Permaculture: The Dynamic Clock

So, I’ve taken on helping to plan next winter’s Permaculture Design Course, which has made me so busy that I haven’t had much time for blogging. But, here I am, hoping that a new post will kick my rear into gear so I can share some of my summer accomplishments with you.

I feel like I talk about permaculture a lot on the blog. The course has kind of taken over my life, which I have mixed feelings about. Frankly, I didn’t anticipate having to do so much advertising, which I hate. But I loved the course last year and I’d really like to see another one happen this year, so you do what you have to.

Over the past year, I kind of realized why I like permaculture so much: it really teaches you to look at your world as a whole, not just individual parts. Our environment is basically a constant feedback loop, and each piece interacts with others in ways we don’t necessarily see. It’s like the workings of a clock, only more dynamic, because the way an element interacts with others may actually change the way it behaves.

From the standpoint of a meteorologist, it’s microclimatology at its best. Each leaf of a tree reflects some light, absorbs some light, absorbs some gases and emits others. Standing under a tree is a cooler, more humid environment than in a sunny spot, and a forest will be cooler than a field. And then there’s the biological aspect – the shady cool forest attracts other plants and animals than you would see in the meadow.

From the standpoint of a project manager, permaculture embodies the idea of the perfect system. All waste is used, output is maximized, and effort is minimized. And we can actually design the system to work that way. It’s not just luck, it’s planning, observation, and thought, with creative design thrown in.

Finally, from the standpoint of a human being, permaculture integrates human interaction into the environment in a positive way. It shows us how to pull the pieces together so that we’re working within the system, not just acting like we’re running a simulation or viewing from a remote planet.  

I’ve read the books and the websites, but last year I felt like I was missing the pieces to put it all together. And that’s what the design certificate provided. I was so proud of the final project my group pulled together. Even more importantly, I’ve met some great friends who I can rely on for advice and support as I try new things. Permaculture is like a well of knowledge that I’ve just taken a sip from, and I can see the rest of the water still shimmering down below. But at least now I have a bucket to go back for more.

Permaculture Class: The Grand Finale

This weekend was the final weekend of my Cold Climate Permaculture Class out in Palmer. This is the class I've been taking once a month since October, and I've had two major projects for. We had to deliver our final project today, and oh my gosh, I was so freaking proud of what we had done.

Our final design. Drawing by Ray Nabinger, color by Alicia Nelson.

I had a fantastic group where everyone contributed equally. We met at Bridget's lot (the place we were designing) almost every week for the past month to get everything put together. We ended up with 4 or 5 drawings, about 10 overlays, multiple spreadsheets, and a 53 page report. Now, before you end up too shocked, most of those 53 pages were illustrations. But still, 9300 words is a lot of work for something you're doing for "fun".

I got a design certification!

...which I will need to pay off my new library.

But it was fun! We really enjoyed meeting at the lot every time. The last time, Bridget brought the rocket stove she had built in one of our classes, and we cooked a meal of Alaskan-grown cow, nettles and onions over a fire made out of twigs. Talk about eating locally! It was amazing.

Fievel and Tilly fighting over a locally grown bone. The big dog sat nearby and behaved.

This class was expensive, true (although very reasonable for the market -- I've seen similar classes offered at $1500 to $2000, where this one was $1200). But I can honestly say I got so much out of it. Of course, I learned a lot of gardening techniques, and a lot about growing things here in AK. I learned how to kill and process a rabbit. I built a rocket stove out of tin cans. I visited 3 local farms and a bio-shelter and learned how they work. But the best thing I got out of it was finding other people who live here and are like me.

I even made friends who like small dogs! (L-R: Fievel, Tamara, me, Tilly)

The group gathering to say their goodbyes.

What do I mean by that? Well, up here, it seems like there are not a lot of people who are interested in the environment. People like their "toys" and their fertilizers. But in the class, I met people who don't think washing and re-using ziplocks is crazy. People who like to talk about the possibilities of owning chickens, and when I say "I'm getting rid of my yard. Planting cherry trees is just the first step", they laugh and nod knowingly. And then they give me tips on where to find cherry trees!

My two tiny cherry trees in my giant yard.

So what am I going to do with my design certificate? I'm not sure, at the moment. I am a certified designer, but I don't feel ready to go out and start charging people just yet. My group and I got along really well, and we'd like to continue that momentum -- so I think we're going to try to design each of our lots for practice. And we have to help Bridget actually implement her plan, so we're going to have work parties. The operative word there is parties. Lots and lots of parties.

4 Fish Design team partying at the lot: (L-R) Ray, me, Bridget, and Alicia

You're probably sick of permaculture by now, but I won't tell you I'm going to stop blogging about it. I will promise you, however, that I'll try to blog about other things in between. Summer is fast approaching, and some of it will be gardening -- but I'll also be hiking, and biking, and camping, and going on a big trip to South Carolina for a family reunion of sorts. So I'll try to keep things interesting. And thanks for reading, friends and family!

2013 Year in Review

The last few years I've done one of these posts summarizing things I talked about on the blog over the past year. This year I had a big break in blogging, and some important things happened that I didn't mention, so I thought I'd mix it up a little and do a "best and worst" post for you.

Best New Song I Discovered: Broken Heart by Dr. Dog



Best New Purchase: My Samsung Galaxy SIII. So long, iPhone!

Worst thing that happened: I got divorced. This is probably a surprise to some of you, but it happened. It sucked, and there was a lot of depression during that time. Hence the sporadic blogging.

Best thing that happened: I got to go back to Australia and see all my old friends and make some new ones. Very healing for my heart.

Best new dog: Tilly.

Best old dog: Fievel.

Those two are also the worst new and old dogs.

Most fun project: The GISHWHES photo I took for my friend. It made me laugh and she loved it. So that's a win, even if she didn't win the scavenger hunt.

You are what you eat!

Least fun project: cleaning up the garage. Not surprising I didn't blog about that one.

Best garden/house related success: my rocking garden!

Worst garden/house related item: Lake Fode formed in the backyard.

Of course, this is an ice skating rink now.

Best new venture: the winter permaculture course I signed up for on a whim.

Learning about Cindi and Curt's mud and straw greenhouse

Biggest adventure: hiking Kesugi Ridge.

Yay Denali!

Most favorite thing I used to do that I still love: Book club

Habit I got out of: reading regularly. The reading plan totally fell off track. I have been struggling to keep up with book club, even though I like it. Also, baking bread falls into this category too.

Thing I never got around to but wished I had: making a batch of beer on my own (a first goal for 2014)!

Most ironic turn of events: I came in last in one of my fantasy football leagues, and won the championship in the other. As my friend Simon pointed out, this makes me "just average".

So, 2014 is a calendar full of blank pages, and I have no idea what it will bring. I'd like to make some more friends, and spend more time with the ones I have. I want to go new places, but enjoy the beautiful place I live, too. I want to find some great new music, and rock out to my old faves as well. Based on what happened in 2013, I am both scared and hopeful for the new year. And so I'll conclude with a quote from my favorite movie, The Shawshank Redemption:

I find I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel. A free man at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

Water Works

This weekend was the second weekend in my series of Permaculture Design Classes. One of the focuses was water -- how to conserve it and control the flow within your area. Why was I so excited about this?

Did I mention we had another record breaking wet fall?

Right now our class project is to design a new plan for the Matanuska Experimental Farm. But we'll have something put together by early next year and then we'll move on to a more traditional permaculture project -- designing our own space.

First task I need to do is observe. There's a lot of parts to this of course, but regarding the water issue, I need to calculate the contours in my back yard. We learned a couple of techniques to do that this weekend. Here, Cindi and Louisa are making a simple A-frame to use. I hope to get that done soon, before it starts snowing and things get all covered up.

My tentative plan is to take the deepest spot (to the left) and turn it into a pond (obviously I'll have to do some reconnoitering about whether I want to keep the garden boxes there or not). Then, I'll take the line that runs along the fence, and make a gradual slope so that water that collects here runs into the pond. It won't be a stream or part of the pond, but I will plant it with water loving plants to make a sort of rain garden. This will also reduce my mowable area, another goal of mine. I hate mowing.