The end of a long week! My mind was very unfocused, which was a problem with the grant report I had due. I couldn't force it (forcing is the problem!), so it was a tricky balance. But I managed to get done what I had to. The balance is always the tricky thing--balance what we have to do (because of the external) with what we need (internally). How do we live in an unnatural world, following ourselves without disengaging from it all? So my day-to-day problems mirror a greater theme overall.

One small thing made me very happy. There is a young staff person that works for my school (probably in her mid-20s) who has started a permaculture farm. She and her partner live in a yurt on this land. I don't know her well but instantly respected her. So, now, they are selling their greens to the coop. The greens grow in a high tunnel, where they get passive solar energy (no other energy inputs!). The greens have been a huge success, they are always selling out, and she is going to quit her job next year. Isn't that great? She's going to talk at our seminar series next week. Usually I skip the seminar, because it's so boring. But reading her quotes in the coop paper, I remembered why I got interested in agriculture in the first place--respect for nature. It's so nice to get real examples of people doing great things.

I would get lonely working on a farm like that. But I can support such people. I bought her spinach today--it is always selling out!