Nature is my Music

A new couple arrived from France in a camper. Marshall (his real name is the french equivalent but I don't know how to spell it) and Caterina. And there is the one and only Vittorio.

Last weekend we went to a legit Sicilian party along with the couple from France who just arrived. It was so much fun. I'm not even gonna explain the food this time other than everyone brought their own dish and it was heavenly. It was great to talk with so many people (a lot of English speakers!) from all over the world. It got really good when the music was turned up and people started dancing, including me of course. Some of the chillest vibes imaginable. Everyone just jammin to their own style. People of all ages. At one point an older Romanian chick took my hand and we danced to some salsa music hahaha. I was acting like I knew what I was doing. And then later, this spicy redhead made a gesture like, "come over and dance with me." I think her husband was there too, but just like I stated earlier the emphasis here is on living. The people are so easy going and lively.

One of my jobs here was to take a wheelbarrow up the dirt road quite a ways to a part where some excellent soil had come down from the last storm. Up and down up and down. Simple but hard work. It felt good knowing I was creating the foundation whereby much food would be created. I was smiling because the soil I was bringing down was so rich. And I always see the other benefits of this kind of work like staying in the best shape of my life, so it's satisfying for a lot of reasons. Vittorio then had a guy with a tiller come over and mix it all up and voila, we started the add on to the synergistic garden.

Making some progress.

Finito! Now just gotta finish putting some straw on to hold the moisture in and keep weeds away, as well as cardboard in the aisles to provide a clear place to work from. To get the straw we drove a little ways to a spot where Vittorio had assumed he knew the guy who owned it. We pack the straw on top of the car and right as we pull out a dude with a truck pulls in and he's like honking as we drive away. Hahah whoopsie. Guess it was the wrong guy. 

During this rain storm it was really coming down, and leaks started coming out of nowhere. We had 3 or 4 bowls collecting water. It was great to feel the thunder and rain in all its glory. With basically no music (other than a few songs I recorded on my video camera at an internet point) nature has become my music.

Feels good to cook on an old school wood stove. 

This is the simple life and I love it. I feel like I'm entering a new stage in my awareness of nature and its rhythms. Here's an interesting concept. A life where time is non existent. There are no clocks here, no internet and I don't have any technology with me, which makes for an interesting shift in consciousness. The only time I'm focused on is Now, and in the present moment there is no such thing as time. It's more and more clear to me that the more I'm in-tune with nature the better life Is. I mean we are all on this earth, it would be wise to sync up. It feels good to be at the point where, for example, I wake up not to the sound of some annoying beep, but rather I wake up when the sun rises over the mountain and light starts creeping through the tent.

I'm working in the garden and I sense of gust of wind coming down over the mountain and I stand up to feel the wind touch my skin or I'm lying in the dirt soaking up some sun and I watch ants hard at work. This is the nature of my behavior here. 

Exploring Alredo's little bear hut. He lives at the top of the mountain and you can see Vittorio's in the distance to the right (not in the picture though). I say bear hut because his entire house is one small room. 

Making bath salts in the shop. 

Walking into the shop the smell is so invigorating. He has several different kinds of bath salts, the fridge is full of pure plant essences (different from essential oils in that the whole process is unheated), and he's got a special kind of clay from Sicily. This. Is. Awesome. Helping him prepare everything and just the way he does it is so cool to see. I've never experienced anything like it. Our intentions have an energetic ripple effect. It's special when something is done with such care and it's the kind of environment that I like to be in. It makes me think of the "I should" mindset vs the "I want." Who says you should do anything? I choose to do things because I want to and that's infinitely more empowering than oh I should do this or that because society or religion or other people want me to. 

Orange blossom bath salts with pure plant oils. 

Hippo!

Almost everyday I'd collect whatever I could find and make a tea. Spearmint, peppermint, rosemary, fennel flowers, stinging nettles, and then a hot pepper to enhance everything. There are some things I do throughout the day that are purely medicinal, but I love getting in touch with my environment this way by literally tasting it. And it's fun knowing about the herbs like stinging nettles for example. Stinging nettles have a unique ability to absorb iron from the soil, and what do you know they contain bioflavonoids and vitamin c that are required to absorb and utilize the iron. In short, I love herbs.

 Ribbit ribbit.

Lots of lizards of all shapes and colors in Sicily. This one found his way into the outside kitchen sink.

A taste of natures candy. I already miss being able to pick figs whenever I want. 

Magical tent I slept in for a month.