We had a lovely Whole Planet Picnic; and generated a lot of nice ashes for the crops. Attendance was down just a tad- I'm thinking it may well have been the price of gas, in fact. More people than usual had responded "sure, we're going to try to come" - and then didn't. And it may have been the realization later that it was just crazy expensive to drive 80 miles, now.
That's fine, of course, though we missed a bunch of folks. We're assuming they had their own version at home - though it likely didn't match our spectacle-
Hope yours was as nice! By all means, let us know here. I still think this is a tradition that has legs- more folks will join us each year.
Right now- I'm off to lay sod in the cool of the morning; boy it's sweaty work in the noonday sun. Pics of our "barn-sinking" coming up soon.
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8 comments:
Hi,
Your blog is very interesting and I read it frequently. However, I don't agree when you say: And it may have been the realization later that it was just crazy expensive to drive 80 miles, now.
It's not crazy expensive when you consider:
*the cost of gas in many countries
*the environmental cost of gas/oil (oil extraction, refining, transportation, infrastructure)
*the probable future cost of gas (even in the US)
I think currently gas is crazy cheap and we need to rethink our wasteful use.
Happy summer!
Eva
You've got a point there Eva, although I'm sure Greenpa was talking about the relative craziness of the prices compared to what they've been before for us. I heard on the news today that in the Netherlands gasoline is 2.50 a litre, which is roughly about 10 bucks a gallon. So ya, we've still got it good. Here in Edmonton, AB, it's at 1.36 per litre today, diesel about 5 cents/l more.
I had my own little planet picnic this weekend - just me and fire and the garden. Husband was away. Next year we'll probably go to the Solstic Gathering that our CSA puts on, which we just found out about. I think the Planet Picnic will get more and more popular Greenpa! It is good to say thanks to the earth for sustaining us another year.
I am new to your blog, having discovered it while reading No Impact Man. I have always thought a solstice picnic/event was a good idea. But since I am new, it is not obvious to me where your event was held. I also live in MN, but where in MN are you located? How could I have known where to find your event?
Thanks
Mike- welcome- and sorry about that, no teasing intended; but my identity and location are kind of secret. :-) I have another identity- not sure these days which one is real, but there are a few conflicts, so I try to keep them separate for a while yet. So- you certainly would have been welcomed if it had worked out that way, but in general the event is intended for old friends and neighbors. You should have one!
A snapshot from our celebration --
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wossname/2603457446/
Hi. I enjoyed your blog. Sounds like an interesting point of view.
Dear greenpa...yes I have another sweater. A thick homespun, home made one. It's really good.
We have a mid winter lantern walk coming up this week. Its part of the steiner school thing and the kids just love making their own lanterns and walking round the school and the bush in the dark.
BTW it got down to -8 today with snow predicted for the weekend.
viv in nz
Hank- beautiful photo. Not what I was expecting! Looks pretty different from our downies.
Knutty Viv- good to know! Enjoy your winter. Smidgen (3) woke up the other morning and the first thing out of her mouth, on a beautiful early summer day was "Daddy, we just have to wait for it to snow." Very serious. :-)
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