Mujer Energia

On Friday, June 11th- Those who could, came together to create more progress in the jardin - adjusting the rows that had been started… interesting thing was- only women came. 3 mujeres took tool to soil and carved out 7 tilled rows & 2 untilled- & a back walkway for easy access to composting materials. The work was difficult and each of us had to stop a few times and drink water, trade tools, readjust ourselves.
 

The great thing was that we all knew what had to be done clearly and moved forward from there. We conversed and caught up on 'sister time', but still took time to ourselves and quietly took notice of the Earth, the amazing soil, the wind, birds, and treasures the ground still had to share  with us.

It was good female energy & I believe it's left a balanced and steady calm over the jardin..esp because the men had first taken on the endeavor.

We finished just as the Sun began to cast nightly shadows on everything.. And we saw our silhouettes standing strong against the red casita that separates our plots. 

Paz.

Carving Space

I wrote this 6/6/10- the day after we first went out to the jardin- to my fellow garden workers. i humbly share pieces with you:

It felt so good to be out in the garden again. I think that the time the jardin had 'off' (not being used and covered with grass/leaves/etc) helped it survive over the extremely crazy winter we went through here in Houston. My home lost cactus and aloe vera plants to the freeze that we had enjoyed for many years- it was cold!
Anyway, I think the soil looked great once we were done uncovering both areas.
The heat now is what is immense. Thank you Jess & Mate for bringing water to share, Amber for the Gatorade, and Myra for the PB & J Sandwiches. Coming together and sharing what we have with full knowledge that it will be reciprocated ~ but with little care if it will be, is part of what communal working is about. We want to be there, we want to grow, we know what's to be done to make it happen- and that, to me, is a huge part of what drives the work and the onda of the jardin. The details of that- we leave to conversations in the jardin.

Please lets keep in mind that the Sun is heavy now & that has the potential to create sunburn, excess sweating, headaches, wetness, discomfort, dehydration, and thus, frustration. The beautiful thing about this is that it can all be prevented by taking proper precautions while we are working. You know your body better than anyone, so work with this in mind.

Another thing I thought to share is the fact that most of the people involved are conscious, revolutionary thinkers. We are most definitely all people that know that the energy we exhibit is the energy that will exist in all the things we are manifesting constantly (every day, hour, min, second) - on several levels at once. Everything we feel & do in the garden is felt by Tonantzin/ Mother Earth. Of course, because we have our hands in her.

We maintained this ideology & onda (feeling/mood) in the Jardin great last year- It's an amazing thing and I know we all felt it again when we saw the soil. When I picked weeds and broke apart land, it wasn't just so that we could plant food, it was also because as I physically did those things, I was mentally breaking down to rebuild, giving action to the words that I use & the things that I discuss, working on social living/relationships with friends I trust with mySelf, partaking in creating balance in the Universe, and creating a space for people of color that does not rely on 'the powers that be' to decide whether I can eat, coexist, and live.

All of these thoughts came to me while we worked and when I came back in the afternoon to the plots to reflect.
I'm excited about the next phases and cannot wait to see the maize standing tall again soon!


Peace y Tiahui!!

Dirt in my fingernails..

This past Saturday was the very first day I worked in the Jardin since last summer. It has been a long time, lots of things have changed in the yarda and in life for all of us. Having the opportunity to work in the garden is beyond words for me at this point. There is a beautiful vibe that was created through last year's trial and error experiences, I hope that we can keep the onda of the jardin that way this year and move forward from Saturday into what we plan on being a Jardin of love, commitment y comunidad.