Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.

And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.

When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.

Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.

Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.

Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.

Listen to carrion -- put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.

Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?

Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.

As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go.

Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

- Wendell Berry

* this poem has continued throughout the years to be a manifesto of sorts to the hope we hold so closely, the love we hope to give, how we in some small way desire to think & practice. enjoy.

Eastering

Why this sadness toward spring?
Half smiles at the first yellow flowers,
Tears pooling for not reason with each rain and sunset?
Each year this green show
blows wide winter's covering and lets us see
the swell and push of beginning again.
Am I meant to rise too?
To push away what leans against the door of my pinched heart?
I cannot.
Compassion for myself
is a slow growing crop,
however carefully tended
it yields an unreliable harvest.
These resurrections
ask more of me than I can give
every time
this hurts more
than the pains of my body
than the old world full of sorrows
this offering of love
this unbearable git of another chance.

- Barbara Pescan

If you haven't heard of TED, you should know about it.

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a healthy blur.

in the advent of spring jake & i have found ourselves enjoying the delights of spring time. riding our bikes. enjoying picnics & long walk (go ahead and say it, "on the beach"). spending from 5:17pm - 7:30pm outside laughing. fresh fruits & vegetables that are finding their way into season. we're finding ourselves once again in the doing rather than being, and for now - that's okay. my body has been longing to become friends with the warm wind once again & my toes have found their way out of hibernation. in addition we have had the delight of spending the last couple weekend with friends both visiting us in our home as well as welcoming us into their home.

yummm... chocolate peanut butter cupcakes + a couple tangy licks from the support staff.

lauren helping destiny with a homework assignment on explaining global warming, presenting its long term effects and then attempting to persuade the reader (through a poster presentation) the importance of addressing global warming and how to do so (ex: don't keep your hair straightener plugged in all day. she's a bright one).

the ladies at the conservatory.

the men lookin' thrilled.

the following day our good friend josh left us a message, "cancel all of your plans, you don't have any other option, we'll be at your house at noon." that afternoon josh & a couple friends presented themselves at our door and took us to a White Sox vs. Tigers baseball game. When told where we would be going, jake's responded, "that's baseball right?"

at the top of the 4th inning the score was something ridiculous like White Sox 7, Tigers 0. It got sad. For moral support we flipped the caps, which elicited an increased number of "boos" and "hisses" from behind. yet, we stuck with them, josh in his redwings jersey, me in my Tigers cap. we were a magical team, with the magic of dry wonderbread.

this weekend lauren offered us a ride to purdue for a couple nights of simple friend enjoyment. each time we head south diana & ruben blow up their air mattress & allow us to stay with them, share in meals together with them and host any number of friends who stop by in the evenings. we cannot thank them enough for their kindness each visit.

the following morning we ran into the "Complicated" Women of breaksfast club

that evening diana & i enjoyed partaking together in our newly christened ritual, baking vegan cupcakes for all to enjoy. this visits choice of recipe: lime & coconut cupcakes.

this picture you get to make up your own caption to. so many dynamics occurring in this one shot.

and lastly:natural urban gardening.

in addition to all of what has been mentioned above, we have been so grateful to have been a part of some really great conversations about love, faith, trust, finances, community, beauty, sensuality, gardening, vermicomposting, sustainability, etc. so many "catch" words for the time. yet, all great topics which have continued to give guidance to the direction life seems to be taking both jake & i together.

change. making the decision to let it happen and embracing with laughter & trust whatever comes our way.

can't keep myself inside.

i just can't find a reason to do so.
lately i feel as though a resurgence of life has found it's way into each step. i just can't keep myself inside. over the last two weeks we have been so grateful to have found ourselves more in conversation with our neighbors & old friends. their energy, love and kindness have all been such gifts.

on that note - we're headed off to a vermicompost party this evening. afterwards we're headed off to Purdue with a free ride and some hopeful good times.

in the meantime, here are some handsome treats for the eyes from the Garfield Park Conservatory.

sliced finger.

this evening i was looking forward with anticipation to write. both jake & i have found ourselves in the midst of free flowing grace & rejuvenation. sneaking up from behind spring has caught our attention and we have been taken to love. i so deeply wanted to share what this spiritual experience has been like for th both of us, and as cory would say, "in a both both plural and singular way."

yet, this evening when the kids were over i was cutting us some cheese, fancy cheese that is - it was their night to try something new instead of the same ole' bran flakes & yogurt. in cutting the cheese (giggle, giggle) i sliced my finger and it hurts. it's also extremely awkward to attempt at typing with a long piece of jake's old underwear wrapped around my left hand ring finger, taped in place. reduce (not using disposal band-aids), reuse (we can use this bandage again after a nice washing), and recycle (it was jake's underwear at one time).

so tonight, a couple picture with short stories. perhaps next time - thoughts.

half of our garden. please don't ask what we're planting because all i have for you is "flowers & herbs!" we didn't label to keep us guessing. in the midst of cleaning though i took out the seed packages with the names and threw them in the recycling, which is long gone by now. see below the beautiful jars of yummy treats for two of my sisters for my birthday (which was great!): homemade peanut butter, barley, beans, olive oil, honey, beans, an empty candy jar (which we are intentionally keeping empty at this time), and popcorn.

new life.

on Sunday we headed up to Fox Lake for a day of laying out in the sun, walking, kissing, playing and motor cycle riding. our batteries in our camera ran out after this picture. therefore, this is all we have from our day away. previous to this day we were gifted with the opportunity to attend deep shift. you can read more about out time at our friend Rebecca's blog. ah - so many thoughts!

bike season is officially back! our my way to work this morning though i found myself in a bit of a bind,, literally, as my jean skirt kept on slipping under the back break and wedging itself between my break and back wheel. ugh! with forethought though i planned for my ride home to be more of a success than the ride to work. my solution: as seen above. it worked like a dream.

tonight the kids thought it was funny to lick dirt. i thought it was funny too and let them continue to do so, laughing. it's probably better than most of the crap they put in their bodies anyway.

night lights in our home.

spring.

i didn't understand the psychological toll winter had taken on my soul until spring. now i dance with notice of buds beginning to bring life to the cryptic trees. i jumped with joy sunday evening at the sound of our beloved ice cream truck. people are out! we're out! our windows are open as the dark peeks it's way into the night and the sun is greeting us earlier and earlier as our internal clocks find their rhythm with birds songs once again.

to ring in the season of resurrection we spent friday evening planting herbs & wildflowers all over our home, placing each box of hopeful beauty as directly into the sun as possible.

four days of growth. look how they lean to the sun.

our morning light.

five days growth! what are we ever going to do with so many flowers!