Common Ground Ecovillage

Common House dining room

This afternoon about 8 Hart’s Mill members visited Eno Commons Co-housing in Durham.  Two of our architects–Suzy and Paul–came along. We had a good walkabout and were able to talk with several residents, paying close attention to some of the features we are currently considering for our own designs

at Hart’s Mill:

• the Common House and its dining area
• residence layouts, both inside and in relation to each other
• hints of the Southern vernacular style

The layout is quite “aligned,” north-south facing to maximize

passive energy capacity, but feels organic rather than rigid, partly due to the landscaping with many trees and shrubs.

It was interesting and helpful to visit this community and we appreciated their hospitality!

On an early August Saturday, Rita, Hope, and Paul showed up for a work day at Anathoth Community Gardens, located just a few miles north of Hart’s Mill near the town of Cedar Grove.  We waded into a hoop house full of cured onions splayed on racks and  filled bag after bag destined for cold storage.  In the process, we learned more about the extraordinary story of creating community and connection through food that is unfolding here.  Here is how it all started (excerpted from their website):

In 2005 Bill King was murdered at his bait and tackle store down the road from the current community garden site. In response, Cedar Grove United Methodist Church  held a prayer vigil for healing and peace at the site of the murder.  At the prayer vigil two visions came together: Scenobia Taylor, an African-American woman, had a vision to donate 5 acres of her family’s land to the church for the healing of the community; Rev. Grace Hackney, the pastor of the predominately white church, was exploring ways that the community could reconcile with the land by growing food sustainably. 

Ten years later, Anathoth Garden and Farm is a vigorous enterprise with a CSA program that provides fresh seasonal food for dozens of families.  As the day progressed and the heat and humidity climbed, more volunteers drifted into to the open-air pavilion to pack boxes with peppers, squash, onions, okra, and more.   High school and college student interns and community members worked together, contributing to this enterprise which creates connection and restoration one box—and one potluck—at a time.

Later, Rita, Paul, and Hope trudged up the steamy hill for the weekly potluck. Standing in a circle, we learned about the death of an elderly volunteer and heard stories about her contributions to the farm; how much she’ll be remembered and missed.  We left the farm feeling inspired and energized by our encounters and so very glad to have made a connection with this marvelousplace.  To be continued…

Jeffry’s telescope zeros in on planets

Many thanks to Randy for bringing us together last evening to do some stargazing on the beautiful Hart’s Mill land.  Several of us (Randy, Anika, Jeffry, Margret, Hope & Paul) gathered early, did some work in the garden, checked out Anthony’s MicroWalden shanty, and then set up for the main event.  There was some summer haze in the sky, but not a cloud in sight.  Perfect.

Jeffry had bush-hogged a large area in the eastern pasture the day before, so we had a comfortable and unobstructed view of the open sky.  Jeffry also set up his wonderful 6-inch reflecting telescope.  The half-moon was in perfect phase for crater exploration.  Just west of the moon sat Mars (orange aglow) and Saturn in nice aspect for ring viewing.  Trailing the setting sun was Jupiter, proudly showing off three of its moons.  Thanks, Jeffry, for this treat and for discussions about the mysteries and mechanics of the solar system!

Patience rewarded only two decent meteor flashes.  (The same night in Livermore, CA, Hope’s brother, Mack, took this photo of a shooting star.)  In the end, no one stayed behind to spend the night (just too hot and muggy), and by 11:30 the gate was closed as the last car headed home.  What a fun way to spend a Carolina summer evening with great friends.

Governance to thrive by…

Sociocracy may not be everyone’s idea of a hot topic, but a dozen members came to the Chapel Hill Public Library on a muggy Saturday morning to learn more about how our governance approach keeps the community cauldron simmering.  Hope led the 3-hour training, covering the basics of how our circle structure works and the processes we use to get things done.  The group was lively and engaged, contributing lots of excellent questions and ideas.  The main suggestion for improvement?  More time!  The interest and enthusiasm bodes well for effective functioning, wouldn’t you say?

Covering the bases from building to gardening to sharing food together…

Sunday’s workday (7/25/16) was already muggy at 7:30 am when Ginny and Anthony got started organizing trail work and Joe set off to expand his photo trove. By 9:15 or so Carol was working the garden and Randy the bees; Ed and Abigail arrived for a tour with Hope; later Ruthie and Kenny arrived to help set up the first section of MicroWalden; Amy, Randy, Steve, and others unrolled the new water tubing 350 feet from tank to garden (fitting and pump coming soon) … we gathered for an early lunch at the Pavilion and mostly managed to avoid the extremes of the heat (though Anthony kept working through much of the afternoon). All in all a good day with varied activities buzzing on the land. Thanks to all who made it!

Randy checks the hive

Bees are thriving, the garden is growing, and our woodlands are getting some attention from a forest management specialist.  We invited Jake Pressley from Grateful Trees and Bees to come walk the trails with us on Monday, July 11.  Anthony, Jeffry, Paul, and Hope spent several hours on this sultry morning walking the entire trail network through forest and fields.  Jake was very taken with the enticing trail design, so beautifully mapped by Anthony and sculpted by so many members and friends over these past 2-3 years.

With our Forest Stewardship Management plan in hand (supported by the Eno River Association in early 2013), we examined every area noticing what we need to keep an eye on for later and what needs attention  soon.  Marvelous mushrooms  in orange and blue hues teased us off the path here and there, along with Indian Pipe flowers in ghostly white and blushing Pinesap clusters.  Jake noted the many Christmas ferns bespeaking rich soil, and he enjoyed the variety of tree and plant life abundant all around.  We even picked our way to the other side of the lush and simmering wetland, but further trail blazing will need to wait for another time.

We’re awaiting his report, but it’s clear that the ever-invasive Tree of Heaven definitely needs to be corralled if not eliminated…somehow.  And then there’s the dam which needs to be cleared again of shrubby growth before the roots get too large and well established.   But overall, it looks like a time to wait-and-watch as the forest reveals to us what’s needed next for vitality and health a few years hence.

We’re glad to have had a chance to walk in the woods with someone like Jake who is as attuned as we are to the beauties and gifts of this land.

Jeffry stalks the wild mushrooms

Coming Together for Racial Equity—June 25-26, Durham

REI Organizer-Trainers

Resilience requires diversity in all forms–including human communities.  To this end, five members attended a weekend workshop offered by the Racial Equity Institute in Durham.  It was an extraordinary immersion in the historical, cultural, structural, and institutional forces that have  produced and sustained unjust and inequitable outcomes in our world based on skin color.  This felt like an important step for Hart’s Mill to develop a common understanding of the systemic, root causes of racism.  We met some wonderful people and feel moved to deepen our commitment—and actions—towards becoming a more inclusive and resilient community.

Activities on the Land—June 25^th Work Day

Trail-ho crew

Anthony was out mowing early, Randy came mid-morning for bee work, and then a fine group assembled at the Cedar Pavilion for a leisurely and fruity lunch, followed by an afternoon of trail work with a watermelon break along the way. We upgraded the Dam Loop and Creek Access Trails by removing stumps, trimming branches, grass-whacking, and other general maintenance. Margret and Donna continued their wildflower inventory and checked in on the Tree of Heaven project as well (some treated trees are showing fissures!). Thanks to Margret, Donna, Debbie, Randy, Anika, Mir, Maria Teresa, John, Leslie, and Anthony!  (Photos by Leslie and John)

Designing a Life Together—June 18^th Architecture Design Meeting

Architects Frank, Paul, & Suzy

The two sessions with our design partners, Frank Harmon Architects, opened up new territory for Hart’s Mill.  The June 4^th meeting is described in an earlier post (“What’s It Going to Look Like?”).  On June 18^th, we met in the common house at Pacifica Cohousing Community in Carrboro.

Walking the Pacifica paths

On a tour of this colorful community led by Stephen and Andrea Treimel, we learned a lot about sustainability features and compact layouts.  Then we took a deep dive into what we imagine life   will be like at Hart’s Mill.  What activities and interactions with each other and the land do we anticipate?  But perhaps best of all, we talked about what will mean the most to us when all is said and done.

Here are some of the comments that members  shared:

• Living with others in an intentional community with shared values in a beautiful setting
• Having a really vibrant, agrarian farm-based community
• Being around people—getting together and doing things
• Human and more-than-human community under an open sky
• Being part of a grand adventure where we are living and growing and inspiring and encouraging others to create alternative ways of living together
• Knowing that we have a sacred duty to protect and steward this in perpetuity
• A lot of screen porches!

We inspired and informed each other and can’t wait to see what happens next when we meet the architects on the land on July 30^th.  Stay tuned.

What could go where, I wonder…