Laurel Nest Yurts

Last weekend I was lucky enough to go to the South East Wise Women Herbal Conference… it was so amazing, with lots of incredible classes, ceremony with Brooke Medicine Eagle, storytelling with Ramona Moore Big Eagle, music with Rising Appalachia, drumming, and all just women…
We brought yurts to the conference, which were used for information booth, raffle, and Red Tent Temple.

Vendor yurts are a great place to share information at festivals...

The conference was a special opportunity to take time out of our regular life  to soak in some wisdom and knowledge that has been lost as we move towards modern medicine and institutional living.  The weekend provides a deep cellular call towards the folkways that were passed on between generations since time out of mind: simple living, local plants and deep nourishment.
Thank you to all the women for the beautiful experience… can’t wait till next year… 

Over the last few weeks, the nation has been coming together to peacefully protest the rising poverty and the ruling elite.

We are the 99 percent. We are getting kicked out of our homes. We are forced to choose between groceries and rent. We are denied quality medical care. We are suffering from environmental pollution. We are working long hours for little pay and no rights, if we’re working at all. We are getting nothing while the other 1 percent is getting everything. We are the 99 percent.

The other 99% represents almost all of us, and most likely if you are reading this blog, it represents you.  These are hard times, crazy times, and it fills me with hope that people are coming together to say that the system we are living in does not work.

What are people doing?

They are uniting in the streets, joining internet sites, sending support to people in the streets, and ultimately showing that the disparity of resources is unacceptable and they want to see change. People are switching from big banks to smaller, local credit unions.  People are spending cash and trading, supporting their local community.  I’ve always thought we vote with our money.  This is so true.

Wall Street peaceful protestors letting everyone know we need change.

I feel pretty strongly that our larger “Laurel Nest Yurts family” (our customers, facebook fans, our crew…) is a conscious group of people that care about our earth, our community, and want a more equal, fair, and sustainable world.  We’re tired of all the news about the pollution and destruction to our world, and we are trying to get out of the “system”, out of the 9-5 grind and the imprisonment that expensive mortgages and the “dream lifestyle” costs.  The costs bear as toll on our souls.  I’m grateful for the work that people are doing as we come together and say we don’t accept this trap that the American dream has become.

What can we do and what do want to do to make the world better?  I can’t make it out NYC to Wall Street join the protestors, even though I personally support what they are fighting for.  I already bank with a local bank; I backed out of Bank of America years ago because I don’t like the way they treat people or conduct their business.  I try to encourage trade and enjoy energetic exchange.  I live in a yurt and am grateful that my life has not tied me up to a mortgage.  Through our company, Laurel Nest Yurts, I try to help others get out of the box and live a lighter life that is less dependent on the grid and grind.  But, still we can always do more…

700+ people arrested so far... why?

As far as the Wall Street Protests, I think it’s important that even if you can’t go march, that you still show support by making sure others know it’s going on, and sending letters or making phone calls to “the powers that be” and our government.  They must know that we do not support the growing gaps and polarities in our society and that we will not accept them.  We can use our voice and our dollar to let them know this (and also our lack of dollar- not spending money has a profound effect on this whole situation…).
As our world shows more polarities (the rich and the poor, the peaceful and those at war, the  1% and the other 99%) I see that we are in a time of change and shifting of values is occurring.  Of course, change is always seen in the extremities, and so this is reflected in our world today.

What's wrong with this picture?

Some attribute the polarities around us as evidence of the astrological shift from the Piscean age to the Aquarian age.  Many astrologers believe that the Age of Aquarius has arrived recently or will arrive in the near future.   In the Piscean Age that we are leaving behind, it was a central and even sacred task to find and gain access to the right information. The motto of the age was “to be or not to be.” Learn, grow, and become something. The Piscean Age was dominated by machines and hierarchies (think Industrial Revolution and class wars, slavery, etc…).  The new Aquarian Age is ruled by awareness, information, and energy. In the Aquarian Age there are no secrets! Information is available. Finding it is not the central task any longer. In this Age, the motto is “be to be.” Real value will come from truth embodied in practical actions and in the internal caliber and qualities of your mind and heart. The greatest power will be your Word – your consciously projected words.  Whatever your faith or spiritual path, “The time has come of self-value. And the question is not: ‘To be or not to be;’ the statement is: ‘To be to be. I am, I am.” ~Yogi Bhajan

Meditations on Occupy Wall Street

People unite on Occupy Wall Street through meditation.

So here we are, back to Occupy Wall Street and the reality of the other 99%, of struggle and excessive wealth.  We are coming together to support each other, to show the “filthy rich” that we do not accept such class disparity.  So, in addition to our daily life, our daily interactions, our protests and actions geared towards equality and justice, I think that incorporating a moment of mindfulness and meditation keeps us in our most aware and abundant state.  Millions of people are joining together for various meditations as we step into this shift. To some traditions,   11/11/11 marks the beginning of the Aquarian age.  What better way to brave these times than through uniting the world in meditation?

Some helpful links:

http://occupywallst.org/

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/02/business/wall-street-protests/index.html?hpt=hp_t2Hey

http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/

http://www.opednews.com/articles/2/11-Things-You-Can-Do-to-Su-by-Chaz-Valenza-110919-830.html

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20111003/NEWS/310030020/Anti-greed-group-plans-prolonged-effort-Asheville?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage Occupy Asheville

http://obrag.org/?p=46512

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astrological_age

http://www.3ho.org/kundalini-yoga/aquarian-age/

Hal and I recently took a trip to Vermont over summer holiday. We got to hang out with his friend Bo, who makes 1 of a kind T-shirts. He does it the old fashioned way, gets a soft, organic cotton shirt that is hand dyed, and makes a print.
The shirts are really nice, and he is making Laurel Nest Yurts t-shirts, too! Order one, or check out some of his other designs, they’re so nice…

Hal and I (in my LNY t-shirt) pose with Bo.

Bo cuts all his stencils out by hand onto a sheet of plastic. He chooses the stencil, then lines it up over a shirt, placing the silk screen over it. He uses water-soluble ink to produce a subtle, flexible image, unlike the hard plastic prints that mass-merchandisers use on their shirts. The first washing softens the black print a tiny bit, giving it a nicely faded look without having to wash it 100x. All shirts are preshrunk and as soft as your last favorite tee was before it fell apart. As you can see, this isn’t a factory line. Bo handles every t-shirt himself. “I’m sure there are more efficient ways to make a shirt, but I like things the way they are,” says Bo.
Thanks Bo, for the shirt! To order one, go to his website, eatmorekale.com

A few weeks ago, a  wonderful couple, Eric and Anna Scott, stayed and volunteered their time with us, helping with projects both at our community and in the yurt making studio.  They are an amazing and inspiring couple I now  am grateful to call our friends.

Eric and Anna walk dog food home 2 miles, photo from Tampa Bay paper, http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/a-st-petersburg-couple-learns-no-impact-living-can-have-a-big-impact/1164911

Over the last year they made a decision to create 12 months of change, and last month was Volunteering.  Here is their New Year’s resolution: (go to this website for more…  http://www.codegreencommunity.org/profiles/blogs/12-months-of-change)

January-unprocessed food (no more than 2 steps in the processing, no preservatives)
February-no spending month (no money spent except for housing and utilities)
March-unplug month (only one appliance on the grid and we all vote for the fridge/freezer)
April-alternative transportation (buses and bikes and feet, oh my!)
May-no plastic brought into the house (seriously, think about that…..)
June-alternative income (everything we can come up with to make a buck or barter for our needs besides our jobs)
July-volunteer month  (WWOOF farm?)
August-alternative cooking (solar oven, cook boxes, etc)
September-primitive skills  (gun safety, fire starting, animal harvesting, foraging)
October-local products/shops only (is ABC Liquor really Florida owned??  I need to know!)
November-no garbage (nothing goes in the dumpster)
December-no entertainment except for what we create

Eric and Anna finished the floor and painted it with an Earthpaint. Thanks guys!

When Eric and Anna came, amongst other projects, they finished our floor of our 30′ yurt and we were able to host our 1st yoga class!!  We made the floor with a stain-grade plywood and painted it with some moss green Earthpaint.  It’s amazing how they helped us in so many ways, both by their inspiring work and refreshing and wise outlook on life.  I was so moved by their generosity, and inspired by what they are accomplishing with their year of change.  How amazing that they felt like they benefitted as much as we did, from their weeks of hard work and help.

Yoga in the 30' yurt

The night before Eric and Anna left, we were able to host our first yoga class in the yurt.  Eric said it was the first of more yoga classes to come.  It was exciting to experience a dream coming true, teaching a yoga class out of our 30′ yurt!!  Thank you Eric and Anna Scott for helping make this happen!

Beautiful foods prepared with alternative methods and native edible foods...

On a small farm, a “harvest party” can sometimes eat into the market share too much… what do you do if you’re a foodie on a budget?  Jason Young says, our guest blogger, says “go forage!” Below is a meal he sent me from his Harvest Party, and it sounds scrumptious.  Hopefully you can go forage in your backyard and have an “un-harvest” party…

Lamb’s Quarter

Lamb's Quarter Quiche, yum!

Edible weeds play perfectly into the hands of health-conscious foodies on a budget. Often, there is nothing at all inferior about culinary weeds. Their “opportunistic” nature as deeply-rooted pioneer plants make them able to tap much deeper into the soil than many other garden plants, making these highly nutritious, maybe medicinal, and often delicious! Why harvest only what you planted?

Lamb’s Quarter Quiche: Luckily on our farm, Willow’s Bend, a 3-year old three-acre sustainable micro-farm, one such edible weed, Lamb’s Quarter, was allowed to consume our compost pile, growing to have a good foot even on me. Chock full of tender tips with a flavor and nutrition rivaling spinach, Lamb’s Quarter (raw or cooked), works well as the perfect centerpiece for my party. 8 cups of it reduced nicely in the skillet, and this late in July, it also seemed to be much more forgiving than most weeds I’ve tried in terms of bitterness. The quiche gave me a chance to show off our new beautiful blue Ameraucana chicken eggs!

Ameraucana & Plymouth Rock Barred Chickies laid the eggs for the quiche

Jerusalem Artichokes/ Sunchokes One of the most intriguing alterna-food finds I stumbled upon this summer was with the “Jerusalem Artichokes,” more formerly called “Sunchokes.” My first encounter with Alisa’s beloved Jerusalem artichokes begged a little forgiveness on their part and hers (I unwittingly attacked them with a machete on a weed-slaying rampage). She later explained them to me as a native and hardy species of sunflowers, where I later read about their edible potato/ginger-like tubers being nutritious and nutty in flavor (they store just like potatoes too). Unfortunately, these were understandably stunted, but we harvested a couple handfuls to try raw or roasted on the fire.

Wassail & Cinnamon Roasted Apples Who said drinking had to be wholly unhealthy? Wassail, the caroler’s classic of old made a beautiful and nutritious “jungle juice” tasting quite a bit like warm apple cider. This concoction is just perfect for incorporating the tart flavor of Alisa’s untended wormy cooking apples. The good slices of ten small apples were baked in tinfoil packets with cinnamon on the bonfire and added to our drink, along with quality orange and apple juice, spices…etc. and spiked hard with a handle of vodka.

Jason picks leaves for the tea party...

Wild lavender makes a great summertime drink.

Blackberry & Lemon leaf tea/ Lavender and Vanilla sun tea
For added quirkiness, I made a few varieties of Sunteas in Alisa’s old economy wine bottles set ontop of the hot well house. The Blackberry leaves and Lavender were wildly abundant and easy to harvest. Because random google searches is what I do, I discovered blackberry leaves are in fact not only edible, but high in Vitamin C, and are said to be medicinal to women for menstrual pains. My guests and the internet agreed: it really did resemble green tea in every way. The lavender tea I made for kicks, mostly to dump on my body in the shower if nothing else. In all I had set four wine bottles of teas on the table outside, and to my gaping horror the next morning almost all of it was gone!

I can’t describe to you my favorite ritual of living in WNC with enough elation, the fun hunt for the morel.  Those of you have been morel hunting, know how challenging it is to find these obscure mushrooms, and how gratifying it is when you find them!  Not to speak of the orgasmic feeling of eating them, after Hal has lightly fried them in some good butter… (mouth is watering, thinking of today’s portion…)  For those of you who have not had this joy, I strongly urge you to pick up Michale Pollan’s book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I would have to say this is one of my top favorite books, and every time I recommend it, I feel like I’m up for a re-read.  He has a chapter in there about foraging for a meal, and it includes these incredible morel mushrooms, and the best information I’ve ever read about them. 

So, in a nutshell, what is this amazing book about?  It’s premise it mainly responding to our daily question, “What should we have for dinner?” Should we eat a fast-food hamburger? Something organic? Or perhaps something we hunt, gather, or grow ourselves? The omnivore’s dilemma has returned with a vengeance, as the cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet confronts us with a bewildering and treacherous food landscape. What’s at stake in our eating choices is not only our own and our children’s health, but the health of the environment that sustains life on earth.

To find out, Pollan follows each of the food chains that sustain us—industrial food, organic or alternative food, and food we forage ourselves—from the source to a final meal, and in the process develops a definitive account of the American way of eating. His narrative takes us from Iowa cornfields to food-science laboratories, from feedlots and fast-food restaurants to organic farms and hunting grounds, always emphasizing our dynamic coevolutionary relationship with the handful of plant and animal species we depend on. Each time Pollan sits down to a meal, he deploys his unique blend of personal and investigative journalism to trace the origins of everything consumed, revealing what we unwittingly ingest and explaining how our taste for particular foods and flavors reflects our evolutionary inheritance. 

If you decide to pick up this book, you’ll never look at food the same (especially convenience store food…) much love and thanks Michael for the compelling read!

p.s.  some commentary was copied form Pollan’s sight, they said it better than I would! http://michaelpollan.com/books/the-omnivores-dilemma/

Yoga for Kids is such a gift for us all!

2011 has been so magical, so far. I’ve become more serious about my personal yoga practice, waking up at 4 am for Sadhana is now part of my life.  I get to experience the joy of teaching yoga to children at my daughter’s school.  My experience is renewed and deepened through teaching, and I feel grateful for the gift of sharing the yoga with the children.

Yoga at an early age encourages self-esteem and body awareness in a setting that’s noncompetitive.  Children thrive with yoga, and as we get deeper into our classes, I am seeing these benefits come to life. Yoga enhances their flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness while increasing their concentration and sense of calmness.

Focus on the breath enhances concentration...

Our daily relaxation improves, as well as their confidence. Doing yoga, children exercise, play, connect more deeply with their inner self, and develop an intimate relationship with the natural world that surrounds them. Yoga brings that marvelous inner light that all children have to the surface.

When yogis developed the asanas many thousands of years ago, they still lived close to the natural world and used animals and plants for inspiration—the sting of a scorpion, the grace of a swan, the grounded stature of a tree. When children imitate the movements and sounds of nature, they have a chance to get inside another being and imagine taking on its qualities. When they assume the pose of the lion (Simhasana) for example, they experience not only the power and behavior of the lion, but also their own sense of power. The physical movements introduce kids to yoga’s true meaning: union, expression, and honor for oneself and one’s part in the web of life.

In tree pose, we anchor ourselves deeply...

I hope our shared yoga lays the foundation for a lifelong practice that will continue to deepen.  The greatest challenge with children is to hold their attention long enough to teach them the benefits of yoga: stillness, balance, flexibility, focus, peace, grace, connection, health, and well-being.  The children love playing the roles animals, trees, flowers, warriors.  When they’re snakes (Bhujangasana), we imagine that they’re just a long spine with no arms and legs.   In Tree Pose (Vrksasana), we imagine being a giant oak, with roots growing out of the bottoms of their feet. Could you stay in the same position for 100 years?

When they stretch like a dog, balance like a flamingo, breathe like a bunny, or stand strong and tall like a tree, they are making a connection between the macrocosm of their environment and the microcosm of their bodies. The importance of reverence for all life and the principle of interdependence becomes apparent. Children begin to understand that we are all made of the same “stuff.” We’re just in different forms.

Thank you to Mountain Sun Community School and the glorious children who are sharing this experience with me! I look forward to the many more to come!

Thanks Mountain Sun for the opportunity to teach these wonderful children!!

For more information about yoga classes, feel free to email me at info@laurelnest.com.

For more information on Mountain Sun Community School, check out their facebook page or go their website,

Here at Laurel Nest Yurts, we are always trying to think of ways to be more sustainable. There are many ways to do this, but one simple and obvious way is to reduce waste.  We generate a good bit of waste material from both sewing our covers and making the yurt frame.  Finding something to do with this material is a challenge and we do everything we can to keep this material from the dump. 

Some uses of our scrap:

We sell our canvas to artists in the area.  A local friend of ours makes drum bags with the canvas scraps.  We use the scraps for tying and wrapping our pre-cut fabric.  Our wood scraps that are small are used in our wood stoves.  Other scrap fabric is turned into various pieces for building projects at home or sculptures.  However, our latest new product, the Wipi, was designed with our scrap wood from the roof rings in mind.  We are proud to say that most of the wood material is “recycled” and the Wipi is a beautiful new design!

So what is the Wipi? It’s a wee bed for a little child…. our daughter’s first bed was the trial run.

Our daughter's first bed...

After 3 years of a family bed, Hal is encouraging Emilia to have her own space.  She loves it for sleepover parties with her cousin, but only takes naps in it.

It’s pretty amazing though, hung from the ceiling and pivoted off one central spot, Emilia’s wipi is a small tipi bed.  I love cuddling with her and the fun of being in a round floating bed has many benefits, too.

The rocking motion is so nice with a small child, it’s  the same motion they feel in our womb.  It has positive effects on the limbic, circulatory, and other systems. It activates a deep, powerful relaxation response. Apparently the rocking increases blood and lymphatic circulation. In order carry toxins away from the cells, our body requires motion; the body’s drain system, the lymphatic system, has no pump. So the motion activates the drainage, and leaves you feeling so refreshed.

It’s so nice, and I notice that when I wake up from a nap with Emilia in her bed, I am so refreshed and completely limber, not at all stiff.

I was telling one of my girlfriends about the bed, and she quickly decided she wanted one! We’re making them for kids and adults, too… oh what fun it is to rock in a lovely wipi bed!!

We’ll be taking more pictures soon, to give you more information about the wipi.  In the meantime, if you’d like one for yourself, give us a call, (877) Eco-Yurt!

Our lovely raked trails...

Isn’t your favorite thing in the winter getting snowed in? I love an excuse to play around in the snow, go sledding and have a snow day.  My favorite thing? I enjoyed shoveling the trails to our yurt.  Think- shovel about 150 yards of trails between yurts.  Check off another reason I love yurt living!  It feels so good to work up a sweat in the cold…

The windy storm that hit a few days before the snow fell knocked a tree in the trail, and Hal chainsawed it out of the way.  Then more shoveling…. and then we decided to pull a lovely Christmas tree Hal had planted in a pot a couple years ago up to our yurt.  We got the wagon, heaved and hawed our way up the hill (and slid backwards a bit on the snowy trail)… we made it up, just in time for our daughter Emilia to wake up from her nap and help us decorate the tree.  This afternoon, we’ll go hunting for winter weeds to decorate the tree with.  Even though everyone is always asking if we’re staying warm, and they’re so worried about us yurt dwellers, we do stay cozy… and we bundle up and play outside a lot…

Lately I’ve been so happy to see the winter weeds dusting the trails and sidewallks… I love winter weeds and am grateful for the life they bring as winter comes in fully…

Black Eyed Susan, so lovely....

The plants grow and bloom during the cool season when most other plants are dormant.  Winter annuals typically grow low to the ground, where they are usually sheltered from the coldest nights by snow cover, and make use of warm periods in winter for growth when the snow melts.

Goldenrod

Some common winter annuals include henbit, deadnettle, chickweed, Queen Anne’s Lace, and winter cress.

Don’t go crazy weeding your garden of the winter annuals.  They are important ecologically, as they provide ground cover that prevents soil erosion during winter and early spring when no other cover exists and they provide fresh vegetation for animals and birds that feed on them.  Although they are often considered to be weeds in gardens, this viewpoint is not always necessary, as most of them die when the soil temperature warms up again in early to late spring when other plants are still dormant and have not yet leafed out.

And they’re such a gift… beauty and flowers in the cold months of winter…. peaking out of snow.

Thanks to these sites for some of the information and pictures in this blog. And thanks to Rob Brown, my high school science teacher who taught me about winter weeds for the first time.

http://winterwoman.net/2010/01/05/winter-weeds/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annual_plant

http://skaneatelessuites.com