gathering minds and hands

continuing with the reflecting/celebrating theme, yesterday we had a potluck with the Land & Food Systems (LFS) returning students who have worked in and contributed to the garden in the past.  the summer produced a whole new interdisciplinary team and we recognize the need to acknowledge the energy that spurred and sustained the garden before we arrived.

gathered around our rickety picnic tables laid with quinoa, garden salad, strawberries and pickled beans, we made new friends and reconnected with colleagues who are dedicated to the vision of this space.

and like any good garden party, hands were quickly put to work, harvesting wheat and cleaning garlic bulbs...

as the season begins to slow to a different pace, our tasks and conversations begin to shift to preserving, planning, and taking stock of our efforts.  we finally have bits of time to finish small projects that have been staring at us for months.  

our comfrey, calendula & oregano are hanging to dry- ready to be made into skin salves.

our painted-by-children birdhouses have been mounted on posts.

and we finally finished hanging our raven guardian/scarecrow sculpture/ cutlery wind chimes...  following our mandate "no one thing does just one thing", this small piece of art started with the CEDAR youth camp will hopefully keep birds from nibbling our tiny seedlings, give music to the evenings, and remind us that this is primarily a food garden.

most of our fall crops have been seeded.  we will plant garlic and cover crops within the next month.  we will host a cider-making celebration (fingers crossed for our elderly apple tree), and now begins the arduous and exciting process of documenting our work.  we have no precedent for this.  we have intentions of publishing co-authored writings on the interdisciplinary journeys of this space.  we acknowledge that we are a unique learning garden fed by the three faculties involved:  Faculty of Land & Food Systems, Faculty of Education, and the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.  it is a slow practice of listening and responding.  and just when one or all of us gets frustrated or impatient, the garden reminds us that these things take time.  that is the beauty of learning from and through the land.