Remember this post urging you to be an explorer of the world? Well, Keri Smith's book has been released and I have an extra copy for one lucky Petals and Pedals reader! **
Aside from the excitement of the new book things are good'n calm around our little Sweet Haven Farm. The chickens are settling in, curious neighbors have come by to say hi and meet the girls, and there's a whole lot of chicken hypnosis around our house. The cats and dogs are curious, and Charlie and I seem to endlessly stare at them as they peck around the yard, picking up bugs and scratching the dirt. To say we watch them too much might un-zen the whole activity, they're fascinating beyond expectation. And they scare the bejeebus out of the Sneak; he watches them too, but from a good 20 feet away or so. So that's sort of fun to watch, too.
While I'm still learning a lot about how to care for them from books and websites, a lot of the learning curve is through watching and processing. A lot of life is like that, isn't it?
MiniMajellen found things zine by Shelbyville. Porcelain Branch from Brooklyn ReHab. Feather Ornaments by Roost available through Velocity Art and Design. Large Nest Bowl by Shannon Garson via Lille.
I've decide to take note of this little lesson, and try to approach the world more open-mindedly and with greater patience in understanding. You know the ol' "the more you know the less you know approach." So while my 7 girls determine pecking order with nearly choreographed grace, I watch with awe, understanding that as the world changes so quickly, nature keeps things moving as they should.
I believe we do hinder and hurt nature, but I'm also learning that sitting still and watching will reconnect me to the world. That's the chicken hypnosis: the calm peephole in the middle of a rapidly changing world.
When I talk ecology and environment to others, I get filled with passion and despair, a desperate need to explain how our actions affect our surroundings. Don't get me wrong, the hens haven't convinced me that there is no such thing as global warming, but they have convinced me of the strength in adaptation. That as I work to right my environmental wrongs (replacing invasive exotics with native plants for starters) they'll help break the plant matter down into nutrient rich poop, lightly tilling the dirt by scratching and enriching it by just being themselves.
What a big lesson to learn.
And that's where How to be an explorer of the world comes into all of this philosophizing. You may have chickens, you may not, but we all need to give ourselves permission to open our eyes to the world outside of what we see in everyday living. Keri Smith does that brilliantly with all of her work, and this book is no different. It's not a book for rote learning, it's 204 pages giving you full permission to look all around and find nature in everything, and that's a beautiful thing, isn't it?
Collection Calendar illustrating things found on walks by Seventy and Sunny. Karin Eriksson's Caress Pebbles, via Manos. Design Night's Nature Boy bag--the perfect little bag for gathering collections (also available in Nature Girl). Pod Serve ware by Aram, available through Aram.
** How do you get the book? One person who comments will be picked at random from an actual hat. All you have to do (it's real simple!) is pick up 3 "unnatural" items you find on a walk through your hood--this way you're picking up litter but also discovering the details around you. List them in your comment, and if you want an extra chance, add them to the Punk Rawk Gardening group on flickr! Bonus points?? I know, I'm too good to you, but really, you want this book even more than you think you do! Comments must be made before Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 11:59 PM (east coast time).
Renee Garner has a passion to make things grow, although her brownish
thumb wants her to believe otherwise. When mud pies aren't on the
menu, you can find her doodling the days away at Wolfie and the Sneak.
