 Blueberry time in Tennessee! Dear friends,
A friend shared this and it spoke to me in these turbulent times.
widely attributed as The Hopi Elders' Prophecy, June 8, 2000 Hopi Nation, Oraibi, Arizona
"You have been telling the people that this is the Eleventh Hour, now you must go back and tell the people that this is the Hour. And there are things to be considered.
Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relationships?
Are you in right relation? Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your Truth. Create your community.
Be good to each other. And do not look outside yourself for the leader." Then he clasped his hands together, smiled, and said, "This could be a good time!"
There is a river flowing now very fast. It is so great and swift that there are those who will be afraid. They will try to hold on to the shore. They will feel they are torn apart and will suffer greatly.
Know the river has its destination. The elders say we must let go of the shore, push off into the middle of the river, keep our eyes open, and our heads above water. And I say, see who is in there with you and celebrate. At this time in history, we are to take nothing personally, Least of all ourselves. For the moment that we do, our spiritual growth and journey comes to a halt.
The time for the lone wolf is over. Gather yourselves! Banish the word struggle from your attitude and your vocabulary. All that we do now must be done in a sacred manner and in celebration.
We are the ones we've been waiting for."
Peace, Douglas
 Join us for our First Annual National Retreat, Nov 1-3 at The Farm Community! Those of you who have been subscribing for a while have seen that the Dances of Universal Peace is a spiritual practice that has taken me around the world. Now we are bringing it home, with a weekend featuring Dance Leaders who represent the Board for DUP North America, along with other Dance Leaders from around the country. I joined the board just over a year ago and I am honored to help bring this heart opening experience to more people. This is a great way to visit The Farm, an experience that will leave you uplifted and bring more peace into your life. Click here to learn more and to register.
 Raspberries in abundance! We get a good harvest in June and then a second harvest in the fall.  The All Together Now Podcast by Lonnie Lee Hood. An interview with Laura Look on YouTube! and on Spotify! Lonnie is one of our newest residents and she works at The Farm School. It is fun to see her fresh enthusiasm for life in community. In this podcast, she interviews Laura Look, one of the organizers for The Farm Market Day and Sanctuary Summit.
Pickle Recipes
 For me, pickles are an essential condiment to go along with sandwiches and veggie burgers. We always look forward to when we’re harvesting baby cukes from the garden to make our own!
We make "refrigerator" pickles. We do not "pressure-can" to seal the jars. A second refrigerator in our basement functions as a cooler for jars of pickles, as well as to store vegetables that are coming from the garden in abundance.
There are basically two different different types of pickles: those made with vinegar, and fermented pickles using a salt brine. Both are really easy to make.
For vinegar pickles, the ratio is 1 cup of vinegar to 2 cups of water.
For salt brine pickles, the ratio is 2 tablespoons of pickling salt to 4 cups of water. Pickling salt is ground extra fine, dissolving quickly and easily in water for even disbursement. You don’t want your salt settling into the bottom of your measuring cup or jar of pickles.
I like to use a widemouth canning jar because it’s easier to get the baby cukes in and arrange them for the best fit. I use both quart and half-gallon jars.
Simply wash your cucumbers, cut the tip off the blossom end, and arrange them in your jar. We like to add a few cloves of garlic.
Next we sprinkle in some dill weed, or some dill seeds, or ideally fresh dill blossoms with seeds from the garden. We also like to add a significant shake of red pepper flakes.
Pour in either type of brine until cucumbers are covered. Save any extra vinegar mix in a jar in the fridge for the next batch and if there is any leftover saltwater, just pour it down the sink.
Vinegar pickles go inside the refrigerator immediately. By about a week or so, they’ve absorbed enough vinegar to be ready.
For the fermented pickles, we use a glass insert that sets on top of the cucumbers, pushing them all below the brine. We also have a special fermentation lock lid that allows gas bubbles to escape, but prevents any air and potential contamination from getting in. Click here to see the fermentation kit I purchased.
The salt and water will ferment naturally, but there are also commercial brine inocculants available so that you can have a little more control what lacto bacteria grows, which affects the flavor.
The fermented pickles sit at room temperature for around 5 days. You’ll see the brine bubbling and it will turn cloudy. Remove the fermentation lid and taste a sample. Replace it with a standard lid if you think they’re ready.
Various chemicals are used with commercial or store-bought pickles to keep them crunchy. We find our pickles stay naturally crunchy when we use small, whole cucumbers rather than sliced cucumbers or spears.
So good! Certified Summer Yum!
My interview in Colombia, SA
 This podcast is listened to by people from all across Central and South America who are interested in community, ecovillages, and permaculture. I speak in English and then a translator speaks my words in Spanish. Since it was an audience that may be unfamiliar with The Farm, this is the complete story starting back in San Francisco. If you have friends from Latin America, this would be a good one to share.
¡Nuevo episodio de Radio Semilla! #109: The Farm: La vida en comunidad, con Douglas Stevenson
Douglas vive hace más de 50 años en la comunidad The Farm, una de las ecoaldeas más antiguas de Estados Unidos. Hoy nos comparte su experiencia desde los inicios del movimiento hippie en la década de 1960 hasta el establecimiento y evolución de su comunidad.
Relata cómo a pesar de los desafíos iniciales de vivir en condiciones austeras y los innumerables retos sociales, económicos y productivos, la comunidad logró sobrevivir y prosperar. Descarga este episodio en tu plataforma preferida
www.linktr.ee/radiosemillapodcast ¡Activa tu membresía hoy! www.radiosemilla.com/apoyanos
Proyecto destacado: Finca Orgánica Chaupi Molino: 20% de descuento en hortalizas, 10% en talleres - www.fincaorganicachaupimolino.com
 My Calendar
Thank you for your time and attention!
 My books:
Out to Change the World and The Farm Then and Now
Out to Change the World! $12 plus shipping
The Farm Then and Now $19.95 plus shipping
Watch my TEDx Talk: Out to Change the World - Living the Hippie Dream
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Douglas Stevenson
Douglas@villagemedia.com www.douglasstevenson.com Village Media www.villagemedia.com |
