The Newfoundland Expedition, August, 2011

 

 Abigail's smiling because it is our first day of driving!

Ever since I was a kid, I have wanted to go north.   I know those stories about White Fang and To Build A Fire, by Jack London, or any of the Farley Mowatt books.   However, ever since 1989, I have run summer camps all summer, and never got up there.

Makin' dinner in Nova Scotia

This past August, I finally got my chance!  I chose Newfoundland, as it was as far as we could go while still driving, and it was new terrain and a new culture too.  I was accompanied by Nicole Bluh, Ben Gallagher, Abigail Liss and Japhy Czysz, and we packed our gear into my Xterra and headed north.    There is a funny story about getting my passport renewed, and all of our camping gear organized, etc, but I won't go into all that drama! Eventually, we were packed and we headed out.   My vehicle was packed to the roof and even the roof rack was loaded too.   We first went to Albany and picked up Japhy at the Albany bus station, and then went to the health food store to stock up on some bulk items, (along with some very strange cheeses that Japhy got and shared with us!)  

The Onion Roadrunner

We stopped at REI in Framingham a few hours later, for some last minute camping gear, and then headed towards New Hampshire and Maine.   The landscape began to change as we moved into more coniferous forests, but it was still summer and we were feeling good!       We camped by a river off of the main highway someplace near the border of New Brunswick that first night.  

On the Ferry, looking east

In the morning, we met up with Nicole, Max, Brigitte and Charles Meneveaux just before we crossed the border.   They were just returning from a road trip to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, and we got all of the lowdown on bugs, moose and their adventures.   They gave us some of their maps marked with cool places to go, as well as some travel guides and other info they had gathered on their journeys.  It was really helpful, and we were even more excited after hearing some of their stories.

Sunrise on the Ferry!  (It's a huge boat!)

Port aux Basques, in it's natural habitat

Eventually, we said farewell, and got to the border.   Crossing into Canada took about an hour, and then we were in New Brunswick!   That's when we began to experience Canadian culture, in the different road speeds (kilometers) gas (litres) and food (Tim Horton's)!   New Brunswick was heavily forested with vast plateaus of conifers, including white pines, spruces, tamarack and hemlock.   We didn't see a lot of mountainous areas, but it was still a change from Maine and New England.   It just felt different, somehow.   We drove for many hours and then began descending out of the hills towards Nova Scotia.   We were still heading mostly east at this point, and the forest gave way slightly to fields and farmland amidst the woods.   Nova Scotia had more flat land and some good farms, but there was a ton of woods and forest still, too.   We stopped in the late afternoon someplace in the middle of that province, off of the main highway, along a small logging road, to make dinner and rest.   It was hot, and I slept for an hour or so while the crew made a bowl of refried beans, chili and black beans, which we made into nachos.   We even found a piece of wood that looked like a road runner and gave it an onion skin hat...   We had a lot of creative energy that needed a little outlet!

The Northernmost End of the Appalachian Mountains

We drove through occasional rain and kept heading northeast to Sydney, a town on the far eastern corner of the province, to catch the ferry to Newfoundland.   Our reservations were for 4:30 am, but we learned that we needed to be there two hours early for loading, so we ended up getting there around 11:00 pm.   We got in line and then tried to sleep for a few hours in the car, on the roof of the ferry building, even on the chairs in the lounge...  Eventually, we drove onto the boat, which was huge, by the way, and headed up to the passenger decks.   The ferry ride was six to seven hours long, depending on wind, currents and other conditions, and I tried to sleep as much as I could.   Abigail had slept during the afternoon drive so she was awake for the sunrise on the top deck, and eventually we all met up in the cafe/lounge to get our first glimpse of 'the Rock' as they call Newfoundland in the Canadian Maritimes.

The fog and light rain had begun when the ferry was about a half hour from the town of Port aux Basques, and the buildings we saw clinging to the rugged coastline were small and trim, with lots of trucks and boats and other fishing type equipment around many of them.   It reminded me of some of the working towns in New York and New England, with an emphasis on practicality and function.   The surprising thing that stood out was the lack of glitz, slick advertising and opulent buildings flaunting wealth and design.   The Mall was a long, plain, one story building with a flat roof that housed stores whose names we didn't recognize, and a large parking lot with mini-vans and trucks.   The differences in culture and values showed in many small and larger ways all throughout our visit up the western coast.

Alder thickets

Outside of the city, we left almost every sign of human habitation within a few kilometers, passing just a few roads and houses right off the TransCanada Highway.   The landscape was instantly dominated by looming mountains, intense green thickets of alder, tamarack and spruce (called tuckermoor  or simply 'tuck' by the locals).   We jumped out of the car off the side of the highway and tried to clamber through the brush to get to a good viewpoint of the mountains, only to be thwarted by water, rough stones hidden in the sticks and branches that clung to our clothes, as if holding us back.   Only Ben made it to some rocks high above the road, while the rest of us studied fireweed and the many plants blooming everywhere and taking pictures.
                         (To Be Continued...)

Mother's Day

It's a day like any other, except it isn't.   It's about your Mother.   You remember?   The person who carried you around for nine months, at great personal cost, then gave birth to you, then cared for you for years while you pooped, threw up, fell down, bumped your knees, learned to talk, have tantrums and get sassy.   Does that ring a bell?    Well, it should, because it's today.

I was thinking about Mother's Day because of two things.   The first one is because of the Earth.   The Earth is the mother to all of us.   She cares for us, provides for us, gives us everything we need to live our lives and be part of the world.   She provides pure water, fertile soils, fresh air, beautiful flowers and birds and gentle rains.   She offers delicious foods, spices and sweet juices.   She has animals and fish to help us as well.   She offers all of these things for us to make our homes, our families and our communities good places for us all.

Except we don't respect her gifts.  We think we can make them better, so we mess around with the seeds.   We tear up the ground digging and drilling and bulldozing and mining.    We spill our oil and we poison our lawns.   We foul the air with our smoke and our chemicals.   We throw away mountains of trash in our oceans and our soils, and expect her to take care of it for us.    We don't respect her gifts or her, or really recognize her importance in our lives.

Have you ever had someone who left, who walked away when you took them for granted?   Have you ever felt that feeling where you woke up and realized you took so much for granted, and you never shared how you really felt, or showed how you felt with your actions to back it up?  Like when we don't stand up for a person who needs someone to 'have their back'?   Don't we do that to the Earth day in and day out every day?

Yeah, I know what you're thinkin'.   "Hey Rick, we already have a day for the Earth," you remind me.  "It's called Earth Day, you know?"  

Well, I don't think it is enough.   We should call her by her real name, Mother.   Because that is what she is.   And honestly, I don't think picking up some trash or remembering to recycle once a year is really what we need right now.   We need a lot more.  

We need a big shift.   A new mindset that brings about results and creates change.   We need to experience it personally, ourselves, and it needs to be powerful.   We need a deep inner change, not a bunch of minor action once a year.   We need to then act on it every day, every time, and speak our truth about it and have Her back.  

The scary thing is, we only get once chance at this.   Once she is gone, we don't get a second chance.   (See Japan's blown nuclear Reactor for more details about this.   Or Chernobyl.   Or fill in the blank Superfund Site.)    Once we really mess up, it is gone forever, for all of us.   FOREVER.

So I am thinking of her on this Earth Day, and raising a hand carved timber frame from sustainable wood grown locally.   We built it with old tools, most from the mid 1800's, hand made by blacksmiths almost 200 years ago.   We love those old tools, the chisels, the broad axes, the saws and drawknives.   We love working with wood, and making something beautiful that will last for years and generations.   It is our way of giving back and helping our communities and the land.

The second thing I was thinking about was my personal mom.   Which got me to thinking about my past and my family.   About how it was tough for her, raising three kids, alone, and moving from California to New York when I was nine, in 1973, and trying to figure things out.    She worked hard to raise us, and I know she wished she could have done more for us, as our family grew to five kids, all with needs and demands that she alone just couldn't meet.  It wasn't easy, but there were some good things that helped.  

One was nature.   I always had a love of the outdoors and play and adventure, and she encouraged this throughout my formative years.   I roamed freely the woods, fields, swamps and mountains, and got to be out more than I was in.   It made a huge difference for me, and it is one that helps me offer this to the students that come to us.   For this I am grateful and happy.

The second was enrolling me in the Waldorf School.   I was first a student at the Sacramento Waldorf School and then when we moved to New York, at the Hawthorne Valley Waldorf School.   Both where pioneering schools then, still growing and finding their way.  I know it was challenging for the teachers and the parents and the kids in lots and lots of ways.   But this helped me tons, and I had lots of mentors and people who cared about me and my friends and I was inspired and given tools.   Lots and lots and lots of tools.   And skills, and ways of seeing and being that make a difference.

So thanks, Mom.   You did good.  You still do good.   I love you both.   Have a happy day!

Earth Skills Semester Program student goes Bark Crazy!

It is always great when a past student gives you an idea of what they have done with the foundation of skills you provided years ago, and let's you know how you have impacted their life and those around them through your time spent together.   Stefan Thompson is just one such student.   He has made all kinds of bark shelters that are more than just a structure.  They are works of art, a labor of love and actually create community through their building and daily life.   There is a magic to them that you can feel as you sit and warm yourself by the fire, drink a cup of herbal tea or cook something good over the coals....

I don't think most people really get how much work it is to gather and peel the amount of bark you need to have to make a shelter like this.   It is just massive, and getting long, wide, thick sheets of birch bark is just so precious!   I am looking forward to getting some pics of the insides of these places, and the people who put them all together, too...

I just wanted to let you know that while most people aren't going to build a wigwam to live in through the Canadian winters, you could!   That says a lot for the type of training Hawk Circle students get when they spend a longer time here, exploring their natural world and their place in it...  These shelters look like they belong here, and like they are part of the living landscape!   The natural artwork is really great, too.

Nice work, Stefan and thanks for sharing this with us all!    Very inspiring!

View from the tree stand: A bow hunter's story

There are a lot of things that happen when I go bow hunting. First, there is getting up early. That in itself, is a change of routine for me, as I am usually more of a night owl. Then, there are the clothing/scent issues. Staying clean, warm and smelling like the woods is important. I try to dress quickly, and check to see how cold it is, to see how many layers I will need to stay warm while sitting still for those cold hours.

Once outside, I figure out which way the wind is blowing, as this will help me determine where to go. I head out along the trails, moving as silently as possible in the dim light. When I get to my spot, I either climb my tree stand, or I will sit at the base of a tree, or jumble of logs and branches and settle in. It is important to get comfortable as I know I am going to be there for a while.

Then, I drift in and out of sleep, my awareness moving from the direction of the wind, light tendrils of dream consciousness pulling me to relax, the smell of the woods, the sounds of the red squirrels waking up and chickadees trilling in the ironwoods. If I am by a small stream or spring, I can hear the steady trickle of water that can sound both faint and loud. I am not sure why it suddenly can seem so loud that it is all I hear, and then it can almost disappear.

The forest lightens as the sun rises, and trees and branches come into sharp relief. The colors of the November woods is beautiful, with greys, browns, black and tan colors melding together so softly, waiting for the snow that is sure to come soon.

I lean against my tree, and feel my heartbeat, my breath rhythmical and deep, and the forest begins to envelop my senses, accepting me as part of the whole system. It is a good feeling and it makes me happy, knowing I belong and am home again.

The sound of hooves crunching through leaves comes sharply, startling me, and my heart jumps. Tiny twigs break as a deer approaches. My senses come alive as I strain to see the first glimpse of the forest ghost, the white tail. The direction of travel, my scent trail, the wind and shadows all come into play as I sit up, and ready my arrow. Any discomfort, cold or cramps are gone, and there is nothing except the pure focus of the predator.

I wait perfectly still, heart still pounding. The deer pauses, hesitating, and nibbling on raspberry canes, waiting for something. There is no sense of fear, of warning or stress, and I imagine myself a shadow along the tree, or a slight, drifting mist, no longer human hunter but only benign forest elemental being.

The deer steps into the trail, coming closer, step by step. I see that she is a yearling, a small tiny deer, hardly bigger than my dog. She is stout and strong, but I know that this is not my deer. It resonates deep in my chest, my gut, and I lower my bow, ever so slowly. The deer turns to look behind, and I see her mother, walking along the river trail, away from my stand, and the little deer runs to catch up. They both move quietly and slowly, and in a flash, they are gone.

The woods return to their winter stillness, with the occasional cawing of crows, the honking of geese, the rustling of leaves in the breeze and my heartbeat, slowing down again, and I sit back, and drift off to dream again, listening for the crunching of leaves...

Willow Spring Pics and the Promised Natural Dye Pics too!

Okay, so I checked my trail camera today and it was a good thing I did. I set it down by a little wetland area I call Willow Spring, near a bunch of overgrown apple trees and overgrown pasture land. This place is thick with brush, grasses, shrubbery and dead trees. There is a lot of browse and food around, and lots of cover for all sorts of animals. My camera caught pics of red squirrels, eastern cottontails and chipmunks but no birds this time around. I also got a pic of the resident porcupine, a skunk and a ton of raccoons! There are tons of them, mostly a pair that seem to be brother and sister, and once in a while, there are three of them running around.

They all seem very healthy, and it is nice to see them around, because the raccoon population got hit really hard about 10 years ago when the rabies epidemic moved through the area. We had a few rabid raccoons move through camp at that time, and we had to make sure none of the campers got anywhere near them. Then, after the wave of disease passed, we saw hardly any raccoons around our camp for many years.

So, it is good to see them back! I am also sure that they are hitting our compost pile hard during the summer season, and searching the bushes for crusts of sandwich and apple cores.

The skunk and porcupine didn't stick around long as they passed through the area, so I am thinking they are finding a lot of food and aren't all that hungry to sample the fallen apples.

The deer stayed for a long time, and I had about fifteen pictures in different stages of eating, sniffing, scratching and looking around. I was surprised that there weren't more deer running around in the area than just this one, but I guess they aren't using this trail.

Next week I will post more pics and I am moving my camera to another spot, so we will see if I can get a picture of a coyote, or a fisher or maybe the bobcats rolling through. I will probably pick up a road kill of some kind to see if that will attract some different animals. Meat, especially decomposing meat, will bring in crows, hawks, opossums and other scavengers. We might even see a bear!

Right now, the forest and swamps are chock full of berries, hawthorne apples, wild apples, acorns, hickory nuts, beech nuts and lots of other seeds and foods. It hasn't been that cold yet, so the need to pack on the calories hasn't kicked in just yet, but it will happen.

Getting good pictures starts with scouting the trails, to see which ones are being used by game and finding food sources, too. I have a lot of timberframing to do for the next few months, but I will try to get out for a mid morning walk and see what I can see.

I am also adding some pics of Trista's wool, which she dyed last week. The colors came out beautiful, and she is going to make a sweater with it! More pics of that as she gets it started...

She used elderberries, goldenrod, onion, black walnut and purple asters, I think. They came out pretty nice, don't you think?

Fall Update and Thoughts...

Just wanted to let you know that Trista and I are putting together some photos about her natural wool dyes, as well as some Juniper pics, on her blog, Nature's Hearth, and I should have some nice pics from my game camera soon to post on this blog in a few days. Willow Spring seems to have two very active raccoons, who look healthy and well fed, as well as the usual deer and rabbits moving through on the trails. I think you will like the pics!

We also have three workshops coming up this fall, in October. The first is the Sacred Hunt, October 1-3, which shares skills, philosophy and awareness of the sacred art of hunting, (pretty obvious!) The second is the Unearthing the Soul Retreat, with Trista, October 8-10, which is about preparing for the coming year's growth, vision and changes as well as celebrating the past year's learning and manifestations.... good stuff and very effective and powerful, too.

Last but not least is the Wolverine Survival Intensive, October 22-24, which covers the skills of survival and earth philosophy that will change how you see and experience the woods and nature forever... Chock full of learning and crafts and skills, it won't let you down!

I know we are just a few weeks away from a big election and all the blather about the economy and stuff the media wants us to obsess about, but if you take a moment and think, most of what is important to us in life doesn't have to do with that stuff. It has to do with the people we love, with the connections we make as friends and family, and our ability to enjoy our lives, work for a greater purpose and feel good about ourselves. I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't be a pawn in the media/political arena, and get outside, feel good, and work on things you can change and grow with, rather than stress about fear, hate and worry. In the wild, you can't change a thunderstorm. You just ride through it. It will pass, eventually, as it always does. The sun comes out, and there is another day. Don't let yourself be caught up in things that waste your time and don't really help build towards your personal vision and family and community.

We all make choices in our lives, as to what we want to focus on. What we choose to listen to, and thus create our own reality. This isn't an opinion, it is a practice, one that must occur every day. We hear what we want to hear, what's important to us, or what we value.

Have a great fall, and hope to see you soon!

Skills for the New Earth-Connected Generation: Our Sustainability and Wilderness Apprenticeship

So, you can see the direction our country, our world is heading, and the writing is on the wall. On the rocks. On concrete buildings and tall trees.

No matter which way you slice it, the bubble, as we have come to know the modern world, is beginning to burst. Or pop. Sure, it is a lot of small and medium pops that so far we have been able to weather and handle, but it's getting worse. Slowly, creeping, steadily advancing on us, we know

that it's time to pay the piper. Our debt to the animal world, the Earth Mother, to our future generations, is coming due.

You don't want to use the Ostrich Technique and pretend it isn't coming. On the other hand, building a bunker doesn't feel right either.

What you need, really, are Skills.

Experience.

Learning things that will last, that will have value no matter what the future holds. Things that can feed us, feed our families, our souls.

Skills can sustain us, and remove fear.

Skills let us breathe, to relax and feel good about our lives, our direction, our purpose and path.

Skills last forever, and can be passed down to our friends and family and community.

What to do. What to do.......

Hey! I have an idea!

Join the Hawk Circle Wilderness and Sustainability Apprenticeship. It is a powerful blend of old ways, modern skills and knowledge you can use right now to reconnect

with nature, your deeper self, and grow.

Apprentices learn about gardening, composting, harvesting foods and preserving them. They learn to make baskets and buckskin, take part in workshops and youth trainings. They learn the art of traditional timberframing, as well as practical skills of stacking firewood, basic carpentry skills, cooking and much more.

Apprentices make a four to five month commitment, and provide their own food for the duration of the program.

They participate for five days a week, sometimes part time, sometimes full time, trading their sweat equity for real experience and skills that change how they see the world forever.

The farmhouse is heated by a wood stove, and the shared commercial kitchen allows for fabulous meals, communal gatherings and potlucks. The barn is ready for all kinds of projects both building and native skills. The natural surroundings are perfect for this kind of retreat and intensive, undistracted learning.

We only need five people for the fall and winter, so if you would like to be considered, please contact Ricardo or Trista at 607-264-3910 or HawkCircleOffice@gmail.com.

We'd be happy to see if this program would be a good fit for you.

Remember: Skills Trump Fear. They are the antidote to catharsis, to just going along with the herd, and they are the key to freedom.

Skills you can choose from to learn while in the Apprenticeship:

Tanning Deerskins using Braintanning

Fire by Friction, without matches

Natural Fiber Rope and

String

Bark Baskets and Containers

Basic Stone Tools

Knife Sharpening and Care

Useful Knots for the wilderness

Cutting, Splitting and Stacking Firewood

Bread Baking and Herbal Butters

Campfire Cooking Skills

Wilderness Shelter Building

Traditional Timber Framing Cabins and Barns

Bow Making

Deer Hunting Skills

Organic Gardening

Harvesting, Identifying & Preparing Wild Foods

Tree and Plant Identification

Community Living Skills

Winter Snow Shelters and Survival Strategies

Earth Philosophy and Personal Ceremony

Animal Tracking and Nature Awareness

Working with Youth teaching Native skills and crafts

Raising Cabins and Barns

Okay, there are probably a ton of other skills I am forgetting to list here, but these are the first ones that come to mind that past apprentices have wanted to focus on, so here ya go! If you want to learn some other skills not on this list but that are listed on our website, give us a call and we will see if it can work out!