Sunset over the Ridge

Sunset over the Ridge, a photo by paynehollow on Flickr.

There lies a stillness
on the backside of the ridge
broken by nothing
but the cool lonesome wind

And sitting on the hillside
overlooking the valley
tangled only by briars
and disrupted only by birdsong

there is a peace, wanting to be claimed

Pine Drops

Pine Drops, a photo by paynehollow on Flickr.

Although the focus these past few months has been on the house-building, it would be a mistake to forget to spend time enjoying how truly beautiful the land is here on the Old Indiana Homestead.

Although solidly winter, here in the middle of January - and raining, to boot - a brief hike yesterday was soul-restoring. The rain let up for a short while, leaving a gentle gray fog on a relatively warm day, and coating the forest in mist and sparkles.

The beech trees held on to their faded orange-white leaves, giving bursts of color to the mostly bleak landscape.

Some of the moss was bright green, adding vibrancy in small doses where they could be found.

And, of course, the ever-green pine trees are all the more glorious when they're not competing with all the other foliage.

Winter hikes are amongst my favorites.

~Dan

Gene Logson

House from side, a photo by paynehollow on Flickr.

...on sustainable living...

I remember clearly the day when I was twelve, hunting morel mushrooms with my father, when I informed him excitedly that I had decided to take my dog and my rifle and go deep into the wilderness to live. I would build a cabin on a mountainside by a clear running stream, and live out my days happily on broiled trout, fried mushrooms, and hickory nut pie. I would achieve advanced degrees in the art of living, bestowed on me by Nature, and I would know many things not even Einstein or my stupid schoolteacher dreamed of.

I thought that he would approve, since he was forever retreating to the solitude of woods and river bank and farm field himself But he almost frowned, suggesting gently in a voice that sounded as if he were saying what he thought he was supposed to say, not what he really felt, that I needed to be thinking about making my way in the world and contributing something to it.

Unfortunately I tried to follow his advice and it took me until I was forty-two to realize that I knew what was better for me when I was twelve. And having hunted everywhere for the peculiar kind of freedom I had tried to articulate that day, I came back to my boyhood homethe place of my beginnings-and found it. What I learned in the process was to follow my own mind because worldly wisdom invariably springs from notions that are largely erroneous. The only really good advice that holds up in all situations is: Always make friends with the cook...

The voice of the turtle can be heard again, ringing through the land, as the old Wyandots and Mohegans who once roamed my farm would say-a new surge of creative energy that moves the earth in a direction of self-redemption and sustainability that not the richest PAC nor the oldest institutionalized claptrap can stop.

We are pioneers, seeking a new kind of religious and economic freedom. We flee the evils that centralized power always generates. Our God does not reside in the inner sanctums of cathedrals, but walks with us, hoeing in the fields. Sometimes I see Him checking the bluebird houses for murderous starlings and house sparrows and give Him hell for inventing the nest-robbing bandits. He smiles and reminds me that stupid scientists brought the starling and house sparrow to America, not Him.

We are circumspect about our economic institutions. We do not bank on paper money within marble walls, but invest in sun and soil and sweat and the tools that make sweat more productive.

I think of us as the Ramparts People. In all ages we have camped on the edges of the earth, the buffer between our more conventional and timid brethren and those nether regions where, as the medieval maps instructed, "there be dragons and wild beestes." It is our destiny to draw the dragon's fire while the mainstream culture hides behind its disintegrating deficit and damns us for shattering its complacency. So be it.

The hickory nut pie is excellent.

Roof Raising

Roof Raising, a photo by paynehollow on Flickr.

Raise the roof, that I might see the stars
To gain wisdom, to see things for what they are
Please, I need proof

Dance till you fall
Love till you die
Shut your mouth
Raise the roof

From "Raise the Roof" by Carbon Leaf

Ol' Axeman Jesse

Ol' Axeman Jesse, a photo by paynehollow on Flickr.

On the top of the mountain
there is a clearing

and from that clearing,
you can see as far as you'd like

but only when the leaves are gone
and the summer is ended.

Farm Building

Foundation-Raising

House Progress, a photo by paynehollow on Flickr.

A builder dies and reports to the pearly gates. St. Peter checks his dossier and says, "Ah sorry, you're in the wrong place."

So the builder reports to the gates of hell and is let in. Pretty soon, the builder gets dissatisfied with the level of comfort in hell, and starts making improvements. After a while, they've got geothermal power for air conditioning and composting toilets and well-insulated homes (helping keep cool in the summer...), and the builder is a pretty popular guy.

One day God calls Satan up on the telephone and says, "So, how's it going down there in hell?" Satan replies, "Hey, things are going great. We've got air conditioning and composting toilets and great insulation, and there's no telling what this builder is going to come up with next."

God replies, "What??? You've got an builder? That's a mistake! He should never have gotten down there; send him up here."

Satan says, "No way. I like having a builder on the staff, and I'm keeping him."

God says, "Send him back up here or I'll sue."

Satan laughs uproariously and answers, "Yeah, right. And just where are YOU going to get a lawyer?"