the dim misty horizon. The last fourteen remaining trees in the midwest are shaking to their roots and trying to look invisible.

These signs are found all along the corn belt. They are evidence of a massive, parallel experiment going on in the arena of man-messing-with-nature. Resistance to the herbicide “Round Up” has been spliced into the corn genes so that when they spray Round Up on the corn field all but the corn will die. These signs tell the business men which of their franken-strains are performing better. Does this make you a little uncomfortable about consuming this sludge?

Family visit!
Janet's brother Duane lives in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, so we dropped in for a visit. Fortunately, Janet's mother and father had driven up too! It was a nice time.

Badlands
On the western end of South Dakota we stayed for a few days. First we did the Badlands. Isn't that a great name? The BADlands!

While Connor and I were hiking we came upon a solitary elk. He was way off in the distance, but he let us get surprisingly close before bounding away. Here is a moment just before he bolted.

Next post: more South Dakota cool stuff!

Vermont Summer Culture

Bread and Puppets

One Sunday in Vermont we went to a Bread and Puppets performance, which is very hard to describe—it needs to be experienced! It is a circus of sorts, and reminded me of Cirque du Soleil without the gymnastics, but with the European mood, and outlandish costumery. B and P was started by an Austrian that everyone knows as “Peter”, who is supposedly 70ish but is as buff as a 20 year old. At the end of the performance, bread is served from a big, outdoor oven, hence the name (and the people line up in the most polite and civil fashion, taking only one piece of bread and moving on...it's the little things that say so much, you know?)

Some of Bread and Puppets is inexplicable. For instance, the event began with a giant set of ears roaming through the gathering crowd. But B and P is mostly social commentary in the form of wicked satire. Mocking the growing surveillance society, “security cameras” moved among the crowd, taking pictures of us to be shown at our torture sessions, of course. The B and P performance consisted mostly a series of vignettes that pointed out the criminality of our so-called leaders.

My children definitely noticed these figures , as if showing a penis crosses an extra special line of taboo. But what's the reason for that, anyway? I recall the big whooping deal made in Dallas over a group of children taken to the Dallas Museum of Art where they happened to see NAKED male statues! What kind of uptight culture would get so worked up over the human body?

The B and P experience is part of the larger culture here in Vermont of rebellion to authority. Coming from Texas—and a white collar oh-so-politically-correct-corporate-culture to boot—I was quite surprised to see such open contempt for government. But the best part is the reaction among the locals to all this. They just shrug and say “that's the North East Kingdom!”, as if there is no other way things could be. And you know what? There IS no other way things should be.

North East Kingdom Music Festival

My friend Hickory got me a job working as a volunteer at a local music festival, The North East Kingdom Music Festival. This is probably the largest summer festival in this part of Vermont and still everybody seems to know everybody else.

So many locals work the show—and so pay no admission—that the show is lucky to break even. The festival happens on “Bill's land” and so everybody driving up claims to know Bill and describes how far they go back together, but we were instructed to show no mercy on such claims. I worked parking, which didn't entail too much, so I helped them with clean up the day after.

And what an awesome festival! The stage was built by "The Old School Builders", and I wish I had more photographs of it since this one does it no justice. This wooden stage could hold a battleship, and the sound quality was marvelous. There were also performances on a small stage and these I enjoyed the most. What made them special was the audience reaction as some of the bands were well-known and the locals sang and danced and brought the bands to a higher level. Plus, blue grass is naturally pleasing to me as the style demands extreme proficiency of the players. There were times I became so lost in the performances I swear I had out of body experiences. This was so incredibly fun! I'll never forget it.

One of the really cool and interesting things about our journey is to watch how our children are blossoming into maturity. Both Connor and Alexis pursued their own interests at the festival. They befriended a vendor of crystals, named Shawn, who turned out to be pretty cool and soon they were helping him sell his wares (for a cut of the action, of course). They learned how to wrap a crystal in silver wire and have since worked on their own original pieces. The social interactions they place themselves in are absolutely priceless. At times Janet and I just had to stand back and watch. We are so proud of them.

The festival capped our stay in Vermont and we had such a fun time there. Thank you again Earthdancer and Hickory. We miss you, Vermont! Here is one of Alexis' cloud pictures.

Vermont! ...... VERMONT!

I never thought much about Vermont, some back-woodsey place with lots of trees. Having now experienced Vermont, I know that it is one of the most special places in the country.

We stayed in Vermont's “Northeast Kingdom”, a province full of fiercely independent, rugged folk who despise authority and know the US government for the despot it is. (A common bumper sticker: US OUT OF VT!) We were invited to Vermont by Earthdancer of the Lettuce Bee Farm, who had seen our posting on Reachbook, and though it was farther northeast than we had planned to go, we decided to check it out.

We parked our trailer near their blueberry patch and lived there for about three weeks, carrying delicious water in buckets from a nearby spring.

With Earthdancer are Hickory and their little boy, Ari, and their farm is about 40 minutes from the capital of Montpelier. They are growing vegetables, blueberries, maple syrup, and flowers. They moved to the farm about a year ago and so are still learning how to cultivate in this unique climate. Janet and I mostly helped weed their blueberries, and Connor and Alexis played with Ari and helped with the chickens.

Vermont is a special place. The people are fit and strong. One does not see Walmarts or Targets and Montpelier has fought off having a MacDonald's built there. There are many more food co-ops here than any other part of the country. Prices are high, but this is deliberate as people are avoiding the race to the bottom that cheap prices bring. Instead of Home Depot one goes to the local hardware store and talks with the proprietor. Describing the problem to be solved and even haggling over the appropriate solution are part of the experience.

Community
One major thing we learned at the Lettuce Bee Farm is the importance of extended community, that is to be surrounded by good folk who each contribute something unique to the effort and who can be there when help is needed. Neighbors drop by all the time with goodies from their farms and barter is a preferred means of exchange. People in Vermont like their part of the world, they consider it special, and they will band together to protect it from any threat. This is worth a great deal, I think. If the just-in-time American food system stopped delivering how smart is it to be a permaculture oasis in a sea of hungry rednecks?

Culture
Another thing we learned is the importance of culture. The Northeast Kingdom comes alive in the warm months with festivals and performances. But these efforts are not lollapalooza box office; they are human scale, they are sensual, and they touch one's spirit and bring magic to life. Imagine being around a summer campfire when instruments appear and a spontaneous jam session erupts. This is the way in Vermont, where humans are still raw and unprocessed.

The buzz of summer
Of course, we haven't experienced the infamous Vermont winter. One measure of how tough it must be is to observe how frenetic creatures (including the humans) are during the summer. Warm months are spent feasting, gathering, preparing because when winter comes the time is over. Vermont mosquitoes raise the violence to a new level: whoever heard of mosquitoes biting through thick sweats!?

One positive about a long winter is that it provides an opportunity to pick up an instrument, or finally read The Brothers Karamazov, or learn to program. I spoke to one fellow, Nathan, who says he absolutely loves the winter and is counting the days until he can strap on his nordic skis.

Traffic
Vermont society is civil, even on the roads. Unlike big cities where anonymity gives rise to outrageous acts of incivility, Vermonters drive as if they might have to talk with you later, because they probably will! We really noticed this when we drove out of Vermont. As soon as we reached New York state, the behavior of other drivers had become openly hostile.

Bears!
One day we were walking into the woods when we saw this bear track. (Black bears are not uncommon in the Vermont forests.) It was right about then when Alexis and Janet heard in the bushes near us a couple of grunts from something that possessed a very large diaphragm. We decided to back out of there right away. Who knows? Black bears tend to shy away from humans, but if it's a mama with a cub she might get protective and kill us and feed our warm dead corpses to her baby. Or maybe just sniff us and walk away.

It's hard to describe the fear and electric awareness that one gets from encountering a big animal in the wild. Too bad such experiences have become so uncommon in our hyper-pasteurized society. This moose was standing far away in someone's field.

Ich bin ein Vermonter!
Though we have concerns about the winters and the short growing season, we really like Vermont. When we met Earthdancer and Hickory it was like saying hello again to old friends, and we learned a lot from them in a short time. We are certain we'll cross paths with them again.
There is much more to say about Vermont, so stay tuned.

The Grose's visit Green Trust

Steve Spence, of Green Trust in upstate New York, was kind enough to allow us to drop in on short notice. We were attracted to the hands-on, technical nature of the Green Trust operation which specializes in alternative power.

We parked on their land and stayed for almost two weeks. Steve's house is off-grid, and uses mostly solar panels for power. They are getting a motor set up to generate supplemental electricity and which will run on vegetable oil, but presently they run a gasoline generator when their solar battery bank gets low. It was here that I decided to fit a solar panel on my trailer as its limitations for dry camping had become obvious. Let me explain.

"Dry camping" is the term for parking a trailer somewhere that has no electrical or water utilities. An RV is designed to run on its 12 volt battery by default, but only certain things work in 12 volt mode. Big appliances, like the air conditioner, simply don't work. When we pulled into Green Trust, nothing worked in 12 volt mode, and Steve helped us troubleshoot. First, we replaced the old coach battery with a marine battery. Then, two blown fuses later we had lights. For several days we had been trying to function inside with flashlights. What an uplifting psychological effect simple lights at night can make!

But there is no way to charge the coach battery other than by plugging the trailer into a 120 volt outlet, so one can't dry camp for long before the battery dies. Enter the solar panel, which should be standard on any RV, in my opinion. A solar panel keeps the battery charged anytime the sun hits the panel, including when one is driving down the road.

The solution I opted for was the simplest possible design, a solar panel, and a charge controller, hooked to the battery (plus the wire, some attaching hardware, and a used tube of sikaflex.) The whole setup cost $504. I actually waited until I got to Vermont to purchase this stuff as there is a local store one can walk into and talk to someone, a rare commodity as most solar panels are being purchased over the internet. I'll spare you the details of running the wiring through the inside of a tiny trailer which was a pain in the behind--the charge controller is inside a cabinet--but now it's done.

Woodhenge
One afternoon we drove down to a nearby community called "Woodhenge" and got a tour by a nice fellow named Phil. The main house at Woodhenge is heated by a blast furnace that heats a huge column of sand that runs through the center of the round, 2 story house. Feed the furnace in the morning to heat the sand, and coast on the residuals for the rest of the day. Here is a picture of the top of the house where the column and the roof meet. But the house stays cool in the summer too. When we walked in it felt like the place was air conditioned. Thanks for the tour, Phil.


Mennonite Neighbors
Green Trust is active in the local community and will advise local folk on alternative power in exchange for barter items, like a baby pig or two. One evening a couple of the local Mennonite farmers came by and gave me a tour of their diesel VW jetta which runs on vegetable oil. These Mennonite and Amish farmers are way ahead of most of us when it comes to living independently, as they've been doing it for centuries. Growing crops, animal husbandry, welding, mechanics, governance, they know it all.

I had a very interesting conversation with one of these fellows, Melvin, on religion. Turns out his family is former Mennonite as his father had developed doctrinal differences with the church. Specifically, this man thought growing and using tobacco was not Christian. Also, he felt the Bible teaches that to take Jesus into one's heart is the path to heaven and it bothered him at funerals when they would say "we hope Brother Jeb goes to heaven". The picture that emerges is that Melvin's father is a man of deep, thoughtful morality and a brave leader, but for his outspoken nature he was asked to leave the Mennonite church.

"Just as well", said Melvin. When I asked why, he said "Why should I have to wear a black coat and hat to church? Why should anyone tell me what to wear? Is it anyone's business what I wear?" And I agree with you on that, Brother Melvin. Sounds like you are cut from the same cloth as your father.

We cross the Canadian border
On Saturday, July 21 we went with the Spence family to Upper Canada Village, a 19th century town featuring traditional solutions to life's demands before electricity and gasoline. Here are Linda and Matthew in front of the old grain mill. What a fun trip that was.








Just for fun I've included a picture of this snake I caught one day. And here is a picture of Rascal, who constantly hung out by our trailer begging us to play catch.

Thanks for having us, Green Trust!

Niagara Falls!

We headed from Amish country in Pennsylvania to New York state where we wanted to hook up with the Fellowship Community, (which later fell through). But since we were in the area we took some time out to go to Niagara Falls. And even though it has been milked for just about every commercial opportunity, it is still a fantastic place!

I can only imagine what a wild and sacred place this must have been when the water flowed naturally and before they placed a city around it. As I mentioned somewhere already, we learned they got tired of the erosion that always accompanies waterfalls and so now limit the amount of water flow to just enough to keep us rubes entertained without encouraging erosion.

We rode on the boats that go into Horseshoe Falls, known as the Maid of the Mist tour. See the boat in the picture that looks so miniscule and insignificant, buffeted about by nature's forces? This was my favorite activity. It's hard to describe the sensation of being in the midst of such swirling chaos, so just do it! (These are stock pictures as I forgot my digital camera.)

We also went down on the catwalks next to the Bridal Veil Falls, called the Cave of the Winds tour. Tourists are given rain gear and sandals for these tours and then heavily encouraged to give them back to give to the world's poor.

Later, at the campground where we stayed we were treated to a very nice, human-scale 4^th of July fireworks display. Though it was small, it was as entertaining as any fireworks performance I've been to, but the cool thing is afterwards they followed it up with a massive bonfire! I don't know what it is about huge fires, but humans love them.

Next post: Green-Trust!